UkeQUESTors

Proposed Playlist

 

Alabama Uke Fest

Sept. 24-25, 2021

Lake Guntersville, Ala.

 

Zoom Jam - Main Page

The UkeQUESTors Main Page

The UkeQUESTors at Facebook

 

The 2021 Alabama Uke Fest, sponsored by the Ukulele Band of Alabama, has been cancelled due to the Delta variant.

 

May 17, 2022

The group has been asked to perform at a gig on June 25th. We'll play this set for that gig if we can get enough people to participate. 

Sept. 24, 2021

Updated songsheets for the 2021 Alabama Uke Fest, posted Aug. 24. There are two different sets.

1. Uke Fest Song Sheets (from which we will perform):

2. Uke Fest Song Sheets ("Play It With The Pros") are for practice only. These song sheets are in the same key as the original hits, so we can play and sing along with the hit recordings (depending on one's range). The intent is to help perfect timing, phrasing, etc. Note that the song sheets for "Ticket To Ride" are a different arrangement; you don't have to hit every chord . . . just get a sense of the phrasing.

By the way, we are performing in the same key as The New Vaudeville Band performed "Winchester Cathedral."

If you don't have a capo, this would be a good time to get one. Two of the songs (as originally performed) are a one-key difference, so a capo at the second fret will allow you to play along with the original hit recordings using the song sheets from which we have been rehearsing and from which we will be performing.  

Individual song sheets of the "top six" have also been updated.

 Deep in the Heart of Bama (C F G).pdf and Deep in the Heart of Bama (C-D Key Change).

 

Title - Key - Last Update

YouTube Link

A Summer Song (F / A / C / D) (9/9/21)

A Summer Song by Chad & Jeremy (1984)

Mr. Tambourine Man (Version 5a) (G / D / C) (9/10/21)

Dylan's Original Lyrics:

Mr Tambourine Man by The Byrds (1965)

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head (C / F / G) (9/9/21)

Billy Joe (B. J.) Thomas, five-time Grammy award winner and Grammy Hall of Fame inductee, passed away, Saturday, May 29, 2021. Over his career, Thomas sold 70 million albums worldwide, had eight No. 1 hits, and 26 Top 10 singles. Among his other hits were “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” “I Just Can’t Help Believing,” “Don’t Worry Baby,” and “Hooked on a Feeling.” He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Gloria, three daughters, and four grandchildren. B. J. Thomas, Wikipedia. Obituaries at CNN, Rolling Stone, and Variety.

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head by B. J. Thomas (1969) from the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"; this was his first #1 hit.

The Bicycle Scene from the movie

River (D / E / G) (9/9/21)

River by Bill Staines from "The Whistle of the Jay"

River by Bill Staines (instrumental recording plus lyrics and music melody line) ("Easy Sheet Music Play Along")

River by Bill Staines with the Mystic Chorale (with some nice harmonies)

River by Bill Staines at the Iron Horse Concert Hall in El Dorado, Kansas on the afternoon of Sunday, May 18, 2008

Ticket to Ride (C / A / G) (6/3/21)

Ticket to Ride by The Beatles (1965) included on their album "Help!"

Ticket to Ride - Live at Wembley (1965)

Winchester Cathedral (C / G) (9/9/21)

Winchester Cathedral by The New Vaudeville Band (1966) (in imitation of Rudy Vallee)

Winchester Cathedral by Rudy Vallee (1967)

Songs That Have Been Removed From The Playlist

We may wish to consider them again in 2022, together with any other songs that don't make the cut.

 

Title

Key

Baton Rouge (C / G)

Baton Rouge by Guy Clark

The Dock of the Bay (G / C / D) (6/3/21)

This song was recorded by Redding twice in 1967, including once just days before his death in a plane crash. It was released in January 1968, becoming the first ever posthumous single to top the charts in the US. (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay, Wikipedia. See note below: *

Here are two articles by Jim D'Ville about "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay." The first article is at his website, "Connect The Chords: The Dock of the Bay." The second article is at Ukulele magazine (from the Summer 2021 issue), "Jim D’Ville Teaches the Otis Redding Classic ‘(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay’ for Ukulele."  Interesting reading if you'd like to get a better understanding of the unusual and interesting structure of this song.

The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding (1967)

The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding (Official Music Video)

Rain (Lennon-McCartney) (C / G)

Rain by The Beatles (1970)

Ripple (G / C / D) (6/3/21)

When asked by Rolling Stone to name a certain lyric of which he was particularly proud, lyricist Robert Hunter responded, “Let it be known there is a fountain / That was not made by the hands of men. “That’s pretty much my favorite line I ever wrote, that’s ever popped into my head. And I believe it, you know?”
For “Ripple,” Garcia constructed a melody that was pure and humble, tinged with a bit of sadness. By the time they got to “Ripple”, the Grateful Dead had nearly perfected the harmonies that provided comfort when the words evoke hardship.
The song nods at different religions and philosophies, from the Christian overtones of the lines about cups both empty and filled, which recall the 23rd Psalm, to the Buddhist koan feel of the refrain, which breaks off from the straightforward rhyme scheme of the verses to form a loose type of haiku, another example of East meeting West in the song.
Behind The Song: The Grateful Dead, “Ripple”, American Songwriter

Ripple by the Grateful Dead (1970)

Rockin' Robin (C)

Rockin Robin by Bobby Day (1958)

Rockin Robin by Michael Jackson (1972)

Sweet City Woman (C / D / G) (6/3/21)

Sweet City Woman Tutorials and Covers:

 

Sweet City Woman by The Stampeders (1971) (Studio Version)

Sweet City Woman by The Stampeders (Official Video)

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling (C) (6/2/21)

Original Sheet Music:

When Irish Eyes are Smiling by The Irish Tenors (Full Song, 2011)

When Irish Eyes are Smiling by John McDermott (Full Song, 2014)

When Irish Eyes are Smiling by Dennis Day (Full Song, 1954)

When Irish Eyes are Smiling by Bing Crosby (Chorus only, 1939)

When the Red Red Robin (C)

When The Red Red Robin by Al Jolson (1926)

When The Red Red Robin by Doris Day (1954)

When The Red Red Robin by Bing Crosby (1956)

Will the Circle Be Unbroken (C / D / G) (6/3/21)

Originally written by Ada R. Habershon & Charles H. Gabriel in 1907, it was recast by A.P. Carter and recorded by the Carter Family as Can The Circle Be Unbroken (1927). In time, it reverted to it's original title. Here's the page from a 1908 hymnal that contained the original tune and words: Will The Circle Be Unbroken (from Alexander's Gospel Songs).

Will Be The Circle Be Unbroken by June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash

Will The Circle Be Unbroken by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Johnny Cash, Ricky Skaggs, Earl Scruggs, Mark O'Connor and several other top country stars.

Will The Circle Be Unbroken by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with Doc Watson and featuring Mother Maybelle Carter (1972)

Wonderful Tonight (C / D / G) (6/3/21)

Eric Clapton wrote this song while his fiancée (later wife) Patty Boyd was getting ready for a party at the home of Paul and Linda McCartney. Ms. Boyd has an unusual distinction: at least five hit songs have been written about her including Clapton's "Layla" and three songs by Boyd's former husband, George Harrison: "If I Needed Someone," "Something," and "For You Blue."

Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton (1977)

Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton (Official Live)

* Eight artists have hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 posthumously according to an article on the Billboard.com website, XXXTentacion, The Notorious B.I.G. & Other Artists Who Hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 Posthumously by Xander Zellner, Billboard (6/27/2018), accessed April 30, 2021.

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