A hint of ukuleles takes a set on this week’s The Phantom Dancer with Harry Reser and Wendall Hall from 1925 and 1931.

The Phantom Dancer is your two hour non-stop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s – 1960s radio and TV.

Hear the show and past Phantom Dancers at the Radio 2SER website.

Presented by Australia’s only authentic 1920s-1930s singer, this week’s Phantom Dancer also has a set of shuffle from 1940s radio, Les Paul and Mary Ford from their 1950 radio series, and Charlie Parker from live January – February 1949 ‘Symphony Sid Show’ broadcasts

UKELELE

Synonymous with Hawaii and the 1920s Jazz Age, the ukulele harks back to the 1880s as a Hawaiian adaptation of the Portuguese machete. The name roughly translates as ‘jumping flea’.

Its popularity in Hawaiian music and culture came mainly through the royal patronage of King Kalākaua. He added it to the music played at Hawaiian royal gatherings.

A lute-like instrument, the uke commonly has four nylon strings. It can also have six or eight strings with strings paired.

Ukes come in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone. Sopranino and contrabass ukes are also played.

WORLDWIDE

The 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco is credited with having introduced the ukulele to the wider world (even though the ukulele was mentioned in print in New York in 1907 and related Hawaiian guitar duos were already recording for HMV London in 1914).

The Hawaiian Pavilion at the 1915 Exposition had a guitar and ukulele ensemble plus George E. K. Awai and his Royal Hawaiian Quartet and ukulele maker and player Jonah Kumalae.

The popularity of the ensembles with visitors launched a fad for Hawaiian-themed songs among Tin Pan Alley songwriters. These made the uke as big a hallmark of 1920s America as The Charleston and the Raccoon coat.

In fact, Tin Pan Alley sheet music up to the swing era often had ukulele tablature printed on top of the vocal and piano lead sheet for the home ukeist.

Japan is the second home for the uke. It was introduced to Japan in 1929 by Hawaiian-born Yukihiko Haida. The country still has big ukulele clubs.

In the UK, the ukulele is synonymous with 1930s comedian, George Formby, even though, Formby often played the banjolele.

The banjolele is a hybrid instrument consisting of an extended ukulele neck with a banjo resonator body. Bertie Wooster tried to learn banjolele much to the chagrin of his personal gentleman’s gentleman, Jeeves, in the P. G. Wodehouse novels.

RESURGENCE

Today, the ukulele has had a resurgence in popularity. The Jazz Age revival, the ukulele’s ease of play, its portability and its low cost has made it as popular today with amateur players as it was in the 1920s. There are even electric ukuleles.

In the Greg Poppleton 1920s-30s band, the ukulele is played by Chuck Morgan (playing the uke of a famous 1920s Hollywood star) and Grahame Conlon on Roaring ’20s songs like Tip Toe Through the Tulips and Singing in the Rain. Greg Poppleton band website

Your Phantom Dancer ukulele Video of the Week. It’s a June 1926 Vitaphone short featuring ‘The Wizard of the Strings’, Roy Smeck. He plays Hawaiian guitar, ukulele, then banjo in this pre-‘The Jazz Singer’ sound-on-disc short film. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y3f9CWCTes