Sweet Leilani - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Owens, Harry
Ain't Misbehavin' - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Brooks, Harry
The Man on the Flying Trapeze - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Unknown
Together - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Brown, Lew
Paper Doll - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Black, Johnny [1]
I'll Buy the Ring and Change Your Name to Mine - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Mills, Jack
Yes Sir, That's My Baby - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Donaldson, Walter
A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Berlin, Irving
It All Bleongs to Me - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Berlin, Irving
In the Gloaming - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Hill, Billy [1]
I Can't Get the One I Want - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Handman, Lou
True Blue Lou - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Coslow, Sam
Hang on to Me - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Gershwin, George
Soft Lights and Sweet Music - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Berlin, Irving
Paddlin' Madelin' Home - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Woods, Harry
My Melancholy Baby - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Burnett, Ernie
I Used to Love You (But It's All over Now) - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Brown, Lew
If I Had You - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Campbell, Jimmy [Vo
What a Night for Spoonin' - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Dreyer, Dave
Good Little, Bad Little You - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Green, Bud
A Song of Old Hawaii - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Beecher, W.G. Jr.
When You and I Were Young, Maggie Blues - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Butterfield, James
I Can't Give You Anything But Love - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Fields, Dorothy
Over the Rainbow - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Arlen, Harold
St. Louis Blues - Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards, Handy, W.C.
Although Cliff Edwards, also known as Ukulele Ike, was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1920s he is almost forgotten today. He was the first performer to do the classic "Singing in the Rain," he debuted Gershwin... more »'s "Fascinatin' Rhythm" in 1924, and he acted in over 100 movies. Unfortunately, he received no screen credit for his most famous role--as the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Walt Disney's Pinocchio. His version of "When You Wish Upon a Star" is still the definitive version of that classic song. Cliff Edwards deserves to be remembered, and a good place to rediscover him is on Singing in the Rain, a collection of songs from the 1910s, '20s, and '30s recorded for radio in the early '40s. He accompanies his jazzy vocals with his virtuoso ukulele playing. His performances have a surprisingly modern feel with none of the stilted quality that performers from the '20s can have. --Michael Simmons« less
Although Cliff Edwards, also known as Ukulele Ike, was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1920s he is almost forgotten today. He was the first performer to do the classic "Singing in the Rain," he debuted Gershwin's "Fascinatin' Rhythm" in 1924, and he acted in over 100 movies. Unfortunately, he received no screen credit for his most famous role--as the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Walt Disney's Pinocchio. His version of "When You Wish Upon a Star" is still the definitive version of that classic song. Cliff Edwards deserves to be remembered, and a good place to rediscover him is on Singing in the Rain, a collection of songs from the 1910s, '20s, and '30s recorded for radio in the early '40s. He accompanies his jazzy vocals with his virtuoso ukulele playing. His performances have a surprisingly modern feel with none of the stilted quality that performers from the '20s can have. --Michael Simmons
"My wife says she can always tell when I've been listening to this CD because I go around whistling and smiling. It's that kind of music. Cliff Edwards came to a sad end, but at one time he was one of the great natural singers of pop tunes. Like Louis Armstrong, he has fun with every song, and the fun is infectious. Some of the songs are hokey alright, but hey in fifty years whatever you think is hip is likely to sound hokey too. And some of the tunes, like Singing In The Rain and Over The Rainbow are timeless. Edwards has a great voice and he plays the ukulele like nobody else. Here it's just him and his uke and some un-named bass player, and the format suits him perfectly. His scat singing provides the extra 'instruments' and his falsetto provides the other voices. His energy and love of the music comes straight at you like sunshine through a fresh cleaned window. It's always summer with Ukulele Ike."
An intimate view of a seasoned Vaudeville star
Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 09/17/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Although he excelled on the Hawaiian ukulele, Cliff Edwards tilted towards the standards rather than island-themed material. On these 1943 wartime radio performances, recorded in NYC for Lang-Worth Transcriptions, Edwards is heard in his most unadorned state, just him, his uke and a standup bass. These recordings are less bouncy and more matter-of-fact than most of his studio recordings, but it's also nice to hear him in such a stripped-down setting, without an orchestra to drown him out. These recordings may be too sparse-sounding for some, but they still reveal a master entertainer, performing in a relaxed, easygoing setting. Brings a lot of these old songs home in a unique fashion."
Brilliant Sweet Standards!
Grendl X. | Los Angeles, CA United States | 08/23/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A must have album for anyone who is a fan of sweet music. It's just Cliff, his uke and an upright bass for the most part. Wonderful! A great introduction to uke music. A great introduction to the vocal music of teens thru thirties.BUY THIS RECORD!"
The Saddest Story
Kevin Killian | San Francisco, CA United States | 03/03/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Wait till you hear the passion and the wit with which Cliff sings the famous Billy Rose number, "The Night Is Young (And You're So Beautiful." I love the optimism and the subtlety of the lyrics, "When the lady is kissable, and the evening is cool, any dream is permissable--in the heart of a fool." Elsewhere the track uses the word "overamorous"--when was the last time you heard that in a song lyric?
Cliff was born in Hannibal, Missouri and had the class to brag that he hailed from the same burg as none other than Tom Sawyer. Like Tom Sawyer, he was a boy at heart. Even his trademark uke had a boyish charm to it, and he could wield it like nobody's business. It is said that at the top of his popularity, music stores were selling ukeleles at a rate of 250 a week, a feat unmatched ever since.
This LP, made in the 40s while Cliff's voice had attained a golden lustre, shows him at his best. It's simple, and unadorned, but you will surely get a tear in your eye when you hear him whisper:
"Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in to see you through/
When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true."
It didn't happen for Cliff Edwards, but it can still happen to you."