Who Are The Most Famous Ukuele Players of All Time? l

Joko

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 3, 2009
Messages
1,411
Reaction score
407
Location
Yangon, Myanmar
Not the best, mind you, but if you had to make a list of the most well-known ukulele players, alive or dead, who would you put in your top 10? Top 20? Top 50? These are the names that non-uke players think of when they learn you play uke.."Oh just like _____" I'm not including people like Don Ho, Elvis, George Harrison or Eddie Vedder, who also played ukulele, but were famous for their other works.

I'm gonna start...

1. George Formby
2. Herbert Khaury (Tiny Tim)
3. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
4. Jake Shimabukuro
5. Julia Nunes
6. Aldrine Guerrero
7. Jim Beloff
8. Taimane Gardner
9. Bittni Paiva
10. Michael Lynch
11. Genoa Keawe
12. Daniel Ho
13. Honoka & Azita
14. Eddie Kamae
15. James Hill
16. Derick Sebastian
17. That little Japanese prodigy... the 5 year old.
18. Ukulele Bartt
19. Doctor Sparkles
20. David King

Of course, for the second half of the list, anyone else might come up with an entirely different group... but for the top 10... Anyone I'm forgetting here?
 
Except for maybe the top three of your list, you have to be already fairly interested in the ukulele to consider them famous.

When teaching, the names of the latest contestants in the 'Got Talent', 'Idol' or 'The Voice' usually pop up when students are asked about 'famous persons identified with playing the ukulele': Grace Vanderwaal, John Lingard, Mandy Harvey, ... (and there are local versions of those shows as well, generating at least one famous ukulele playing contestant each year: Jack Dan (AU), Kato Callebaut (BE), Amy G (FR) come to mind).

If your list only focusses on classics and artists who have proven their worth (f.e. have recorded albums), then Arthur Godfrey and Lyle Ritz are probably missing, as are Del Rey, Bliss Blood and May Singhi Breen. John King? The list is also very North-American.
 
I would add the following to your list:

Herb Ohta
Roy Smeck
Arthur Godfrey
Led Kaapana

There are a few others I can't think of off the top of my head, but it gets the ball rolling.
 
Last edited:
George Harrison may not have been famous for being a ukulele player, but his commitment to playing uke certainly puts him in that category. He was also in some band in the '60's, I think.
 
If you are just talking about the average person walking down the street, Tiny Tim. If you are talking about people who live and breath ukulele, well that one can be debated forever. My vote would go to Jake. Even though, after several years playing the uke, there are several ukulele players who I enjoy more than Jake, it was Jake that first got my attention.
 
Look up Ukulele Ike, otherwise known at Cliff Edwards. Besides being the voice of Jimminy Cricket he was a major star in the 20’s and 30”s

He sold over 70 million records. He also starred on Broadway, radio, TV and over 100 movies.

 
Last edited:
I figured the most famous ukulele player would have to be known to non-ukulele players, so I asked my non-ukulele playing facebook friends. Three nominated me! :rolleyes: Two came up with Tiny Tim. Elvis, Burl Ives and George Harrison got one vote each. :shaka:

Add Nominations for Arthur Godfrey and Iz...
 
Last edited:
The list is looking good While the following additions might not fit your criteria, they're famous and have made felt contributions to the ukulele world:
Jack Johnson
Peter Moon
Kimo Hussey
Pete Townshend
Kalei Gamiao
 
I can't leave out George Harrison and Arthur Godfrey, or Tiny Tim. Everyone knows who they are. A whole lot of people know Iz and Jake, too. LOTS of people!
That story about Cliff Edwards was really sad. Lots of money suddenly appearing can be the worst thing....
 
Last edited:
Johnny Marvin
 
He's not most famous as a ukulele player, but he sure made the uke "re-famous"......George Harrison.
 
If you ask for a name, older people will probably say Tiny Tim.

But the most famous is probably Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. Maybe not by name but by song. As the years go by and generations come and go, Iz's version of Over the Rainbow will still be played where the general public can hear it. They may not know the artist, but they will know the song.

John
 
Last edited:
Funny, I'm a longtime ukulele player and I haven't even heard of maybe half of the people in the OP's list, so I'd say it depends on one's definition of "famous." To me, that would be equal to "household name" that crosses beyond niche markets such as the ukulele world. And as for some of the names on the list that I have heard of, I consider them to be more savvy at internet marketing than actually "famous."

From a mainland U.S. perspective, and for a certain generation, that would probably make Tiny Tim the most "famous" since he was on TV in bajillions of living rooms. In the UK, same might go for George Formby what with all the movies he made. More recently, *maybe* Israel Kamakawiwo'ole and Jake Shimabukuro, since even non-ukulele-players may have heard of them. Although considering how challenging it seems to be for many people to pronounce Kamakawiwo'ole or Shimabukuro, I'm not sure they could ever be "household names"... :)
 
Last edited:
Funny, I'm a longtime ukulele player and I haven't even heard of maybe half of the people in the OP's list, so I'd say it depends on one's definition of "famous." To me, that would be equal to "household name" that crosses beyond niche markets such as the ukulele world. And as for some of the names on the list that I have heard of, I consider them to be more savvy at internet marketing than actually "famous."

Same. "Famous" is going to be drastically different depending on where you live and what version you get from your local media. So it's a pretty loaded question to ask on an international forum.

Ask the locals here and I bet you get (with little or no variation):

Troy Fernandez
Herb Ohta (Ohta-san)
Peter Moon
Bruddah IZ
Eddie Kamae

I'd be REALLY surprised if Tiny Tim or Cliff Edwards ever came up. Now that the internet is here, you might get Jake or Herb Jr. But I agree with janeray that internet marketing blurs the lines a lot. EVERYBODY can be famous on Youtube. When everybody is famous, who truly is?
 
Same. "Famous" is going to be drastically different depending on where you live and what version you get from your local media. So it's a pretty loaded question to ask on an international forum.

Ask the locals here and I bet you get something like these:

Herb Ohta (Ohta-san)
Jake Shimabukuro
Kiyoshi kobayashi
kazuyuki Sekiguchi
Ayano Tsuji
 
Ask the locals here and I bet you get something like these:

Herb Ohta (Ohta-san)
Jake Shimabukuro
Kiyoshi kobayashi
kazuyuki Sekiguchi
Ayano Tsuji


You're in Ōsaka - what, no 松井朝敬 or 高田マリオ ?? :) They're two of my favorites, along with 近藤研二, but in all seriousness I don't think any of those qualify as famous.

Great list! The last three may not be household names in the U.S. but are "famous" enough within ukulele circles that they are definitely known beyond Japan.
 
Top Bottom