Which performer inspired you to start playing ukulele?

alndrkmp

alndrkmp

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Which performer first inspired you to start playing ukulele? I know for many it will be Jake or maybe Iz. For me it was Ian Whitcomb. I found a cutout 8track of his album "Crooner Tunes" for next to nothing when I was in high school. (For you young people,maybe you can find out from Wikipedia what a "cutout" and an "8track" were). Let me know who got you started, Andy
 
I am one of those people who should have been born a long time before I was...
My inspiration is an easy one

'course, I played RAMONES covers on my Martin type 3 when I first got it...took a while to seek out the goodness
 
Awesome! I like Ukulele Ike! I had never heard of him (aka Cliff Edwards) until I saw this post, and now I'm off to YouTube to hear more!
 
I had a fun approach to the ukulele. I just wanted a fun new instrument that no one else played. So, because ukes were cheaper than accordions I picked one up. lol.

and then i startd youtube uke players and my eyes got wider with everyone.
First, Julia Nunes- how fun!
then Braddah Iz- beautiful!
then Jake- thats not possible!!!!
then I came here, to assert my new addiction to the uke :)

so I wasn't inspired by anyone in the beginning, but I sure am now!
 
I first played uke when I was a little kid, because I was too small to play a guitar. Then of course I became a teenager, and moved on to cooler pursuits. (Little did I know how *cool* the uke was!)

As an adult, though, I think I was inspired to pick it up again after seeing Janet Klein perform.
 
kilaana said:
Awesome! I like Ukulele Ike! I had never heard of him (aka Cliff Edwards) until I saw this post, and now I'm off to YouTube to hear more!
Click to expand...
Glad to send someone else off down the right path...but we have all heard of Ukulele Ike- he did this (as Jiminy Cricket) before my dad was born, Dad spent his formative years watching it, and thus, my sister and I probably saw it oh...ten thousand times.

Makes me smile still...kinda corny, but that is how I roll
 
Initially, George Harrison. I bought a uke right after he died and played it for a while. It was a terrible instrument and I put it down after a while. Then in January of '09, for some reason I picked it up again and started messing with it. I did some internet searching, saw Jake playing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", was blown away, decided I needed a better uke, and then totally lost my mind and now have (I think) 14 of them. I don't really have any interest in trying to play like Jake (although I'm not opposed to stealing little bits from him!). I then found George Formby, Cliff Edwards, and Roy Smeck. That's more the sort of thing I want to play. Of course, there are newer players that amaze me too. On Youtube, Krouk (and his amazing Martin collection) does the sort of music I hear myself playing (at least in my head). I'm probably forgetting a ton of people, but "that's how I roll"!
 
kilaana said:
Awesome! I like Ukulele Ike! I had never heard of him (aka Cliff Edwards) until I saw this post, and now I'm off to YouTube to hear more!
Click to expand...

Here's a little more about Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards. Most people don't know that he was the voice of Jiminy Cricket.
 
at first my family (ie cousins uncles) got me interested but they all played island reggae and i wanted to hear something different.

so when my dad popped in kapena into the CD player, i aspired to play like them
 
For me, It was my cousin who played at my father's funeral service...he's awesome...
MM Stan...
 
Roy Sakuma and Herb Ohta (Sr), and of course seeing Brudda Iz play live a couple times was a big push too. Oh almost forgot Troy Fernandez!
 
Nobody really inspired me to start. I MYSELF wanted to play. But the first guy to be a "hero" was Herb Ohta Jr. I got 'Ukulele Breeze at the library and thought it was just the bomb (it still is). Then I saw him in person on the steps in the Pahala Plantation house from about 5 feet playing Sir Duke and that was when I said: "Yeah. This is it."
 
My dad since before I could remember always bustin' out his Kamaka pineapple for kanikapila at our Friday night pau hana parties. I miss my dad allot and try to honor his memory in many ways the 'ukulele being just one.
 
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain needs a mention here. Their sense of fun and nice arrangements made me think there may be fun to be had with this instrument and it may be one that would inspire others to have fun with music too - 60 kids and staff at the school I work at on the last count, but lots more to come!
 
I've had my ol' Keech knocking around since I was born but use to tune it to GDAE (Mandolin tuning) as I couldn't afford a proper Mandolin. Recent inspiration though has been Todd Baio, AKA doogey9. http://www.youtube.com/user/doogey9

Something about his style that really grabs me, and he's a top bloke to know!!

Here's one of my faves...
 
I think when I was about 12 or 13 I was searching out of curiosity for different instruments on youtube, and ended up seeing finding a banjo ukulele video in the related videos tab. It was this video, I think:


And then I carried on watching more ukulele vids. I got a cheap 'Lazy' Ukulele from the music shop in my village. I originally wanted to get a banjo uke, but then found out how expensive they are (although there are a lot more makers now, at much more affordable prices).

My next uke definitely has to be a banjo uke.
 
Iz -> Jake -> Julia Nunes. Boom.
 
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