action of the fingers upon the strings.

The Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915, held in San Francisco, included a Hawaiian ensemble that introduced both lap steel and ukulele to the mainland. Tin Pan Alley composers wrote popular songs for uke and Vaudeville performers began using it. Cliff Edwards aka “Ukelele Ike” did a lot to popularize the instrument. This was two decades before he became the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio. Sheet music from the ‘20s and ‘30s often included uke chord symbols. Arthur Godfrey played ukulele on radio, TV and in movies. However, beginning in the late ‘40s, most ukuleles were made of plastic, and unlike the wooden instruments they were not musically comparable. George Harrison, a long-time enthusiast, bought ukuleles for all his friends, but bythe late 1960s the once traditional folk instrument was mainly associated with quaint novelty acts like Tiny Tim and the Times Square Two.

Ukulele was out of favor for two decades during the rapid ascendancy of the guitar as a people’s instrument. It began a comeback in the 1980s as new manufacturers began making wooden ones again. The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, formed in 1985, has played all over the world:

Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (Bruddah Iz) also helped bring it back with his simple, emotional medley of “Over the Rainbow” and “What a Wonderful World“:

On the mainland, 21 year old YouTube sensation Julia Nunes (is she related to Manuel?) uses ukulele in support of her killer vocal chops, brilliant covers and original songs:

What’s my connection to ukulele? One of the