'Til the Plows Come Home

Rachel Manke chills out with her spin on Jack Little and Joe Young's "I 'Wanna' Count Sheep - Till the Cows Come Home".

The Wheels on the (Tech) Bus

Here in Ukuleliastan, there are storm clouds brewing over the big Silicon Valley tech companies providing free bus service to employees. I caught this animated political cartoon by Mark Fiore and immediately recognized the singer and uker as the inimitable Ukulady, Thessaly Lerner. Link

The Ukulele Restoration Barn

Simon has restored more banjo ukuleles than you probably thought existed on the planet. Many lovely resurrections within. Link

Ukulele Joe Thomas

Meet Omaha's second most famous–and until now, mostly mysterious–ukulele player, Ukulele Joe Thomas.

Ukulele documentarian (rockumentarian? ukumentarian?) Bill Robertson has been searching for information on Mr. Thomas for 11 years. He finally heard back from the Douglas County [Nebraska] Historical Society yesterday. From the Society's facebook page:

"Let me introduce you to Ukulele Joe Thomas, a native of New Orleans and longtime Omahan, where he worked as private chef for the Union Pacific, often for the organization's top management when they traveled. 

Joe was also a musician, singer, and songwriter, and on his travels with UP frequently appeared at radio stations along his route. He and his ukulele appeared constantly on Omaha radio from the 1930 to the 1950s. 

Locally, Ukulele Joe was known as the "singing chef," and he had turned his entire home kitchen into an impromptu concert hall."

Link

(h/t Wm Preston Robertson)