Here’s the complete lineup of the top 10 (or 11 if you’re going to be pedantic about it):

1. Sweet Child O’ Mine.
1.5 Back In Black.
2. Whole Lotta Love.
3. Paranoid.
4. Seven Nation Army.
5. Smoke On The Water.
6. Sunshine of Your Love.
7. Le Freak.
8. Satisfaction.
9. Gay Bar.
10. Iron Man.

I had fun putting this list together and people seem to have enjoyed it so I’ve decided to do 20 – 10 in the near future. Get your nominations in now.

Next up is spooky Halloween songs. If you’ve got any suggestions, leave a comment and I’ll see what I can do.

Sweet Child of Mine midi

Even on guitar, this riff is a real finger-twister. Even Slash himself had trouble with this one. It took him a number of retakes in the studio before he could get it right.

Transferring it to the uke certainly doesn’t make it any easier. Gio Gaynor struggles with it in his version and I’ve struggled to play it too. I’ve tried to minimise the amount of jumping around you have to do but it’s still very tough to play.

Best of luck to you if you decide to take it on.

Suggested by West

Back In Black midi

AC/DC are the gods of riff. They’ve continually churned them out over their 70-year long career and this riff has to be the best of them.

The opening riff, I’ve tabbed in the key of A (it’s the same shapes as the original transposed onto the uke).

Not content with one outstanding riff in a song, they decided this song deserves two. Most bands would base an entire career on a riff this could but AC/DC threw it away as a middle 8.

I’ve tabbed this riff in C (just to confuse/annoy you). The fingering gets a little tricky when the riff moves up to the fifth position. An alternative to the way I’ve tabbed it is to barre across the fifth fret throughout and play it the same as the open riff. Try out both and see which you prefer.

I heartily recommend you check out Baron Von Uke‘s version of the song.

Suggested by Stewart

Buy Back in Black

Whole Lotta Love midi

Almost universally referred to as ‘The Mighty Zeppelin’, anyone who says they’re not the greatest band ever to walk the earth is just plain wrong. The news that they are to reform is about the most pant-wettingly exciting thing to happen since the discovery of fire.

If you’re not familiar with the crosses in the tab, those are dead notes. To play them, you rest your fretting fingers on the strings (without pressing them down) and strum. You should get just a click.

Suggested by West

Buy Led Zeppelin I

The final part of my list tracks you might want to grab as your free tracks when you sign up for eMusic.

Josephine Foster

21. Celebrants Song

A particularly out-there freak folk multi-instrumentalist. On this track, baritone uke notes splatter themselves against the wall while her voice mumbles something medieval sounding. It’s quite something to behold.

Foster, her voice and her uke are also part of Born Heller.

Tiger Lilies

22. Hardest Bastard

The Tiger Lilies are one of those love them or hate them groups. The sing twisted music hall numbers in a Monty-Python-woman voice while wearing make-up and bowler hats.

They are responsible for the most blasphemous song every written Banging In The Nails and plenty of ukulele offense-fests.

Ohta San

23. Kaulanna O Hilo Hanakahi (with Jimmy Kaopuiki)

Laid back, sunshine melodies from Herb Ohta.

The Asylum Street Spankers

24. I’m A Bear In A Ladies’ Boudoir

Ukulele provided by Shorty Long mainman Pops Bayless. Do you need to know any more?

Another band with a decidedly ribald sense of humour. They play in a hokum style resurrecting old tunes such as Shave ‘Em Dry (Lucille Bogan’s too hot for the 30s jazz number) and this track made famous by Ukulele Ike. Both these tracks come from their must have EP Nasty Novelities.

As well as old covers they write their own material and cover more modern songs – such as The Beastie Boys’ Paul Revere, Black Flag’s TV Party and Nine Inch Nails’ Closer – in the hokum styles (but do it more convincingly than Hayseed Dixie).

Mahealani Uchiyama

25. Kaveka

My favourite thing about eMusic is stumbling upon great music I’d never have heard of otherwise.

Uchiyama is primarily a dance and that shines through in her music – heavily rhythmic Polynesian and irresistibly dance-able. The tracks are dominated by percussion – even the ukes become percussion instruments.

There are plenty of tracks I didn’t have space to mention ranging from hip-hop ukulele, to Tiny Tim, to wildly avant garde Musique concrete, to Ian Whitcomb’s recreation of ragtime songs. You can check out a list of all the ukulele tracks I could find on eMusic. They even, I’ve heard others say, have tracks that don’t include the ukulele. So go grab your free tracks and scurry away before they start charging you.

Click here to get these tracks on eMusic.

Other parts:
Part one
Part two
Part three

Paranoid midi

Black Sabbath are the only band to have two riffs in my top ten. Surprising, since I don’t even like them that much.

Whereas most riffs bludgeon their way into your subconscious through endless repetition, this one is played only four times at the opening of the song and not heard again. A testament of how strong it is.

I want to clear something up before we get started: I do not use manga trivia to chat up hookers.

Back to business, watch the best of the week’s uke videos over the fold Read the rest of this entry »

Dominator tabs Going To California (not the Jake Shimabukuro version).

KDUS pointed in the direction of this video of Calexico on the ukulele. Also there is a video of Jeremy Warmsley crooning his way around Brussels.

PJ Harvey pictured with cigar-box ukulele in The Guardian.

If you couldn’t make it to SF for the Evolution of the Ukulele Exhibition, check out this extensive photo tour.

Homemade ukulele pick.

Cyberinsekt has an mp3 of Uncle Bob’s Ukulele Singers covering The Pixies Monkey Gone To Heaven and Foggy Ruins of Time has a ramshackle baritone uke track from Tinyfolk.

The eBay ukuleles I’m trying desperately hard not to buy.

I do like a good f-hole (and not just because I’m immaturely obsessed with double entendres). They’re also exceptionally sexy and look like they should be played by one of the characters in Heroes. So, I’m very impressed with Kala’s new electric archtop ukuleles available in black and sunburst and a dangerously affordable $225 price tag.

Martin stopped producing the 3K model in 1938. Is this a Martin 3k from the 1960’s? Apparently so.

For those of you that yearn for the heady days of 80’s hair metal, here’s a Les Reitfor double-neck ukulele.

The design on this 1920’s Lyon and Healy concert uke isn’t to my taste but it looks nicely done.

Finally, here’s the winner of the most endearingly ugly ukulele award.

Seven Nation Army midi

This tune looks like it’s becoming the Smoke On The Water of the 21st Century. It’s already become the bane of the life of everyone who works in a guitar shop.

I’ve beefed the riff up a little for the ukulele by adding a C-string drone i.e. keeping it ringing through the whole thing.

Suggested by uncle budd