Today's Podcast- Cliff Edwards (Ukulele Ike)

I have a little radio thing I do, mostly with my old reggae and soul records on Saturday's but today I was not feeling my usual radio self, so I started spinning some Cliff Edwards.
Nothing really rare here- you all have this stuff if you like Ike, but for the uninitiated-
Well, here you go. Figured it would be of interest to some of ya. If you have not heard Ukulele Ike- go and do so. He was the greatest.
http://dlaurice.podomatic.com/entry/2011-10-15T13_51_47-07_00

wonderful show Dave, a real treat mate. Geez, how many amazing tunes did Ike have in his ol' kit bag.
:cheers:

Delightful show. Thank you for posting it here.

Allen

Thanks for tuning in fella's- Eugene, I think that man could probably have knocked on out of the park every coupla minutes...sad how life turned out for the old boy. Gotta do my part to make sure folks know how great he was

The recordings of Cliff Edwards made me start playing the ukulele again after a 30-year hiatus. I can't even begin to say how highly I regard his artistry. Everyone who tries to make him better known is a friend of mine.

The "With My Little Ukulele In My Hand" collection has a disc that is 80% Cliff Edwards and 20% Johnny Marvin. It never leaves my car's CD player.

absolutely wicked thanks for sharing with us, i loved it, i am defo going to do some checking out on him now , have a great week and keep on plucking

Loved it. Thank you. You know Dave, you are way cool.

Oh this is a treat! And there I was thinking I was going to have to do some work today...

can't believe I missed this one..... good stuff, Dave......

Glad you all enjoyed it- all I did really was string it together- the real thanks goes to Cliff for making all these great tunes

David!

You did more than just "string it together". I've been a big Cliff Edwards fan, based primarily on one recording: "Singin' in the Rain" from the Jazzology label here in New Orleans.

I think for ukulele players, those 1940s recordings (very good sound) are the best place to start with Ike - either solo on ukulele or w/ stand-up bass; it's the best way to really hear his ukulele playing style. The songs are classic and he's in great voice as well. I wondered why none of those recordings made it onto your podcast?

Selfishly, I'm glad they didn't. Your selections were wonderful and probably give a more complete picture of the whole art of the man. Lots of ukulele, but lots of wonderful music in other settings as well (with the perfect finish).

To me, he was way underated as a jazz man. Here we have Louis Armstrong as our beacon (best there ever was - best there ever will be), and a lot of people credit him with the invention of scat style singing. While none did it better, Ike actually was doing it first, and doing it beautifully. And with a 3 octave vocal range, he was a lot more than just the best ukulele player of all time, he was a jazz age icon.

Your compilation is wonderful! It took me a couple of listenings to take it all in. By the second listening, I couldn't stop tapping feet, slapping hands and snapping fingers. There's no greater compliment than what they'll say here if you deserve it: "the cat can really swing!"

Sure was sweet, and you've really done something nice for the ukulele community with this podcast.

Aloha Dave,
Thank you for sharing...love them golden oldies...yes they are sweeeeeeet!!!!

'I'm going to give it to Mary' kills me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bp4ASEm-ys&feature=related

Makes Formby sound clean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-zGN0j3-nQ&feature=related

Ooh and check out this one. Look at his fingers - such a unique style!

I like the Ukulele and am practicing to see if i can make wonderful music like you guys.

Thanks for the nice compliments all-
arah, if that was me playing I wouldn't be flogging it out on the radio for sure- I would be SELLING it.
Doughnut- that clip is one of my favorites because I can see his hands- the comping on the chords and the strum style is quintessential- guy was gold, and his voice sounds so AWESOME on this one
Dirk- I have been waiting to pull the trigger on the Jazzology compilation because I could not find where any of it was done or what the sound quality was- good stuff huh? Maybe today is the day. Just scratching the surface with the Ukulele stuff- never listened to any of it before about a year ago when I got addicted
You are absolutely right about Louis, but Cliff, for as little known as he was, is certainly a powerhouse- thanks for the nice compliments on the show and the new heads up on more tunes- so glad you liked it.