Cubby Doesn't Know Jake About Ukulele

As a kid growing up, Cubby O'Brien was my favorite Mouseketeer. He was a swell drummer and got to be paired with Karen all the time. Cubby's had a storied career as a professional percussionist, and here he is hanging out with Pismo. Cubby may not know who Jake Shimabukuro is, but he got to back up the Carpenters, so who cares?

Check out Pismo's video channel, too.

Laura Benanti, Broadway Uker

Broadway musical theatre star Laura Benanti has joined the advisory board of Ukulele Kids Club, a terrific non-profit that provides ukuleles to hospitalized children. Here's the story on Broadway World.

She's also has a UKC event coming up on August 1, 2020:

"On Saturday, August 1 at 6 PM EST, the latest Sunshine Concert will include Ms. Benanti and Ms. Epstein in discussion about the UKC and the #UKCBroadway program and announcing a special auction of a ukulele signed by Ms. Benanti. The Sunshine Concert series grew out of Ms. Benanti's wildly popular Sunshine Songs social media campaign as a way of sharing uplifting video performances with audiences that are more isolated and less active online, including seniors and hospitalized children. The Sunshine Concert on August 1 will be the sixth and final one of the current series."

Complete details of this and related events, here. 

In related news, Neal Chin, a wonderful ukulele teacher and player, will be holding an online workshop on Saturday August, 1, 202010:30 AM – 11:30 AM PDT. The workshop is free, with donations to Ukulele Kids Club welcome and appreciated. Here's a link to request tickets. Also, here's Neal's site.

Bartine Burkett

Buster Keaton was a big ukulele player. Here, Buster's leading lady, Bartine Burkett, plays a sweet pre-1920 Style 3 Martin in the 1921 short, The High Sign. She's pretty good. I'm trying to see if I can guess what tune she's playing. Find the scene at about 16:40 in this video. 

Who is That Masked Uker?

None other than the Ukulele Lady herself, May Singhi Breen.

During World War II, May served as the national director of Air Raid Precautions (ARP) for the American Women's Voluntary Services.

Here, from Popular Science magazine in 1942, is May wearing an emergency gas mask she fashioned out of a rubber bathing cap, fly swatters, and a powder puff box. (There's more to it, but those are the novel parts.) 

View the full article at this link. 

h/t Steve Nelson

Here's another image of May, in uniform, crafting the mask.

Remember: Wear your mask, and live to strum another day! Stay safe, friends.