• Cinematic Strumming: The Jerk

    THE JERK (1979)

    Director: Carl Reiner

    Stars: Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Catlin Adams

    WIDELY regarded as one of the funniest films of all time, The Jerk tells the sorry story of Navin R. Johnson (Martin), the adopted son of a poor black family from Mississippi who decides to strike out on his own. 

    The only trouble is Navin is incredibly naïve and the laughs come thick and fast as he stumbles from one ridiculous situation to the next, until one day he learns that an outlandish invention has made him a millionaire, albeit temporarily.

    Along the way, Navin falls in love with a beautiful woman named Marie (Peters) and they do a sweet duet of the 1926 classic Tonight You Belong To Me, with Navin supposedly strumming a soprano ukulele. In reality, the tune was recorded by jazz uke legend Lyle Ritz and overdubbed. 

    On the excellent ‘26th Anniversary Edition’ DVD of the movie, Californian ukulele chanteuse Janet Klein (billed as ‘Ukulele Gal’) teaches a simplified version of the song, while a more complex Ritz arrangement can be found in the songbook Jumpin’ Jim’s Ukulele Masters: Lyle Ritz – Jazz (2000).

    As a result of the success of The Jerk, Tonight You Belong To Me has become synonymous with the ukulele and has been covered by a number of artists, including Amy Nelson and Cathy Guthrie (daughters of Willie Nelson and Arlo Guthrie, respectively) on 2005’s Folk Uke and Eddie Vedder and Cat Power on Vedder’s 2011 album Ukulele Songs.

    This article originally appeared in Issue 5 of KAMUKE Ukulele Magazine, which is available in the STORE

  • Ukulele Stories: Janet Klein

    For Episode 10 of the podcast, it’s my great pleasure to bring you an interview with the incredible Janet Klein. Since 1998, the charming uke-playing chanteuse and her hot band The Parlor Boys have been recording and performing rare and forgotten musical gems from the 1910s, ’20s and ’30s. 

    During lockdown, she’s been presenting her “Hit Of The Week” Parlor Party, an online hootenanny that features interviews with fascinating artists and historians, as well as plenty of fabulous music. 

    I hope you enjoy our chat!

    Cameron

    janetklein.com

    janetklein.bandcamp.com

    facebook.com/janetkleinandherparlorboys

    kleinette.com

  • Ukulele Stories: William Preston Robertson

    WILLIAM Preston Robertson (above left) is the writer and co-director of 2003 documentary Rock That Uke. Narrated by Oscar-winning actress Holly Hunter, the quirky film looks at the punk rock ukulele scene that emerged in America in the 1990s and includes interviews with local punk luminaries, such as Carmaig DeForest, as well as our Issue 7 cover girl Janet Klein.

    RTU was heavily criticised at the time of its release, but to me – and many others around the world – it was nothing short of a revelation. When I finally met Bill in Sydney, Australia, I knew right away that we’d be friends. It was a great pleasure to reconnect with him for this episode. Happy listening!

    Rock That Uke is available on DVD exclusively here:
    kamuke.com/store/Rock-That-Uke-DVD

    *This episode of Ukulele Stories was recorded before the COVID-19 crisis.