Hawaian Guitar Banjo Ukulele & Guitar 1926-1949

Roy Smeck | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 15, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Yazoo
• ASIN: B000000G7R
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #179,180 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #9 in Music > World Music > Pacific Islands > Hawaii > Ukulele

Track Listings

1. 12th Street Rag

2. Frettin' Blues

3. Shuffle Off To Buffalo

4. Limehouse Blues

5. Nifty Pickin'

6. Tough Pickin'

7. Slippery Fingers

8. Steel Guitar Rag

9. Tiger Rag

10. Guitarese

11. Farewell Blues

12. Ukulele Bounce

13. Bugle Call Rag

14. Laughing Rag

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ., January 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Hawaian Guitar Banjo Ukulele & Guitar 1926-1949 (Audio CD)

Four decades before Jimi Hendrix played guitar with his teeth, Roy Smeck was biting the strings on America's vaudeville circuit. An astonishing instrumentalist already, Smeck had to compensate for his lack of a singing voice by developing jokes and visual guitar gimmicks. Among his tricks were simulating a banjo duet on a single banjo, or playing Yiddish, Chinese or Scottish instrumental versions of "Yes Sir, That's My Baby." Roy could play anything with strings on it, and he could do it upside down, behind his back, or both. Eventually Hollywood discovered him and he was featured in the first talking picture ever. Ironically, "talkies" proved to be the downfall of vaudeville, and with it went Smeck's career. But to this day, Smeck remains America's original guitar hero. His virtuosity is rivaled by few, and this superb collection by Yazoo features 14 intrumentals with nothin' fancy but incredible playing.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dazzling, fireball fingerpicking, November 12, 2002

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Hawaian Guitar Banjo Ukulele & Guitar 1926-1949 (Audio CD)

Hotshot trick guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Roy Smeck tore up the Vaudeville circuit in the 1920s and early '30s, playing a dazzling mix of jazz, blues and Hawaiian-style music on guitar, banjo, mandolin and ukulele. He also became a world-famous author of countless music instruction books... This CD samples some of his best Hawaiian-style recordings of the 1930s, ranging from straight Hawaiian music to ragtime-y material and jazzy flights similar to Django Reinhardt's early stuff. Cool record, though you have to be really into instrumental material to sit through the whole disc. Nice sound quality, too!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A WHIZ!, August 12, 2006

By 

COMPUTERJAZZMAN "computerjazzman" (Cliffside Park, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hawaian Guitar Banjo Ukulele & Guitar 1926-1949 (Audio CD)

Roy Smeck could play any type of stringed instrument and play it like a man posessed. This CD covers the years 1926-49. He was truly a guitar whiz, and you will be amazed by his dexterity! If you like this type of music, you will probably also enjoy the music of Sol Hoopi and "King" Benny Nawahi.