Stories

Gear Guru: Change Your Uke Strings in 7 Easy Steps

Changing strings is something every ukulele player will need to do at some point. Here's how to change your ukulele strings in 7 easy steps.

This Holiday Season, Visit ‘Christmas Island’ with Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel!

We wanted to put in a good word for the inimitable and irrepressible uke duo of Craig Chee & Sarah Maisel, who have just released a mellow but spirited new holiday album called Christmas Island. This is their first release…

Summertime Uke Love-In at New Jersey Club’s Fest

By Heidi Swedberg (From time to time, ace ukester Heidi Swedberg checks in with reports from her travels. Apologies for the lateness of this one; problems on our end, not hers! —Blair J., Editor, Ukulele) On Friday, Aug. 23, the…

Why I Can’t Get ‘Can’t Get It Out of My Head’ Out of My Head (A Uke Lesson)

by Jim D’Ville My high school years encompassed the halcyon days of early to mid-’70s FM rock radio. The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, and my favorite band, Electric Light Orchestra, were cranking out rock radio classics.…

Ben Carr: Transporting Hawaiian Spirit to Vermont

By Laurence Vittes Ben Carr‘s life as a ukulele player began in 2005, the same year he moved from New Orleans to South Vermont and took a trip to Hawaii. Nearly two decades later, this graduate of the James Hill…

Thursday Video Pick: Jake Shimabukuro Plays Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

What can I say? I was never a Queen fan. First-rate musicians and singers, certainly; fine blokes, no doubt (if we’re to believe the biopic). A few undeniable classic tunes in there. But the overblown drama, the gazillion stacked vocals,…

Ukulele Ike Cliff Edwards Robert Armstrong Ukulele Illustration

Wishing Upon A Star: The Cliff ‘Ukulele Ike’ Edwards Story

Mark Twain wasn’t the only cultural icon born in Hannibal, Missouri. There was another fellow, a funny looking, wide-eyed guy who played and popularized the ukulele in the 1920s while selling millions of records, introduced the Gershwin classic “Fascinating Rhythm” from the Broadway stage, popularized the tune “Singin’ in the Rain” 20 years before Gene Kelly skipped through puddles, and was the winning voice of Jiminy Cricket, crooning the Disney anthem “When You Wish Upon a Star.”