Sunday, February 20, 2011

Laurie Lee C.: Amazing Grace / You Gotta Move

Today’s Spiritual Sunday tune is one I found by accident last night. I was searching for something by Rod Stewart and this popped up in the suggestions and I saw “Baritone Ukulele Medley on a 40s Harmony UKE Lap Slide” and I had to listen to it. While I remember seeing Martin Mull playing a soprano ukulele with a baby bottle as a slide on TV in the early 70s, I never heard anyone play slide on a baritone uke.

The baritone uke is usually tuned like the four high strings on a guitar as D G B E only with nylon strings. Obviously Laurie Lee C. has detuned it to a chord – specifically to a G chord as D G B D; however, it appears that she has detuned it an octave lower than normal – really it has become a slack key bari uke.

Arthur Godfrey is the father of 
the baritone uke as it was his idea

While I am featuring the first two songs this morning “Amazing Grace” and Mississippi Fred McDowell’s “You Gotta Move,” Laurie Lee also continues with Rod Stewart’s “Gasoline Alley” and “Michael Row Your Boat Ashore.” A refreshing take on all four of these songs with the excellent voice and slide uke work by Laurie Lee C.





2 comments:

  1. Hello, Jim, ...I am Laurie Lee C:-) ...thanks for finding me....My Lazy lady uke method was arrived at because I can barre all the frets, and arrive at most chords. To suggest a minor I barre less strings,..the vocal often supplies the missing notes....my "lazy lady method" causes familiar old tunes, classics to jump out of that old uke...it is like "passing go" on a board game,,,why work too hard, when you can go straight to having fun? I also find my fingers really struggle forming chord positions...one of these days, I will try to film a tutorial...the old Uke is strung with classical guitar strings,,sounding a lil different than nylon. Again--thank you..music is a wonderful thing to have in life and to share:-)
    Sincerely, Laurie

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  2. Thanks Laurie for sharing. It is a refreshing technique that you have.

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