Since the day UkeToob started way back in the waning days of ought-eight, all of the videos have been hand selected by yours truly. In the interest of opening up the site to some new voices and viewpoints, we will be turning over the reigns to a series of Guest Editors. Each Guest Editor will pick five of their favorite videos which we will bookend with two of their own videos that demonstrate their personal style and the inherent merits of their opinions.
Our first Guest Editor, Uncle Jeff, is a UkeToob favorite performer and regular tipster. In sharp contrast to his mean clawhammer, Jeff’s easy nature and earnest respect for fellow performers exemplifies the quality of character that makes ukulele players some of the best people to know on this planet. This video is a live version of the song that first brought him to our attention and it captures the essence of Jeff’s talent – an honest and unassuming performance that dares you not laugh with him….
YouTube Channel: UncleJeff64
Lyrics:
all of my songs are simple as heck
you could play every one on a 5 fret neck
i’m a simple man, i gotta sing a simple tune
one thing i can’t stand is a buncha chords
goin’ over my head i just get bored
i’m a 3 chord wonder just a-pickin’ out the e-z chord blues
virtuosity,
don’t do nothin’ for me
ah, simplicity
to me that’s the key (of G, C, D)
i had a chord book at a tender age
but i barely got past the very first page
i will admit i know a minor chord or two
any dang fool can be complicated
and being complicated is way overrated
i’m a 3 chord wonder just a-pickin’ out the e-z chord blues
virtuosity,
don’t do nothin’ for me
ah, simplicity
to me that’s the key (of G, C, D)
all of my songs are simple as heck
you could play every one on a 5 fret neck
i’m a simple man, i gotta sing a simple tune
one thing i can’t stand is a buncha chords
goin’ over my head i just get bored
i’m a 3 chord wonder just a-pickin’ out the e-z chord blues
Editors Note: Almost as if to prove our point about his generous nature, when Jeff submitted his five videos for the week he included a sixth video with these comments about the much maligned Tiny Tim:
Tiny gets such a bad rap, the freak from Laugh-In. But he was really a true American songster with a vast collection of forgotten tunes from the early part of the last century. It’s hard to find but Tiny Tim Unplugged (a solo gig recorded in a small collectibles shop towards the end of his life) is worth tracking down just to get a taste of what this misunderstood minstrel is really all about. That’s my 2 cents anyway.
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