Somewhere Over the Rainbow is the latest song to enter the ukulele canon. Written by: Harold Arlen and Yip Harbury in 1939Įssential version: Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. You can learn to play I’ll See You In My Dreams this video by Mark Occhionero or in Dominator and Arch Larizza’s tab. Ingrid Michealson also did a fine ukulele version on her album Slow the Rain which you can hear on Last.fm. George himself was a big-time ukelelist and member of the George Formby Society and also prompted a ukulele tribute from Paul McCartney. When Joe Brown performed it at the George Harrison Memorial Concert, he stole the show and the song. This song was first claimed for the ukulele by Cliff ‘Ukulele Ike’ Edwards. Written by: Gus Kahn and Isham Jones in 1924.Įssential version: Joe Brown at the George Harrison Memorial Concert. If you don’t believe me, check out this version by Emily Grace and this version by Patsy Monteleone. You might not guess it from Tiny’s version, but it’s a beautiful song. None more so than Tiptoe Through the Tulips. To his credit, he was responsible for rescuing a number of fantastic old songs and claiming them for the uke. Even so, he is one of the first players people think of when considering the ukulele. His warbling, falsetto voice and camp, novelty act pretty much killed off the popularity of the ukulele for the best part of a quarter of a century. Tiny Tim, I think it’s fair to say, is not universally popular amongst ukulele players. Written by: Joe Burke and Al Dubin in 1929.Įssential version: Tiny Tim Watch the video You can learn to play Ukulele Lady here or via LStrachey’s video lesson. But, somehow, Petty Booka’s kitsch version of the song seems be stuck in my head permanently (you can listen to a clip via their website). Of course, it’s become a must-play for ukesters and you can watch top-notch versions by Howlin’ Hobbit and Victoria Vox. Since then it has become a favourite of people wanting to conjure up a bit of Hawaiian exotica and has been covered by Bette Midler and Kermit the Frog. But, moons and islands couldn’t match the appeal of ukulele ladies.Īn early version of Ukulele Lady was recorded by Vaughn De Leath. Obviously, this included many ukuleles with songs like Ukulele Moon and Ukulele Island. Songwriters, never being slow to let a bandwagon passed un-jumped-upon, aped the Hawaiian sound and filled songs with references to an idealised Hawaii (this came to be known as Hapa Haole). In the 1910’s and 20’s, Hawaii was all the rage. Written by: Gus Kahn and Richard Whiting in 1925. And here’s my transcription of the Jerk version Tonight You Belong to Me Ukulele Chords. You can learn the chords to Tonight You Belong to Me from ukulele chanteuse Janet Klein and find a solo version in Jumpin Jim’s Ukulele Masters : Lyle Ritz. You’ll find endless ukulele covers of this song on ukulele including versions from Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder with Sleater Kinney’s Janet Weiss and Cathy and Sarah Lee Guthrie (Cathy Guthrie also recorded a version as part of Folk Uke). Although Steve Martin does a good job with the miming, the uke is provided by jazz ukulele legend Lyle Ritz. Tonight You Belong to Me was written in the heyday of the ukulele, but it wasn’t until the song was used in the film The Jerk that it became almost exclusively associated with the ukulele. Written by: Billy Rose and Lee David in 1926.Įssential version: Lyle Ritz, Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters. This is a list of those ukulele songs that no uker can get away from. But, more often than not, they are songs that have been taken and performed so memorably on the uke that it will be thought of as a ukulele song from that day on. Occasionally, these were written for the ukulele. There are certain songs that will be forever associated with the ukulele. A song everyone tells you to play when they find out you’re a ukelelist. A song primarily associated with the ukulele.Ģ.
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