There are many, myself included, that put a great deal of the credit on Jim and Liz Beloff for the current wave of ukulele popularity in the United States and the rest of the world. Chances are pretty high that if you play ukulele you have a number of Jumpin’ Jim’s song books in your collection. Many uke clubs use the big yellow The Daily Ukulele for their jam sessions. Regulars at ukulele festivals and workshops all over the world; Jim and Liz add a touch of familiarity and family to the gathering. Their welcoming personalities are a big part of their success!
Flea Market Music has been teasing a new Beloff book for several months. I was tempted to pre-order on Amazon, but The Magic Fluke Company sent out a message a few weeks back that they had autographed copies available, so I sent my order off to Phyllis and Dale Webb. A week before the official release date, a personalized autographed copy arrived, signed by both Jim and Liz Beloff. (And a nice note from Phyllis as well!)
The book follows the story of Jim and Liz through their careers and the establishment of Flea Market Music, the origins of The Magic Fluke Company and all the ukulele greats they have encountered in their lives. Liberally illustrated with photographs of parts of Jim’s ukulele collection and other ukulele memorabilia, it is a fun read and ties together many bits and pieces of the famous ukulele players they have collaborated with, sung with, interviewed and learned from. This capsule of ukulele history is a great addition to any library!
My first encounter with Jim Beloff himself was through creating a Wikipedia article about him. I had discovered that many of the big names in the ukulele community did not have entries in this repository and set about creating one. I sent him an email with a draft of the content to validate things. Since then I have kept it current and even taken the photo displayed on the site. We finally met at a workshop he conducting at Elderly Instruments in Lansing and a number of other occasions in the Michigan area. Below: Jim Beloff, The Ukulele Dude and Liz Beloff.
The Great Uke State of Michigan is nicely represented, including a picture of Jim’s performance of Uke Can’t be Serious with the Michigan Philharmonic. And highlighted in the center of one photo is a Midwest Uke and Harmonica Camp t-shirt (I have one!) where Jim provided some workshops, as well as a couple of great performances.
Bottom line: If you want to get a feel for the recent history of the ukulele and the people involved, this is the book for you!
Great content! Keep up the good work!
Thanks.