If you have alighted here on this page from a search engine link, please refer to The Master of The 'Ukulele - Ohta-San for background on this compilation of Ohta San information.

I have elaborated on Ohta San's "talk story" at his 'ukulele workshop with information gleaned from online research, liner notes, and George S. Kanahele's book, HAWAIIAN MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

As a fan, I think that there are those who, like me, would like to know a bit more about this rare and gifted individual.  Although his music speaks for itself, a more profound, insightful appreciation of Ohta San and his music is attained by getting to know the maestro.  For me, the biographical details of his life enhance my Ohta San musical experiences, be it in concert or listening to his CDs. 

Ohta San's life is full of life's lessons. With this page, I share the lessons I discerned from learning about Ohta San and his life.  

"He who would search for pearls must dive down below." 
~ John Dryden

• Ohta San:  "I learned my first song on the 'ukulele at age four. My first teacher was my mother."
  
  Ohta San was born Herbert Ichiro Ohta in October 1934.  Hawai`i born, he is a keiki o ka `aina -- literally, a child of the land. A small, four-stringed instrument found its home in the hands of this young one.
  
  Growing up in the varied cultural milieu of Hawai`i, Ohta San was introduced to a diversity of music, including Hawaiian, Japanese, pop, modern jazz and classical.  
  
  A fascinating account of his early years can be found here.
  
  Lessons: 
  
  "There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."
   ~ Buckminster Fuller
  
  "Life begets life. Energy begets energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich." 
  ~ Sarah Bernhardt 
  
  "We can't give our children the future, strive though we may to make it secure. But we can give them the present." 
  ~ Kathleen Norris 
  
  
  

• Ohta San: "Eddie Kamae was my biggest and greatest influence." 
  
  They met accidentally on the beach, when Ohta San -- then Herbert Ohta -- was 12. At the time, Eddie Kamae was the premier 'ukulele performer and master.  He took the young Ohta San under his wing, and advised him to develop his own style.
  
  At 15, he was performing at the Armed Forces YMCA with Becky Kalama's Hawaiian show.
  
  Ohta San was a serious, dedicated and hardworking student.  Kamae taught his young protégé a number of his own techniques; he also encouraged young Ohta to apply them to the classical, jazz, and popular music repertoire.
  
  Within a short time, Kamae is reported to have said, "There is nothing more to teach him."
  
  Lessons: 
  
  "If I have seen farther than other men, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants."
  ~ Isaac Newton
  
  "Gratitude is the heart's memory."
  ~ Author Unknown
  
  
  

• Ohta San: "Barbara Smith at the University of Hawai`i was an early influence."
  
  Ohta San studied music theory at the University of Hawai`i, Mânoa. Ms. Smith was a professor of music there.  He graduated, however, from the University not as a music major, but a sociology major.
  
  Early on, Ohta San realized that if he was going to play solo 'ukulele he would need notes that were lower than the traditional "My Dog Has Fleas" (GCEA) tuning.  He turned the G string down an octave, enabling him to tackle some of the most complex and challenging music in any genre -- popular, jazz, or classical.
  
  Lesson: 
  
  "The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work." 
  ~ Emile Zola 
  
  
  

• Ohta San: "In 1955, I was on The Ed Sullivan Show."  
  
  This was during his ten-year stint (1953 -1963) in the U.S. Marine Corps as an interpreter. During the height of the Korean War, there was little time for Ohta San to play the 'ukulele.  
  
  When the war was over, he was stationed on the East Coast. 
  
  "There was not much for the marines to do but "spit and polish" and hospital duty," recalled Ohta.  He asked his younger sister in Hawai`i, who has since transitioned, to mail his 'ukulele to him. She obliged.  
  
  Reunited with his 'ukulele, Ohta San got off "spit and polish" duty by auditioning for The Ed Sullivan Show," recalled Ohta San. He won the audition and dazzled millions of television viewers across America with his brilliant playing of the song, Malagueña. 
  
  We missed it on the Big Island. TV did not reach our remote shore until a few years later. 
  
  Does anyone know if footage exists of this show?  If you do, please let me know:  d@despammed.com
  
  While still in the Marines in Japan, his mentor Eddie Kamae connected him with friend Yukihiko Haida, who in turn arranged for an album recording with Victor in Japan (JVC).
  
  Lessons: 
  
  "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
    ~ Albert Einstein
  
  
  
  

• Ohta San: "After I was discharged from the Marines, I applied for a job with Pan American Airlines; my sister was an executive officer with them. I failed the physical because I couldn't hear certain tones on the hearing test. I was given a second test. I kept pressing that audiogram button whether I heard the tones or not. Again, I failed.  It was not to be. Soon after, Eddie Kamae suggested that I meet with Don McDiarmid, Sr.  I recorded Sushi -- the song that's on the album with the koi  (Japanese carp) on the cover."
  
  It was McDiarmid (1898-1976) of Hula Records, a legendary Hawaiian label, who selected the stage name, "Ohta San." He thought it was catchier than Herbert or Herb. ~Source
  
  In 1964, Ohta San's "Sushi" -- an original song -- became a #1 hit in Hawai`i.  It was later released by Warner Bros. Records. Ohta San became an overnight success and became a household name in Hawai`i.  
  
                                                           
  
  He went on to record six albums with McDiarmid. They were followed by recordings with Decca, Lehua, Poki, Discos Tropical, Sakuma, and in Japan, Warner/Pioneer, Victor of Japan, and Polydor of Japan.
  
  Lesson:
  
  "In labors of love, every day is payday."
  ~ Gaines Brewster
  
  
  

• Ohta San: "Then, in the late 60s, 'The Yellow Submarine' blew us out of the water."
  
  After Ohta San's long ride on the wave of popularity, Beatlemania dominated charts.  Never holding it against the Beatles, he said, in an interview with Jim and Liz Beloff in JUMPIN' JIM"S 'UKULELE MASTERS HERB OHTA, SOPHISTICATED 'UKULELE, "Lennon and McCartney were fantastic songwriters. When I first heard Sgt. Pepper's... it just blew my mind.  I couldn't believe what they were doing."
  
  Thereafter, it was hard to get work. Ohta San became a part of trio and worked at The Moana Hotel for $68 a week.  
  
  Those were lean times, and he wondered why he even got into professional music in the first place. He considered getting a steady job and putting the 'ukulele playing on the back burner, to be picked up later as a hobby.
  
  He hung in. Success comes to those who wait.
  
  Lessons: 
  
  "Adversity is the diamond dust heaven polishes its jewels with."
  ~ Robert Leighton

  "Fall seven times, stand up eight."
  ~ Japanese Proverb

  "If there is no wind, row."
  ~ Latin Proverb
  
  
  

• Ohta San:  "André Popp wrote me a song...."
  
  In the early 1970s, Ohta San had his biggest hit with A Song for Anna, written expressly for him by famed French composer and conductor André Popp.  As an international hit, it has sold over 6 million copies!
  
  Establishing Ohta San's reputation world-wide, it was recorded in France and released in the United States by A&M Records in 1974.
  
  Ohta San makes every note of the melody shine, and upon hearing it, those memorable notes are forever etched into every listener's mind, heart and spirit.
  
  The question that was not asked:  Who is Anna?
  
  Lesson: 
  
  "Life's real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up." 
  ~ Author Unknown
  
  
  

• Ohta San:  "Then I got this manager..."

  Along came a young, street-wise Jewish manager into Ohta San's life.  He was able to get him a contract at the 'Ilikai Hotel that secured Ohta San a base of $2000 a week plus a percentage of the cover charges.  That percentage made all the difference in the world, creating an income often in excess of $5000 a week for Ohta San.  

  The saying goes: "Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it."  Thank goodness for that savvy manager, as Ohta San got paid for it well.
  
  Not long thereafter, this savvy manager moved on to Southern California and went into the real estate business in the San Fernando Valley. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he did so well that he retired at the ripe age of 33! 
  
  In 1973, Ohta San's UKULELE O HAWAII, a 44 page instruction book was published by Kamaka Hawaii Inc. 
  
  Recently, another book by Ohta San, JUMPIN’ JIM’S UKULELE MASTERS: HERB OHTA, is available at Jim Beloff's Flea Market Music, Inc. Pictured below is Pila and Ohta San with his new book:
  

  Lesson:  

  "A candle loses none of its light by lighting another candle." 
  ~ Author Unknown
  
  

• Ohta San: "I itched all day long..."
  
   He talked about an insatiable itch he once had, and we're not talking lottery tickets. In 1973, Ohta San and his musicians went to Brazil to record.  He talked about how the government was taken over by the military, and they were detained long enough for him to have a memorable experience. So memorable was this experience, that Ohta San shared it with his class.  
  
  "One of the quirky things the government would do was turn off the water supply without warning.  So one day, I was in the shower all soaped up, when the water just stopped flowing."  
  
  With dried lather glued to his skin, he didn't just have jock itch.  All day long, his entire body insatiably itched. Funny, how just thinking about Ohta San itching makes me itch, too.  You, too?
  
  Lessons: 
  
  "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, 
  Or what's a Heaven for?"
  ~ Robert Browning
  
  Rinse. Rinse very well.
  ~ Author Unknown
    
  
  

• Ohta San: "I recorded more albums..."
  
  Prolific is an apt word to describe Ohta San. He has recorded sixty plus albums/CDs!  
  
  If it is true that periods of tranquillity are seldom prolific of creative achievement, then Ohta San has been stirred up for most of his life.  
  
  Click here to take a look at this impressive discography.  It goes on and on.  Four web pages!  Wow....
  
  He's due for a long, long rest, don't you think?  Is he slowing down? Noooooooo.
  
  Among his most recent is 'Ukulele Bach, a recording of Bach pieces performed entirely on solo 'ukulele.  Leave it to Ohta San to make Bach and the 'ukulele congruous. Definitely, a must-have for any classical music lover -- or anyone who loves inspired music.
  
  
  Music Scape -  samples
  
  
  
  Lessons:
  
  "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for: it is a thing to be achieved." 
  ~ William Jennings Bryan
  
  "I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
  ~ Pablo Picasso
  
  "The quickest way to become an old dog is to stop learning new tricks." 
  ~ John Rooney 
  
  
  

• Ohta San:  "Oh, I've been to a few places..."
  
  Ohta San has toured extensively throughout the world.
  
  His fans hail from the U.S., Canada, France, Australia, Japan, Mexico, Brazil and beyond. He has performed all over the world in major showrooms in Hawai`i and major world cities as Tokyo, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, and New York.  
  
  Ohta San is especially popular in Japan. <-- An understatement.
  
  Early on, it was Eddie Kamae who introduced his then young, gifted student, Ohta San, to Japan. Ever since, Japan has had a long-standing love affair with Ohta San.
  
  "Aside from being a 'ukulele genius, Herb Ohta is admired by his Japanese followers for his unique way of entertaining his audience. For them the name "Ohta-San" characterizes warmth, congeniality and humor. His fantastic humor never bores his audience in every performance he does; backstage, this man captivates people for his being warm-hearted to everybody who approaches him. At present he is based in Hawai'i but often visits his homeland to do concerts with different Japanese musicians." ~ Source 
  
  Lesson: 
  
  "Don't wait for your ship to come in... swim out to it." 
  ~ Author Unknown
  
  "Success has a simple formula: do your best, and people may like it. "
  ~ Sam Ewing 
  
  
  

• Ohta San: "I was recently in Moscow, Idaho. It's so cold over there, even potatoes don't grow."
  
  Ohta San was invited to perform with the greatest names in jazz at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival.  He arrived at the Spokane airport at 3:30 am, where he was to overnight across the street at the Ramada Inn, before taking a two-hour drive to Moscow, where it is so cold "even potatoes don't grow there."
  
  At the airport's entrance, he learned first-hand what it feels like to be taken by storm. The temperature was 21 degrees Fahrenheit.  With the wind chill factor, it was minus 2 degrees. T'was colder than a witch's te*t. Brrrrrr...
  
  There was no way in h*ll that he was venturing out into that frigid Arctic blast.  He hailed a cab.  It cost him four whole dollars just to cross the street!  
  
  "I'm so relieved to be in sunny California," said Ohta San.
  
  And we are delighted you came! 
  
  Mahalo.
  
  Lessons:  
  
  "Dress warmly."
  ~ Every mother
  
  "Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced. Even a proverb is no proverb to you till your life has illustrated it." ~ John Keats
  
  "A grateful thought toward heaven is of itself a prayer."
  ~ Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
  
  

>> More on Ohta San
>> Biographical info on Ohta San
>> Excerpts on Herb "Ohta San" Ohta from HAWAIIAN MUSIC AND MUSICIANS, edited by George S. Kanahele

Return to 
The Master of the 'Ukulele, Ohta San

~~~
"To acquire knowledge, one must study; 
but to acquire wisdom, one must observe."
~ Marilyn Vos Savant

"Vision is the art of seeing things invisible." 
~ Jonathan Swift 

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