Hi Jim T.
What is the apostrophe in front of the U for ? And when you say the Ukelele should be taken seriously , what does that actually mean ?
CeeJay:
The apostrophe is an okina, or glottal stop, that is part of the Hawaiian spelling of the word. (Whether that's correct or pretentious, or how the word should be pronounced, has been the subject of several lengthy threads.)
For the last century, for a variety of reasons, the 'ukulele has been regarded as a joke -- as the Boston Globe once wrote, it "ranks in most people's minds somewhere between asteroid dust and space junk." The the modern era in the U.S., that has a lot to do with Tiny Tim; in the U.K., one could argue that it' image was influenced by the popularity of George Formby. The UOGB plays off this perception brilliantly; I'm hoping to make an argument that the instrument has an interesting and compelling history that is not what most people think; that it is a musical instrument like any other, capable of producing almost any genre of music imaginable; and that it's deserving of respect. It's also an opportunity show off fun stuff, like unpublished photos of Jose do Espirito Santo (one of the original Honolulu 'ukulele makers) or some of the first comic strips making fun of the 'ukulele from 1916-17.