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"Ukulele Dick"

Ukulele Dick serves up the finest in good old-fashioned musical entertainment! Perhaps Marc Parry says it best in his article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel:

"What do George Harrison, Kurt Vonnegut and William H. Macy have in common? They all love Ukulele Dick. For Santa Cruz musician Rick McKee, good music, like vintage wine, comes in limited quantity. His gem of a CD, "Ukulele Dick," has now sold halfway through its second pressing; and his new CD, "The Ukulele Dick Story", is a creative masterpiece.

UKULELE DICK CD:
Singing like a latter-day Mills brother (with a Marx brother's sense of humor), this deft ukulele man performs 15 classic songs from the 1920s to the 1950s and is skillfully backed by an assortment of 29 musicians, singers and actors. Richly textured in sound and dynamics, the CD is like a cabaret in a box, as Rick gives authentic, yet fresh rendition to each of the numbers, evoking the feel of a live performance.

Cole Porter's delightfully naughty "Let's Misbehave" sounds like a genuine Ô78 record, with Rick's warm, intimate voice counterpointed by sax and tuba. "It Had to Be You" features his wistful crooning over piano, tuba and ukulele syncopation. The Stephan Grapelli-like violin solos in "All of Me" and "Pennies From Heaven" hearken back to the Hot club jazz of Paris in the 30s, while Irving Berlin's toe-tapping "Puttin' on the Ritz" evokes the atmosphere of a New York speakeasy of the 1920s.

Rick does wonderful lipstrumentals (mouth music) on "Lulu's Back in Town," "It's Only a Paper Moon" and "My Blue Heaven," as well as inspired gargling and bathtub operatics in the 1929 hit "Singin' in the Bathtub," recorded with "Yellow Submarine" burbling effects. His vaudeville Cary Grant impression in "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and credible Elvis impersonation in the subtly Spike Jones-influenced "Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)" are equally zany.

There are strains of Chaplinesque pathos in "Penthouse Serenade (When We're Alone)" from 1931, with its plaintive violin and heavenly angel chorus. "When You Wish Upon a Star, which features the Paris String Quartet and a chirping cricket, was originally performed by Cliff Edwards (also known as Ukulele Ike) in the Disney movie "Pinnochio." Edwards was the voice of Jiminey Cricket.

Rick sent a dozen CDs from the first edition of "Ukulele Dick" as tokens of esteem to artists whose work he admired. The result: a handwritten letter from Beatle George Harrison (a uke player himself) stating, "It's really good!" A surprise phone message from author Kurt Vonnegut, who sang a verse of "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," then went on: "Thank you for the CD, it's just what I need. So innocent, yet so wise." A phone call from Hollywood actor William H. Macy ("Fargo"), who enthused, "I really loved your CD, man!"

So, in the words of the inimitable Ukulele Dick himself, I would suggest that you "Forget for an instant the troubles of your life. Listen to the music of your heart." (Sunday, December 17, 2000). Click Here to listen to cuts from the wonderful "Ukulele Dick" CD.

THE UKELELE CD STORY CD:
And Now Out! But not prematurely! His new CD: "The Ukulele Dick Story," which outlines the fictional musical history of his alter-ego through styles as diverse as cowboy, soul and South American music. From the 1930's to the new millenuim follow Ukulele Dick's travels around the world in pursuit of fame and fortune.

Exploring the many styles of pop music: 1930's jazz, Klezmer, Gene Autry, Chicago blues, Peruvian Andes festival music, Cuban changa, early rock Ôn roll, surf music, British invasion, psychedelic Ô60's, soul-funk-disco, techno-glam-rock, L.A. country rock, heavy metal world beat, Reggae, hip-hop, Hawaiian. Hear full production values with ukulele like you've never heard before. Read interviews with Dick's friends and associates. See him transform, chameleon like, from style to style through the decades. And it's here NOW!!!

Click Here to listen to cuts from the adventerous and entertaining "The Ukulele Dick Story" CD. "Guaranteed To Make You Smile!"