Happy 103, Uncle Bill!

We wish Bill Tapia a very happy 103rd birthday, tomorrow, January 1st, 2011. Link

Roger Ebert Tweets Uke

A new year's resolution from Roger Ebert, via twitter:

"Resolve to learn the ukulele in 2011. http://amzn.to/hT3nDd"

And since Roger is into tweeting, here's the perfect tune to add to his repertoire. Link

(Thanks, Amy!)

Cocoleles

More cocoanut ukuleles than you can shake a monkey at. In French. Link

Merry Christmas

Better late than never: here's our list of links to all the Christmas music for ukulele you could possibly need. The Ukulelia Holiday Songbook.

The Everly Pregnant Brothers

Meet the Everly Pregnant Brothers. They seem to be the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain's scruffy northern relatives. I love their cheeky style, from their logo (why didn't anyone think of that before?) to their homage to Madness to their mod portraits (by illustrator Steven Millington aka Lord Dunsby). Link

Jake Brings His Adz

Here's a track from Jake Shimabukuro's upcoming new release Peace Love Ukulele. It's entitled "Bring Your Adz". Link

Pre-Christmas Monsoon

My old pal (and the guy who taught me my first tune on the uke) Tuba Heatherton's tribute to sunny California. Maybe he should have stayed in Islands where he was born. Rhode Island, that is.

Ukulele Lou

An old chestnut performed by Vernon Dalhart, Frank Kamplain and Anthony Franchini on an Edison cylinder recording. Link

December, 1955

No, I don't think you're flat. But I think your G-string may be slipping. Link

Livin' in the Sunlight-Lovin' in the Moonlight

Okay, okay, it's Tiny Tim. But Herbert was nothing if not a walking Tin Pan Alley encyclopedia. Here's his version of the Al Lewis/Al Sherman classic Livin' in the Sunlight-Lovin' in the Moonlight. It's a fun tune, and features a chord I don't think I've ever run across: an F74♮3 (4310). You'll find a Paul Whiteman recording here and the sheet music here. (And a real swell version here.)

Michael Powers: Urban Ukulele Project

Check out Seattle jazz guitarist Michael Powers' foray into ukeland on his CD Urban Ukulele. Some really cool jazzy and funky stuff here. Link

Mighty Uke Holiday Special

I saw three ukes come sailing in,
On Christmas Day,
On Christmas Day...

From Mighty Uke's Facebook page:

"The holiday season is once again upon us, the perfect time to share some ukulele cheer. And what better way to get your friends and family to pick up a uke and join the global strum-along than to give them the uplifting and inspiring story of the MIGHTY UKE.
From now until Christmas Eve, if you buy any two items from mightyukemovie.com you will receive a MIGHTY UKE DVD free. But wait! That’s not all! Every purchaser of any DVD, Blu-ray, t-shirt or poster from our website will be automatically entered in a raffle to win one of three MIGHTY UKE Kala Concert Ukuleles to be given away on Christmas Day."

Link

The Utterly Butterly Ukulele Project - Home

The Utterly Butterly Ukulele project (TUBUP) runs around Great Britain helping people make their own ukulele from recyclable materials--in this case, margarine tubs. TUBUP puts on workshops in which the ukes are constructed and attendees learn how to play it and take part in a live performance.

The ukuleles are constructed from an Utterly Butterly spread tub, fishing line strings, a piece of wood with screw eyes for tuning pegs.

Here's a great photo gallery from a recent fundraising event in Cardiff, Wales in support of the BBC Children in Need program.

The folks behind the Utterly Butterly brand seem to be pretty cool. For several years, they even had their own formation wing-walking team!

Here's TUBUP's site.

A Toothsome Arrangement

Watch Siuta Veaila chew up his Kala on Pokarekare Ana! Link

LoPrinzi Ukuleles on the Air

Donna LoPrinzi has taken the helm of the family business. Here's a nice video from News 13 in Florida profiling LoPrinzi Ukuleles. Link