10-12-2013, 02:47
But the twenties had other influences. Starting about 1915, Hawaiian music became a huge rage in the U.S. Hawaiian sheet music sales and recordings were the hottest sellers by far. The guitar started to overtake the banjo in popularity because people wanted to learn to play Hawaiian music which used the guitar instead of the banjo. By the 1920s, American music was thoroughly Hawaiianized. Two of the biggest stars of that era were Roy Smeck and Ukulele Ike (real name Cliff Edwards). Both played the ukulele and were so popular that people began playing ukes more than guitars. If you wonder why so many songs from the 20s are played on ukes, now you know. Roy Smeck was an amazingly talented musician:
[video=youtube;RcQYt7xvA8M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcQYt7xvA8M[/video]
