The ukulele from Hawaiian: ʻukulele [ˈʔukuˈlɛlɛ]), sometimes abbreviated to uke; is a member of the guitar family of instruments; it generally employs four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings.
The ukulele originated in the 19th century as a Hawaiian interpretation of the machete, a small guitar-like instrument related to the cavaquinho, braguinha and the rajao, taken to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants. It gained great popularity elsewhere in the United States during the early 20th century, and from there spread internationally.
The tone and volume of the instrument varies with size and construction. Ukuleles commonly come in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone.
The ukulele originated in the 19th century as a Hawaiian interpretation of the machete, a small guitar-like instrument related to the cavaquinho, braguinha and the rajao, taken to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants. It gained great popularity elsewhere in the United States during the early 20th century, and from there spread internationally.
The tone and volume of the instrument varies with size and construction. Ukuleles commonly come in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone.
A. History
1. Hawaii
Ukuleles are commonly associated with music from Hawaii where the name roughly translates as "jumping flea,"
perhaps due to movement of the player's fingers. Legend attributes it
to the nickname of Englishman Edward William Purvis, one of King Kalākaua's
officers, due to his small size, fidgety manner, and playing expertise. According to Queen Liliʻuokalani, the last Hawaiian monarch, the name means “the gift that came here,” from the Hawaiian words uku (gift or reward) and lele (to come).
Developed in the 1880s, the ukulele is based on two small guitar-like instruments of Portuguese origin, the cavaquinho and the rajao, introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants from Madeira and Cape Verde. Three immigrants in particular, Madeiran cabinet makers Manuel Nunes, José do Espírito Santo, and Augusto Dias, are generally credited as the first ukulele makers. Two weeks after they disembarked from the SS Ravenscrag in late August 1879, the Hawaiian Gazette
One of the most important factors in establishing the ukulele in Hawaiian music and culture was the ardent support and promotion of the instrument by King Kalākaua. A patron of the arts, he incorporated it into performances at royal gatherings. reported that "Madeira Islanders recently arrived here, have been delighting the people with nightly street concerts."
officers, due to his small size, fidgety manner, and playing expertise. According to Queen Liliʻuokalani, the last Hawaiian monarch, the name means “the gift that came here,” from the Hawaiian words uku (gift or reward) and lele (to come).
Developed in the 1880s, the ukulele is based on two small guitar-like instruments of Portuguese origin, the cavaquinho and the rajao, introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants from Madeira and Cape Verde. Three immigrants in particular, Madeiran cabinet makers Manuel Nunes, José do Espírito Santo, and Augusto Dias, are generally credited as the first ukulele makers. Two weeks after they disembarked from the SS Ravenscrag in late August 1879, the Hawaiian Gazette
One of the most important factors in establishing the ukulele in Hawaiian music and culture was the ardent support and promotion of the instrument by King Kalākaua. A patron of the arts, he incorporated it into performances at royal gatherings. reported that "Madeira Islanders recently arrived here, have been delighting the people with nightly street concerts."
2. Canada
In the 1960s, educator J. Chalmers Doane dramatically changed school music programs across Canada, using the ukulele as an inexpensive and practical teaching instrument to foster musical literacy 50,000 schoolchildren and adults learned ukulele through the Doane program at its peak in the classroom.
3. Japan
The ukulele came to Japan
in 1929 after Hawaiian-born Yukihiko Haida returned to the country upon
his father's death and introduced the instrument. Haida and his brother
Katsuhiko formed the Moana Glee Club, enjoying rapid success in an
environment of growing enthusiasm for Western popular music,
particularly Hawaiian and jazz. During World War II,
authorities banned most Western music, but fans and players kept it
alive in secret, and it resumed popularity after the war. In 1959, Haida
founded the Nihon Ukulele Association. Today, Japan is considered a second home for Hawaiian musicians and ukulele virtuosos.
4. United Kingdom
See also: Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
The singer and comedian George Formby was perhaps the UK's most famous ukulele player, though he often played a banjolele, a hybrid instrument consisting of an extended ukulele neck with a banjo[12] resonator body. Demand surged in the new century due to its relative simplicity and portability.
5. United States
Pre–World War II
The ukulele was popularized for a stateside audience during the Panama Pacific International Exposition, held from spring to fall of 1915 in San Francisco. The Hawaiian Pavilion featured a guitar and ukulele ensemble, George E. K. Awai and his Royal Hawaiian Quartet, along with ukulele maker and player Jonah Kumalae. The popularity of the ensemble with visitors launched a fad for Hawaiian-themed songs among Tin Pan Alley songwriters. The ensemble also introduced both the lap steel guitar and the ukulele into U.S. mainland popular music, where it was taken up by vaudeville performers such as Roy Smeck and Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards.
On April 15, 1923 at the Rivoli Theater in New York City, Smeck appeared, playing the ukulele, in Stringed Harmony, a short film made in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process. On August 6, 1926, Smeck appeared playing the ukulele in a short film His Pastimes, made in the Vitaphone sound-on-discfeature film Don Juan starring John Barrymore
process, shown with the Opening title for the short Vitaphone His Pastimes (1926)
On April 15, 1923 at the Rivoli Theater in New York City, Smeck appeared, playing the ukulele, in Stringed Harmony, a short film made in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process. On August 6, 1926, Smeck appeared playing the ukulele in a short film His Pastimes, made in the Vitaphone sound-on-discfeature film Don Juan starring John Barrymore
process, shown with the Opening title for the short Vitaphone His Pastimes (1926)
The ukulele soon became an icon of the Jazz Age.
Highly portable and relatively inexpensive, it also proved popular with
amateur players throughout the 1920s, as is evidenced by the
introduction of uke chord tablature into the published sheet music for popular songs of the time, a role that would eventually be supplanted by the guitar in the early years of rock and roll. A number of mainland-based instrument manufacturers, among them Regal, Harmony, and Martin, added ukulele, banjolele, and tiple lines to their production to take advantage of the demand.
The ukulele also made inroads into early country music or Old-time music. It was played by Jimmie Rodgers and Ernest V. Stoneman, as well as by early string bands, including Cowan Powers and his Family Band, Da Costa Woltz's Southern Broadcasters, Walter Smith and Friends, The Blankenship Family, The Hillbillies, and The Hilltop Singers.
The ukulele also made inroads into early country music or Old-time music. It was played by Jimmie Rodgers and Ernest V. Stoneman, as well as by early string bands, including Cowan Powers and his Family Band, Da Costa Woltz's Southern Broadcasters, Walter Smith and Friends, The Blankenship Family, The Hillbillies, and The Hilltop Singers.
From the late 1940s to the late 1960s, plastics manufacturer Mario Maccaferri turned out about 9 million inexpensive ukuleles.[22] The ukulele continued to be popular, appearing on many jazz songs throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.[23] Much of the instrument's popularity was cultivated via The Arthur Godfrey Show on television.[24] Singer-musician Tiny Tim became closely associated with the instrument after playing it on his 1968 hit "Tiptoe Through the Tulips."
C. Post-1990 Revival
After the 1960s, the ukulele declined in popularity until the late 1990s, when interest in the instrument reappeared. During the 1990s, new manufacturers began producing ukuleles and a new generation of musicians took up the instrument.Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwo'ole helped re-popularise the instrument, in particular due to his 2003 medley of "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World," used in films, television programs, and commercials.
The song reached #12 on Billboard's Hot Digital Tracks chart the week of January 31, 2004 (for the survey week ending January 18, 2004).
D. Types
E. Construction
Ukuleles are generally made of wood, though variants have been
composed partially or entirely of plastic or other materials. Cheaper
ukuleles are generally made from ply or laminate woods, in some cases with a soundboard of an acoustically superior wood such as spruce. More expensive ukuleles are made of solid hardwoods such as mahogany (Swietenia spp.) Some of the most expensive ukuleles, which may cost thousands of dollars, are made from koa (Acacia koa), a Hawaiian wood.
Typically ukuleles have a figure-eight body shape similar to that of a small acoustic guitar. They are also often seen in non-standard shapes, such as cutaway shape and an oval, usually called a "pineapple" ukulele, invented by the Kamaka Ukulele company, or a boat-paddle shape, and occasionally a square shape, often made out of an old wooden cigar box.
These instruments may have just four strings; or some strings may be paired in courses, giving the instrument a total of six or eight strings.
Instruments with six or eight strings in four courses are often called taropatches, or taropatch ukuleles. They were once common in a concert size, but now the tenor size is more common for six-string taropatch ukuleles. The six string, four course version, has two single and two double courses, and is sometimes called a Lili'u, though this name also applies to the eight-string version.[26]
Typically ukuleles have a figure-eight body shape similar to that of a small acoustic guitar. They are also often seen in non-standard shapes, such as cutaway shape and an oval, usually called a "pineapple" ukulele, invented by the Kamaka Ukulele company, or a boat-paddle shape, and occasionally a square shape, often made out of an old wooden cigar box.
These instruments may have just four strings; or some strings may be paired in courses, giving the instrument a total of six or eight strings.
Instruments with six or eight strings in four courses are often called taropatches, or taropatch ukuleles. They were once common in a concert size, but now the tenor size is more common for six-string taropatch ukuleles. The six string, four course version, has two single and two double courses, and is sometimes called a Lili'u, though this name also applies to the eight-string version.[26]
F. Sizes
Four sizes of ukuleles are common: soprano, concert, tenor, and
baritone. The less common sopranino has a nut to bridge of under 13
inches. The bass ukulele anchors the other end of the size spectrum.
The soprano, often called "standard" in Hawaii, is the smallest and was the original size. The concert size was developed in the 1920s as an enhanced soprano, slightly larger and louder with a deeper tone. Shortly thereafter, the tenor was created, having more volume and deeper bass tone. The baritone was created in the 1940s.
The soprano, often called "standard" in Hawaii, is the smallest and was the original size. The concert size was developed in the 1920s as an enhanced soprano, slightly larger and louder with a deeper tone. Shortly thereafter, the tenor was created, having more volume and deeper bass tone. The baritone was created in the 1940s.
| Type | Scale length | Total length | Tuning |
|---|---|---|---|
| soprano or standard | 13" (33 cm) | 21" (53 cm) | A4-D4-F#4-B4 or G4-C4-E4-A4 |
| concert | 15" (38 cm) | 23" (58 cm) | G4-C4-E4-A4, A4-D4-F#4-B4, or G3-C4-E4-A4 |
| tenor | 17" (43 cm) | 26" (66 cm) | G3-C4-E4-A4, G4-C4-E4-A4, A4-D4-F#4-B4, or D4-G3-B3-E4 |
| baritone | 19" (48 cm) | 30" (76 cm) | D3-G3-B3-E4 |
G. Tuning
The most common tuning is C6-tuning: G4 C4 E4 A4. The G string is tuned an octave higher than might be expected. This is known as reentrant tuning. Some prefer "Low G" tuning on the tenor, with the G in sequence an octave lower. The baritone is usually tuned to D3 G3 B3 E4, which is the same as the highest four strings of the standard 6-string guitar.
Another common tuning is D-tuning, A4 D4 F#4 B4, one step higher than the G4 C4 E4 A4 tuning. D tuning is said by some to bring out a sweeter tone in some ukuleles, generally smaller ones. This tuning was commonly used during the Hawaiian music boom of the early 20th century, and is often seen in sheet music from this period. D tuning with a low 4th, A3 D4 F#4 B4 is sometimes called "Canadian tuning" after its use in the Canadian school system, mostly on concert or tenor ukuleles, and extensive use by James Hill and Chalmers Doane.
Hawaiian ukuleles may also be tuned to open tunings, similar to the Hawaiian slack key style.
H. Related instruments
Ukulele varieties include hybrid instruments such as the guitalele (also called guitarlele), banjo ukuleleharp ukulele, and lap steel ukulele. There is an electrically amplified version, the electric ukulele. The resonator ukulele produces sound by one or more spun aluminum cones (resonators) instead of the wooden soundboard, giving it a distinct and louder tone. The Tahitian ukulele, another variant, is usually carved from a single piece of wood, and does not have a hollow soundbox.
Close cousins of the ukulele include the Portuguese forerunners, the cavaquinho (also commonly known as machete or braguinha) and the slightly larger rajao. Other stringed variants include the Puerto Rican bordonua, the Venezuelan cuatro, the Colombian tiple, the timple of the Canary Islands, the Spanish vihuela, and the Andean charango traditionally made of an armadillo shell. In Indonesia, a similar Portuguese-inspired instrument is the kroncong.[31] (also called banjolele),
Close cousins of the ukulele include the Portuguese forerunners, the cavaquinho (also commonly known as machete or braguinha) and the slightly larger rajao. Other stringed variants include the Puerto Rican bordonua, the Venezuelan cuatro, the Colombian tiple, the timple of the Canary Islands, the Spanish vihuela, and the Andean charango traditionally made of an armadillo shell. In Indonesia, a similar Portuguese-inspired instrument is the kroncong.[31] (also called banjolele),
A Little Uke History....
"Hawaiian Nights", by John Kelly
ORIGINS AND LEGENDS
When the Ravenscrag arrived in Honolulu on the afternoon of
August 23, 1879, it was carrying 419 Portuguese immigrants from the
island of Madeira to work in the sugar cane fields. It had been a long
and hard journey of over 4 months and some 15,000 miles. In celebration
of their arrival, Joao Fernandes borrowed his friend's braguinha,
jumped off the ship, and started playing folks songs from his native
land on the wharf. The Hawaiians who came down to the dock were very
impressed at the speed of this musicians' fingers as they danced across
the fingerboard and they called the instrument "ukulele", which
translates into English as "jumping flea". You see, that was the image
conjured up by those flying fingers.
At least that's one of the stories about the origin of the name "ukulele". Typical to much of Hawaiian history, there are several accounts of how the ukulele got it's name. Queen Lili'uokalani thought it came from the Hawaiian words for "the gift that came here", or "uku" (gift or reward) and "lele" (to come). Another legend says the instrument was originally called "ukeke lele" or "dancing ukeke" (ukeke being the Hawaiian's three stringed musical bow). The name, being mispronounced over the years, became "ukulele". Another theory comes from a story about Edward Purvis, an English army officer and the Assistant Chamberlain to the court of King David Kalakaua, who was very adept at playing the braguinha. Since he was small and sprightly, the rather large Hawaiians nicknamed him "ukulele", the whole "jumping flea" thing all over again. Still another version of the origin of the world "ukulele" is attributed to Gabriel Davian and Judge W. L. Wilcox, who was a member of a well-known island family. According to the story, the two men were in attendance at a housewarming party at the Wilcox home in Kahili, where Davian was playing an 'ukulele he had made himself. When one of the guests asked what it was called, Davion jokingly replied that, judging from the way one "scratched at it," it was a "jumping flea". Wilcox, who was fluent in Hawaiian, was asked for the Hawaiian translation and is supposed to have answered, "'Ukulele!".
Over the years, the "jumping flea" legend, the one where Joao Fernandes'
fingers were jumping like fleas over the fingerboard, has become the
most accepted, probably because that is the coolest story and Hawaiians
just love a cool story.
I. THE UKULELE BECOMES POPULAR
The Hawaiian people took to the ukulele very fast and within 10 years it
had become Hawaii's most popular instrument. Much of this can be
attributed to Joao Fernandes, the original fellow who jumped off the
boat playing his home town folk songs. The story goes that he spent most
of his time walking around Honolulu playing his ukulele, spending so
much time at this, in fact, that his wife complained! The Hawaiians,
who had by now become familiar with the sounds of guitars and other
stringed instruments, liked what they heard. They became not only
listeners, but students as well. Additionally, the ukulele was easy to
learn to play and very portable.
Joao Fernandes
Also thanks to Fernandes, King David Kalakaua heard the wonderful music
from this small instrument and learned to play it. Fernandes recalled
how he and his friends would go to the king's bungalow where there were
"plenny kanakas (Hawaiians), much music, much hula, much kaukau (food),
and much drink. All time plenny drink and King Kalakaua, he pay for
all." The king designed and played his own instruments, learning from
Augusto Dias, at whose shop he was a frequent visitor. He was one of
Dias' most ardent patrons and even gave him permission to use the royal
seal on every ukulele he made.
zBesides Kalakaua, other noble ali'i who played the ukulele were Queen
Emma, Queen Lili'uokalani, Prince Leleiohoku, and Princess Likelike.
With such royal involvement, it was inevitable that the ukulele would be
accepted by the people, so much so that it long ago lost whatever royal
aura it may have had and has indeed become the "people's instrument".
By the late 19th Century, every Hawaiian music lover was strumming his
own ukulele - from taro farmers to fishermen as well as Kings and
Queens.
The Hawaiian Quintet, circa 1915
Since the popularity of the ukulele depended on them being around for everybody, manufacturing ukuleles was an important element in it's success story. On the original immigrant boat, Ravenscrag , there were several Portuguese who were capable of making musical instruments; Augusto Dias, Jose do Espirito Santo, and Manuel Nunes. In 1884, Dias opened a small shop on King Street for manufacturing and repairing musical instruments, especially guitars and ukuleles. Four years later, both Santos and Nunes had opened shop. Of these, the most successful seems to have been Nunes, as he and his son Leonardo were making ukuleles into the 1930s.
Manuel Nunes
Eventually, special wood cutting and wood shaping machines were developed to make ukuleles, but the early process of making them was a painstaking art, requiring many hours of work and all hand-made. How many ukuleles were made this way is unknown, but it would appear that the number was not great until the 1910s when productivity accelerated through the use of more modern equipment. The cost of a ukulele at this time was between $3 and $5, a considerable sum when you consider many people in those days only made $5 per month. Many people who could not afford a ukulele made their own out of coconut shell halves, cigar boxes, and other unusual material.
THE UKULELE COMES TO THE MAINLAND
ORIGINS AND LEGENDS
When the Ravenscrag arrived in Honolulu on the afternoon of
August 23, 1879, it was carrying 419 Portuguese immigrants from the
island of Madeira to work in the sugar cane fields. It had been a long
and hard journey of over 4 months and some 15,000 miles. In celebration
of their arrival, Joao Fernandes borrowed his friend's braguinha,
jumped off the ship, and started playing folks songs from his native
land on the wharf. The Hawaiians who came down to the dock were very
impressed at the speed of this musicians' fingers as they danced across
the fingerboard and they called the instrument "ukulele", which
translates into English as "jumping flea". You see, that was the image
conjured up by those flying fingers.
At least that's one of the stories about the origin of the name "ukulele". Typical to much of Hawaiian history, there are several accounts of how the ukulele got it's name. Queen Lili'uokalani thought it came from the Hawaiian words for "the gift that came here", or "uku" (gift or reward) and "lele" (to come). Another legend says the instrument was originally called "ukeke lele" or "dancing ukeke" (ukeke being the Hawaiian's three stringed musical bow). The name, being mispronounced over the years, became "ukulele". Another theory comes from a story about Edward Purvis, an English army officer and the Assistant Chamberlain to the court of King David Kalakaua, who was very adept at playing the braguinha. Since he was small and sprightly, the rather large Hawaiians nicknamed him "ukulele", the whole "jumping flea" thing all over again. Still another version of the origin of the world "ukulele" is attributed to Gabriel Davian and Judge W. L. Wilcox, who was a member of a well-known island family. According to the story, the two men were in attendance at a housewarming party at the Wilcox home in Kahili, where Davian was playing an 'ukulele he had made himself. When one of the guests asked what it was called, Davion jokingly replied that, judging from the way one "scratched at it," it was a "jumping flea". Wilcox, who was fluent in Hawaiian, was asked for the Hawaiian translation and is supposed to have answered, "'Ukulele!".
Over the years, the "jumping flea" legend, the one where Joao Fernandes'
fingers were jumping like fleas over the fingerboard, has become the
most accepted, probably because that is the coolest story and Hawaiians
just love a cool story.I. THE UKULELE BECOMES POPULAR
The Hawaiian people took to the ukulele very fast and within 10 years it
had become Hawaii's most popular instrument. Much of this can be
attributed to Joao Fernandes, the original fellow who jumped off the
boat playing his home town folk songs. The story goes that he spent most
of his time walking around Honolulu playing his ukulele, spending so
much time at this, in fact, that his wife complained! The Hawaiians,
who had by now become familiar with the sounds of guitars and other
stringed instruments, liked what they heard. They became not only
listeners, but students as well. Additionally, the ukulele was easy to
learn to play and very portable.Joao FernandeszBesides Kalakaua, other noble ali'i who played the ukulele were Queen
Emma, Queen Lili'uokalani, Prince Leleiohoku, and Princess Likelike.
With such royal involvement, it was inevitable that the ukulele would be
accepted by the people, so much so that it long ago lost whatever royal
aura it may have had and has indeed become the "people's instrument".
By the late 19th Century, every Hawaiian music lover was strumming his
own ukulele - from taro farmers to fishermen as well as Kings and
Queens.
The Hawaiian Quintet, circa 1915
Since the popularity of the ukulele depended on them being around for everybody, manufacturing ukuleles was an important element in it's success story. On the original immigrant boat, Ravenscrag , there were several Portuguese who were capable of making musical instruments; Augusto Dias, Jose do Espirito Santo, and Manuel Nunes. In 1884, Dias opened a small shop on King Street for manufacturing and repairing musical instruments, especially guitars and ukuleles. Four years later, both Santos and Nunes had opened shop. Of these, the most successful seems to have been Nunes, as he and his son Leonardo were making ukuleles into the 1930s.
Manuel Nunes
Eventually, special wood cutting and wood shaping machines were developed to make ukuleles, but the early process of making them was a painstaking art, requiring many hours of work and all hand-made. How many ukuleles were made this way is unknown, but it would appear that the number was not great until the 1910s when productivity accelerated through the use of more modern equipment. The cost of a ukulele at this time was between $3 and $5, a considerable sum when you consider many people in those days only made $5 per month. Many people who could not afford a ukulele made their own out of coconut shell halves, cigar boxes, and other unusual material.
THE UKULELE COMES TO THE MAINLAND
George E. K. Awai (seated) and his Royal Hawaiian Quartette at the
Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Franciso, 1915. Standing
(left to right): Ben Zablan (8 string ukulele), Bill Kaina (ukulele),
and Henry Komomua (guitar).
In 1915 the ukulele began it's popularity on the U.S. mainland. That was the year of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, where Hawaii hosted a pavillion. The exposition celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal and lasted for 7 months. With exhibits from countries all over the world it attracted more then 17 million people, an amazing number considering the population in those days. The Territory of Hawaii viewed it as an important opportunity to promote its products, land, people and tourism, and the legislature appropriated over $100,000 for a Hawaiian Pavilion. The main attraction turned out to be the Hawaiian show featuring hulas and songs which ran many times a day. The music created a sensation, with such great musicians as Jonah Kumalae, the ukulele maker, and the Royal Hawaiian Quartette. Legend has it that the song "On the Beach At Waikiki" was the first big hit. This was the first time that Hawaiian music had been promoted on the U.S. mainland and it soon swept the country.
The Royal Hawaiian Girls Glee Club in the garden of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, circa 1920s.
Hawaiian music had been presented at a number of expositions and fairs on the mainland before 1915. The Royal Hawaiian Band went to the Chigago Fair in 1895; Mekia Kealakai and his band had traveled to Buffalo for the World's Fair in 1901; and again the Royal Hawaiian Band went to the Lewis and Clark Exposition in 1905. But it was the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915 which had the greatest impact and started a Hawaiian music craze across the country. By the next year, Tin Pan Alley produced dozens of Hawaiian songs, more than it had ever done before. Also in 1916, Victor Recording Company listed 146 Hawaiian records sold on the mainland, more than any other type of music.
Pulu Moe Trio, left to right: Kaili Sugondo, Louisa Moe, and Pulu Moe.
By the late teens, Hawaiian music had become the most popular music on
the U.S. mainland and sales of ukuleles were booming. In 1917, a writer
for Paradise of the Pacific magazine observed: "Hawaii has captured
America. From every phonograph-shop come the strains of the "Hilo
March"...The boy in the street whistles "Hello, Hawaii, How Are You?".
Our music teachers have closed the piano and put aside the violin - in
order to live they advertise lessons on the ukulele and the Hawaiian
guitar. The ukulele, that little taro-patch guitar, has for some time,
as everybody knows, been a fad from one end of the United States to the
other....It is justly popular. It is small and easily packed and
carried. It is easy to learn how to manipulate a ukulele. It is a
symbol of innocent merriment...We should take off our hats to the little
Hawaiian ukulele."
Johnny Noble and the Moana Hotel Orchestra on the famed Moana Pier, circa 1920s.
Soon, the ukulele was taken up not only by Hawaiian musicians, but by Tin Pan Alley performers too, as it was the perfect little instrument for their style of music. Performers such as Cliff Edwards (aka Ukulele Ike) and Roy Smeck (aka The Wizard of the Strings) were nationally known ukulele musicians, performing live in theaters and on the radio, heard by millions of people. The craze even swept across the Atlantic to England, where George Formby was one of that country's most popular performers.
Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards and Roy Smeck
One effect of the mainland ukulele fad was the increase in demand for ukuleles, which led to a boom in ukulele manufacturing in Hawaii and also the mainland. Of the three original Portuguese ukulele makers, only Manuel Nunes remained. But by 1910, orders were coming in so fast that Nunes couldn't keep up and new competitors entered the field, including James Anahu and Jonah Kumalae, who in 1911 switched from being an ivory carver to a ukulele maker. In 1914, Kumalae opened a new factory that was able to turn out 300 instruments a month. Soon, many more ukulele makers entered the market, including Samuel K. Kamaka, Ernest K. Kaai, Clarence Kinney, and the Aloha Ukulele Company. Despite all of the competition, there seemed to be plenty of business to go around, as orders were streaming in not only from Hawaii, but all over the mainland.
Hawaii was soon to get a big jolt, however, as mainland guitar companies entered the ukulele market. The Hawaiian reaction even made national headlines, as evidenced by an article in the New York Times in September, 1915: "Hawaiians are angry... The Hawaiians, according to a report from commercial agent A.P. Taylor, are angry because certain manufacturers of musical instruments in the U.S. are making ukuleles and stamping them with the legend, "Made in Hawaii"....The thing makes a sweet jingle somewhat as fetching as the melody of mandolins and the word "ukulele" describes the Hawaiian appreciation of it, the wold meaning "dancing flea". The Hawaiians are devising a distinctive trademark which they will ask to have protected by legislation. They want authority to place on the instrument made in the Islands the legend: "Made in Hawaii, U.S.A." and making it a misdemeanor to use this legend on the instruments made in the U.S." Indeed, soon most Hawaiian made ukuleles had the word "Tabu" on them. When you find an old ukulele with this word, it was a Hawaiian made instrument from this era.
Andy Cummings and his Hawaiian Serenaders, about 1948. Left to right: Andy Cummings, Gabby Pahinui, David Nalu (steel guitar), Joe Diamond, and Ralph Alapai.
By the mid 60s, the second uke boom was over. Vietnam, rock and roll, Tiny Tim...there were a miriad of reasons. By the early 70s, Kamaka was the world's only manufacturer of ukuleles.
Modern ukuleles come in 4 sizes; soprano (or standard), concert, tenor and baritone. Typically they have 4 strings, but often the tenor has 5 (the two A strings are in unison), 6 (the C strings and A strings are an octave apart) and 8 (the G strings are an octave apart, the C strings are an octave apart, the E strings are unison, and the A strings are unison). By far, the most popular size in Hawaii today is the tenor.
THE WAIKIKI BEACHBOYS
Bing Crosby stummin' away with Waikiki beachboys (from left)Pua Kealoha, Chick Daniels, and Joe Minor.No one epitomized the Hawaiian lifestyle more then the Waikiki beachboys. These men have lived and worked on the Beach at Waikiki from the early part of this century to the present day. But the heyday of the beachboy was the 1920s and 1930s, when Hawaii was still a far off dream for most and the Beach at Waikiki represented a place of mystery and romance. Just the word beachboy conjures up the romantic past: a luxurious pink hotel; tandem surfing on huge, koa-wood boards; nicknames like Splash, Chick, Duke, Turkey Love, and Steamboat; and ukulele music playing late into the night under a full moon. This all happened at a beach once described as "curving in a gentle, flesh-covered arc toward Diamond Head".
During the filming of Bird of Paradise in 1931, beachboy Chick Daniels entertains movie stars Joel McCrea and Dolores Del Rio.
Many of the Waikiki beachboys were excellent musicians and composers, including Melvin Paoa, Squeeze Kamana, Pua Kealoha, Chick Daniels and Splash and Freckles Lyons. Legendary beachboy parties were held in the 1920s at the Moana pier (which jutted out from the beach at the Moana Hotel), where from sundown to sunup the beachboys would strum their ukuleles and sing Hawaiian songs.
Beachboy Panama Dave Baptiste and Mickey Rooney strum away in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
Some of the more famous ukulele beachboys: Squeeze Kamana; most beachboys could strum a uke, but Squeeze was extaordinary. He was trained at a music school in St. Louis. When he came back home, he entertained on the Matson ships. He then went to Hollywood and played as a musician there. Coming back home, he joined Al Kealoha Perry and the Singing Surfriders, a group which eventually became the house band for the Hawaii Calls radio shows. Squeeze, being an incredible soloist, chould finger chords with his left hand cupped from above as well as below the neck. He could even show off more by playing the uke behind his head! Chick Daniels, the head beachboy at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel for over 50 years, serenaded guests on the sand by day and performed at night with his band, the Royal Hawaiians. He not only performed in Hawaii, but also in Hollywood and on Arthur Godfrey's radio show in New York. Chick was renowned for his "pants-dropping" hula, where he would get up and dance to a quick Hawaiian tune and at the end drop his pants (usually wearing underwear, but one time he forgot he had no underwear on!).
]Beachboy Chick Daniels serenades guests at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
The Waikiki Beachboys, circa 1963]
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