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

janeray1940 said:
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.
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松井朝敬 and 高田マリオ are very famous here and nation wide. 松井朝敬 is very clever, he is very similar to Frank Zapa to me. ^^
I think there are two kinds of genius. One can express what he think by words, the other one can not express what he think by words. Mozart and Paul McCartney are both genius but I think they are latter. Their words and comments are not interesting. Miles Davis and John Lennon's comments are always interesting. 松井朝敬's comments are always very deep, funny and interesting.
 
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Hippie Guy said:
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?
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I was going to say, What? No Ledward???" until I realized i knew him as a slack-key guitarist for years before ukulele ever crossed my radar.
 
In Japan, I would add Iwao Yamaguchi.
Should include Benny Chong on the list.
 
We can do polls on this forum, right? How?
 
Fully agree on both Joe Brown and Gerald Ross. Would also add Lil Rev and those of us who like the popular music of the 1920's and 30's might consider Frank Crummit deserves a mention.
 
Among non-uke players around me, #1 is Tiny Tim. Jake and Iz are also known by a lot of non-players. George Harrison is also a name that pops up with ukulele, even though he had a bit of a career with guitar and some little band.
 
Non-uke players would also more readily know performers who play the uke like Zooey Deschanel, Eddie Vedder, Taylor Swift, Ingrid Michaelson, Mick Fleetwood, etc, but mostly because they're famous in their own right, not primarily for playing ukulele.
 
No one mentioned Roy Smeck? Arthur Godfrey?

There’s a bunch of names on that list I never heard of. Several great players who were left off but the list says famous. I can think of many players who I think of as both more well-known and better than those on the list. Sarah maisel. Craig Chee. Jason Arimoto. Fred Sokolow.
 
Ian Whitcomb. His one real hit, "Baby You Turn Me On" did not include ukulele. However, he accompanies his singing by playing the ukulele. And, he had a West Coast hit of the Al Jolson song "Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go with Friday on Saturday Night?" which featured the ukulele. That was in 1966 before Tiny Tim and is credited with reviving the ukulele.

One of the books he has written is "Ukulele Heroes: The Golden Age."
 
katysax said:
No one mentioned Roy Smeck? Arthur Godfrey?

There’s a bunch of names on that list I never heard of. Several great players who were left off but the list says famous. I can think of many players who I think of as both more well-known and better than those on the list. Sarah maisel. Craig Chee. Jason Arimoto. Fred Sokolow.
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Smeck and Godfrey were both mentioned. While I don't think the op's list was meant to be inclusive, I agree with what you say about Maisel, Chee, and the rest. Popularity and fame can be individual perception as much as skill level and everything else.
 
Part of the problem is this question is being posed on a ukulele site. If I ask who are the most famous mandolin players of all time, there would probably be a lot if deer in the headlights responses.

Maybe famous isn't the best adjective to use.

John
 
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70sSanO said:
Part of the problem is this question is being posed on a ukulele site. If I ask who are the most famous mandolin players of all time, there would probably be a lot if deer in the headlights responses.

Maybe famous isn't the best adjective to use.

John
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All good points. I think I could name just one mando player (Chris Thile) and I'm not even sure he's "famous."
 
70sSanO said:
Part of the problem is this question is being posed on a ukulele site. If I ask who are the most famous mandolin players of all time, there would probably be a lot if deer in the headlights responses.

Maybe famous isn't the best adjective to use.

John
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Bill Monroe, John McEwan, Ricky Skaggs, Dave Grisman, Sam Bush, Marty Stuart, Peter Ostroshko, Paul Prestopino...

To name but a few....
 
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