By Greg Olwell One of America’s favorite late-night hosts knows the power of ukulele. Why else would Stephen Colbert include his ukulele cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” in a video to celebrate his YouTube channel‘s one-millionth subscriber? This time, Stephen,…
By Kenny Berkowitz Don’t get fooled: The name’s a joke, just to make sure you don’t take them too seriously. But the Prettiots aren’t prettiots at all. They’re smart, savvy, Brooklyn grrls with a gift for ukulele, pop hooks, and Too…
By Greg Olwell It was one minute and forty-eight seconds of bizarre and memorable music when Tiny Tim’s ukulele-driven hit “Tip-toe Thru’ the Tulips with Me” swarmed radio and television in 1968. Born Herbert B. Khaury in New York…
By Greg Olwell With this week’s Throwback Thursday falling on St. Patrick’s Day, it just seemed right to feature a little Irish music. Back at the Portland Uke Fest in 2008, two modern masters, the late John King and James…
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By Greg Olwell While most people have probably heard Lyle Ritz, they may not have known it. As an A-list session bassist whose career began in the late-’50s, Ritz racked up thousands of studio sessions, playing on many hits including…
By Greg Olwell For this week’s Throwback Thursday, we are celebrating the birthday of one of the most famous ukulele players, George Harrison. The Beatles’ guitarist and songwriter was known for many things, including writing some of the catchiest hooks…
By Greg Olwell With the ukulele’s popularity still soaring during the world’s first wave of ukulele love, it’s no surprise that one of the all-time great comedy duos used a uke in one of its famous slapstick romps. For this week’s Throwback Thursday, we…
When it comes to lasting beauty and serious mojo, it’s hard to top a vintage harp ukulele. Invented by an innovative, if occasionally questionably skilled, luthier Chris Knutsen, the harp ukulele was a member of his “New Hawaiian Family,” which…
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By Mark Kemp Surfing Youtube after a satisfying day at the offices of Ukulele, Acoustic Guitar, Classical Guitar, and Strings, I ran across the Prettiots’ 2014 video for their song “Boys (I Dated in High School),” directed by ’80s Lower East…
By Greg Olwell At Winter NAMM 2016, Fender’s Ryan Zalevsky takes Ukulele magazine on a tour of its uke line.