Israel Kamakawiwo'ole ("Iz") was one of Hawaii's greatest singers. Standing 6' 2" tall, at one point he weighed 758 pounds. Not entirely unexpectedly, he died at an early age -- just 38 years old. His sweet voice, huge size, wonderful cheerfulness, and ukulele made him one of a kind -- and a delight.
The most terrifying performance ever: Tiny Tim and Eleanor Barooshian do "I Got You Babe." Tiny Tim, who was most famous for playing a ukulele during his rendition of "Tiptoe Through The Tulips,” died in 1996. Most people are a bit amazed at his fame, but no doubt he had it, as he performed at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, and at the climax of his set, he sang “There'll Always Be an England” through a megaphone, which got a standing ovation. Barooshian was a member of the girl group "The Cake" which had the same manager as Sonny and Cher, Buffalo Springfield and Iron Butterfly. Though there is no uke in this performance, it's the scariest of all Tiny Tim performances and is included here for that reason. For Tiny on the uke, see >> here.
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (a terrific group) does a mash up of songs that go surprisingly well together. The group is composed of six ukes and a guitar, and these are very good musicians with very good voices too. True entertainment. Other great videos of these folks have them playing The Good the Bad the Ugly , Wuthering Heights, and Shaft.
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What? Not Arthur Godfrey video? How old are you really? ;-)
ReplyDeleteBrother Iz's medley is one of the most soothing and creative reinterpretations of two classic songs ever. I found him and that song a few years ago when his "oooh-ing" was featured in an ad on TV and I was entranced.
ReplyDeleteI chose to feature the song on the soundtrack for my Grandmother's funeral, playing over the speakers and during the video, it really brought the house down. I still play it almost daily in my car and sing along, it brings me so much comfort and nostalgic warm fuzzies.
It's endearing for the lyric changes and the just angelic quality to Iz's voice.