Happy Birthday George Harrison: Watch Him and Jeff Lynne Jam on Banjo-Ukuleles

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 in rock and his social activism, but to us, his life-long love of the ukulele might be the most endearing.

In the above clip, Harrison’s long-time friend and collaborator Jeff Lynne reveals how the two met and began their long relationship. But the real treat here is the clip of Lynne jamming with Harrison on a pair of banjo-ukuleles (or, as Lynne refers to them in the video, banjoleles. You may also hear something in the background that sounds like someone is providing rhythm on spoons.)

The video quality makes identifying the ukuleles a little difficult, but it looks like they might be using either a Gibson UB-2 De-Luxe Ukulele Banjo or a Gibson UB-3 (evidently depending on which Gibson catalog you’re using) and perhaps a Ludwig Banjo-Uke. If you know, please leave something in the comments.