Arthur Godfrey with Baritone || Jamaica Promotion

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1961-Arthur-Godfrey-Ukulele-Photo-Jamaica-Vintage-Travel-Vacation-Magazine-Ad-/151390920631?_trksid=p2054897.l5665

Doris Day & Arthur Godfrey || Deep Blue Sea (Bari at the Movies)

There's also Doris Day's Que Sera, Sera at the end...

Arthur Godfrey 1966 || S'Wonderful

I started perusing Gary's Ukulelia and found this jewel.

eBay Photo: Arthur Godfrey Sings

Check out this album cover that I found on eBay. It is of the 50's and 60's television personality Arthur Godfrey with his Vega baritone ukulele...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ARTHUR-GODFREY-Sings-LP-Harmony-Columbia-HL-7192-Vinyl-Record-Album-/130698689700?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item1e6e3fbca4#ht_2715wt_1163

Sandor’s Baritone Ukuleles

I have known Sandor (it's Hungarian and pronounced "Shawn-door") for about 5 years now. He is one of the original triumvirate of leaders of the World Famous Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz and is one of those rare individuals that makes everyone feel very welcomed. Sandor always has a great intensity for this fine instrument and will engage all inquiring minds with enthusiastic vigor. At the club meetings he wears many hats: greeter, M.C., teacher, techmeister, recorder, sound man, dancer, and of course, musician...

His love for woodworking, as well as his having written more than a dozen books in the past 20 years (quite a few are now, sadly, out of print) and he's written literally hundreds of magazine articles on woodworking, tools, and DIY topics. He was Senior Editor of Fine Woodworking magazine, West Coast Editor of American Woodworker, and is currently a Contributing Editor to the Woodworker's Journal magazine. His business travels gave him many opportunities to explore the country in search of the humble ukulele. He also has his own author page on Amazon were you can see his books

I had the opportunity to visit Sandor's home recently and he shared his treasures with me. Now here is your chance to see some of his baritone ukuleles and get a taste of his eloquent writing. I am honored to be able to share this with you...

I’ve been playing ukulele for more than 35 years, and collecting ukes for nearly 30 of those years. In addition to the many soprano and concert sized ukes in my collection, are a number of baritone instruments (as well as a handful of tenor guitars). My favorite baritones are the ones shown in the photograph: Standing on the far left is a Favilla B-2 baritone, built by the company who’s founder, Herk Favilla, likely invented the baritone-sized ukulele. The B-2 is a real “bomber” of a instrument, with a deep mahogany body and a very loud, full tone. It’s a well constructed uke with good intonation and it’s a pleasure to play. Because it’s loud and hearty, I really like to use when performing at outdoor venues, like around the campfire at “Burning Uke” (the annual campout of the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz).

Standing next to the Favilla is the odd Arthur Godfrey baritone. The uke’s manufacturer Vega chose to call this instrument a “Solo Lute,” probably to distinguish it from the two lesser-model baris that the company made back then. The Solo Lute is a dream to play on jazzier songs, as it’s neck joins the body all the way up at the 17th fret! This allows easy access to the upper register, great for soloing and playing more complex chord melodies. It has a spruce top, so it’s quite a loud instrument which has a decent voice that’s different from other mahogany or koa baris that I’ve played. The shaded (sunburst) finish applied to the top, back, sides and even the neck of the Solo Lute make it look like a real jazz instrument (think of a vintage Gibson L-5).

On a stand at the right of the photo is my trusty Martin style 51 baritone uke—the first bari I ever purchased (I think I paid $250. for it back in the late 80s) It’s an all-solid-mahogany instrument, with celluloid tortoiseshell purfling, probably built in the 60s. The Martin was my “go-to” instrument for most of the 10 years that I performed with the “UkeAholics,” a vintage rock trio that featured myself on bari or bass, well-known crooner Ukulele Dick on soprano uke and Eric Conly on tenor. We all sang as well. The 51 Martin has a very even tone—not too bassy or trebly—and thus is a terrific instrument to record with. In fact, I used this bari on several cuts on the UkeAholic’s 2009 CD: “Vintage Rock ‘N Roll with a Twist.” It’s also got great intonation—which is more than I can say for the Harmony baritone that’s laying on the case in the lower part of the photo.

Also probably of 60s vintage, the Harmony is, by far, the cheapest bari I own, both in terms of its purchase price and construction integrity. Since it’s made out of mahogany plywood, it sounds pretty cheap too—no rich harmonics from this beast. But it’s a sturdy, serviceable uke and I’m glad I own it. It’s the uke to take on any excursion where my uke might take a beating or get a soaking (beach soirees; canoe trips, drunken picnics, etc.). I actually had two of these Harmonies, one of which was given to me as a gift. I re-gifted that bari to a friend for his young son. My friend wanted to start his son out on an “easy to play” instrument that would allow him to transition to guitar as he got older—which is exactly what happened.

A real jewel in my ukulele quiver is the baritone that I’m holding: A custom-made Tony Graziano instrument. Acquired as part of a trade deal (I photograph all of Tony’s instruments for his website, portfolio, and promotional materials), this uke has a creamy German-spruce top with sides and back made from precious Brazilian rosewood that has a stunningly beautiful grain figure. Its 14-fret neck is carved out of mahogany and capped with an ebony fret board. The uke’s tone is graceful and lovely: bright without being tinny; deep without being boomy. It also records very well, and it’s slightly-wide fret board makes it a great finger picking instrument; I used it for the Flamenco introduction to “California Dreaming” on the UkeAholic’s CD. My only complaint in recording this instrument is that the spruce top gives this bari a tone that sounds too much like classical guitar. In fact, quite a few people who heard “California Dreaming” thought it was played on a guitar!

I’m happy to have acquired quite a few other baritone ukes over the years, including three different Mastro “Islander” models, all made from injection-molded styron plastic by none other than Mario Maccaferri (he designed the famous Selmer jazz guitars popularized by Django Reinhardt). I also own several “electric” baritones, including a custom Graziano that’s designed after the famous Hofner violin-bodied “Beatle Bass.” (More on these other baritones in a later installment).

Doris Day & Arthur Godfrey || The Glass Bottom Boat

A few days ago I heard Terry Gross interviewing Doris Day on her 88th Birthday. My wife Wendy and I like watching old movies and have enjoyed several of Doris' movies. There are ukulele scenes in a few of the early movies. The one below actually features a Baritone Ukulele.

Doris Day Fresh Air Interview

Here's my Ukuleles In Movies Page from Humble Uker.

Arthur Godfrey || The Best of... the Old Redhead

Short wikipedia reference.

Bearetube || Cliff Edwards on the Arthur Godfrey Radio Show

This interview was from 1943. Bearetube has been an e-friend for a few years now. We met by competing for old ukulele player photos on eBay and decided to cooperate and share our collections from time to time. His name is Terry C and has provided some of the best posts for me to share on Humble Uker Ramblings. If you check out his Bearetube YT channel you will find many "slideshow" type video compilations with many photos of  Ukulele Ike and days gone by.

Here Cliff plays the GCEA ukulele but the Baritone Ukulele connection comes from the host/interviewer Arthur Godfrey who was quite the proponent of the Bari. Cliff's scat singing in It Had To Be You really brings the crowd to life. Here's a sketched image of Arthur Godfrey with a baritone ukulele.

PHOTO: Nancy Hamilton 1926

SABBATICAL broken... I have a wedding to go in Monterey, California to this weekend and that's not going to work well with my plans to do some recording. So, I'll have to postpone the plan. AND I was really itching to share this photo.

I was being bad on my sabbatical and read Gary Peare's information about a search engine that would look for least likely items: www.bananaslug.com and came up with this absolutely glorious picture of Nancy Hamilton dated 9/9/1926. This photo surely looks like a bari to me and could put the whole Favilla vs. Godfrey question on the hotseat.

Here's another FANTASTIC PHOTO found on SHORPY

http://www.shorpy.com/node/4249

VINTAGE Arthur Godfrey || S'Wonderful (Gershwin and Ukulele Hollywood Palace 1966)

Many thanks to kardboardkid for posting this spectacular bit of history...

PHOTO: Pat Boone with Baritone Ukulele

Pat Boone is in this a Flea Market Music photo collection too ...

Antebellum Instruments || Arthur Godfrey Baritone Ukulele

Jake Wildwood is a musician and restorer of old and odd instruments in rural Vermont. He always takes photos of his projects and below is a beautiful Arthur Godfrey baritone ukulele. Read Jake's story on his blog Antebellum Instruments and see more photos too.

http://antebelluminstruments.blogspot.com/2011/01/happy-new-year.html

Tiki King || Notes on the History of the Baritone Ukulele

Tiki King (right) Comtemplates with Otto (left)

mini jen's Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20223456@N00/3494411992/

I had a conversation during the November 2010 Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz meeting with Tiki King. I told him about this blog and how much I was finding on the Baritone Ukulele. He told me that he had done some research on the history of the Baritone Ukulele but never obtained enough information to come to a definitive solution. Below is a copy of his (preliminary & unfinished) research that he agreed to share with us...

I would also like to note that Tiki King has been active in the ukulele community. He is a performer, luthier, and artist. I believe he is the creator of all of the Flea and Fluke designs for Jim Beloff of Flea Market Music. I have two of his CD's, a couple of Tiki necklaces that I purchased from past Northern California Ukulele Festivals in Hayward, California. Now, he has a new brick & mortar-type store in Felton, California, called: Ukuleles of Felton.

The Tiki King occupies a very high place in the Top 50 Ukulele Sites, at number 18, and you can visit his site here, Tiki King. Here is the article he had started on the Baritone...

“Proof is simply finding enough people who agree with you” Anonymous

Things are being invented all the time. Some will go on to fame and popularity, some will not. Some will be patented, trademarked and copywriten, and, some will not. But one thing is certain. At some point someone will say, “you know, (insert name here) was the one who really invented that” And so it goes. With very few exceptions we can never really know who “invented” anything, only who was the first to document it, and even then the debate will rage. So it is with the Baritone Ukulele. We have, for the most part accepted that the “Ukulele” was born in Hawaii following the arrival of the Ravenscraig in 1879. “but wait” some my say, ”there are photographs of people holding Ukuleles that predate the Ravenscraig.” Well, that depends on how you look at it. There are indeed photographs of people holding small four string instruments, such as braginas or machetes, which are similar, but what we call the Ukulele was a modification to these instruments.

So in my opinion, it was not a Ukulele until it became the Ukulele, and that was some time after 1879. Once again it comes down to documentation. If there is no recorded mention of the Ukulele before 1879, then we must assume it did not exist.

I have endeavored to find documentation of the the birth of the Baritone Ukulele, and it has been a difficult task. By all accounts I can find no mention of the Baritone that predates 1948. There have been several documents, letters, etc, from the early fifties that mention the introduction of the baritone “some years ago” or “some years back.” I found one hand invoice for a baritone that was dated 1964 and said “fifteen years old.” I have found many mentions of a “Guitar-Uke” as well as a “Uke-I-Tar.” Such as in the book “EZ Method for Ukulele and Ukulele Banjo: Self Instruction and Teachers Use: Ukulele: Tiple, Uke-I-Tar, Guitar-Uke, and Taropatch” which was Published by Wm J Smith Music Co., Inc. New York c. 1924.

So does this mean that there was a baritone type instrument as far back as the mid 20’s? Possibly, but I doubt it. I think it was more a case of capitalizing on the popularity of the Ukulele by adding the “Uke” prefix to a tenor or parlor guitar.

There are generally two camps when it comes to the who invented the Baritone. Those who believe that it was Herk Favilla, and those who believe it was Arthur Godfrey. Both can be traced back to the same period, but certainly one was indeed first. So, how do we prove who was the father of the Baritone? What it boils down to is Documentation. I have always assumed that the Favillas rightfully held claim to the title, but to be honest, never sought any proof. I have had correspondence with Tom Favilla, who was the last to build the Favilla instruments, and his story seemed to make sense. According to Tom, 'The idea of the Baritone uke was my fathers for his young guitar students, and was first built as custom models by his father (my grandfather John in the late 1940's).' It first appeared in a Favilla price list as a regular part of the Favilla line in 1948 or 1949... Herk Favilla wrote 'the Baritone ukulele method' in 1949 (published 1950), Second printing 1951. This information is backed up by the library of congress." So, if he wrote a book in 1949 it would seem to place the Baritone in Favilla’s hands at least then.

On to Arthur Godfrey. Arthur Godfrey was an avid musician, and star of Radio and Television in the late 40’s 50’s. and 60’s. He had several shows, such as “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent scouts”, (1948 to 1958) “Arthur Godfrey and his friends” which ran from 1949 to 1957 There was also a short lived show called “Arthur Godfrey and his Ukulele” which was only on the air from April to June of 1950

Eddie Connors, credited by some as the original designer of the baritone ukulele. There was also the Vega line. such as the "Classic Lute" and "Solo Lute" made for Godfrey around 1961. Interesting note. On the soundhole lable on a vega deluxe "classic lute" baritone, I found the patent numbers 2,460,443 and 2,468,374. 2,460,443 is the patent number for a photographic enlarger, and 2,468,374 is for a hollow body arch-top electric guitar patented by vega in 1949.

I did find an ad for a Vega baritone which read: Vega baritone uke, 1950, EXF, formerly owned by Eddie Connors, the original designer of the baritone ukulele, #1 handwritten on label, comes with 1950 newspaper clip of Connors with this uke. This would seem to mean that the first baritone built by Vega was in 1950.

Thanks Tiki King!

Humble Uker || Strumming "Arthur Godfrey" Vega Baritone

I was at the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz yesterday for a club meeting. Bob Rainey is a person I seek out because he always has a new or used instrument to share. He had this Arthur Godfrey model Vega Baritone Ukulele that he bought on eBay really cheap!

photo credit: Ryan Guetersloh

This uke was a bit rough when he received it and Bob sanded and refinished it. Some previous owner must have cut and reset the neck which is noticeable at close inspection and creates a minor angle where the neck meets the body. Bob also strung the uke with Worth Clear Low-G UNWOUND strings. I just had to test it out using Howie's intro for Nirvana's Come As You Are.

I am not able to state whether I think these unwound strings are ideal. That slight angle in the neck would give me some G-string "slap" whenever I gave it a good pluck. Worth makes a clear set and a brown set. Ron Hale did some research and found them for sale at the Elderly Instuments site.

More Arthur Godfrey Videos [Store Here] Baritone

Arthur Godfrey Sings His Version of "For You" - 1953


Arthur Godfrey and Janette Davis
If I Had You On A Desert Island (78 rpm record)

The Mamas & The Papas and Arthur Godfrey
Be My Valentine 01/29/66
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5CyTffG6uk&feature=related

Arthur Godfrey - Makin' Love Ukulele Style

Arthur Godfrey & Haleoke - Mele Kalikimake

Cliff Edwards was a guest on Arthur Godfrey's radio show in 1943. Godfrey is credited with inventing the baritone ukulele. Edwards was in his forties at the time of this recording.

Arthur Godfrey & Doris Day || Glass Bottom Boat & Que Sera, Sera

Here's a clip from the 1960's Doris Day Movie "The Glass Bottom Boat." Here's two big personalities from the 50's and 60's. Nice to see there was a movie with a little Baritone in it.




What's My Line? This shows a bit of his personality and fame.
(Do you play, pardon the expression, a musical instrument?)
What type of a question is that?

Hey, I'm Stealing Images from HumbleUker

Yes, I have the original of this great Arthur Godfrey performance.

Here he's plating a beautiful Martin Baritone.

I also have the movie Glass Bottom Boat

from the 60's, Doris Day is the headliner

but in the middle of the movie they sing 2 songs

while Arthur plays the Baritone Ukulele.