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Clifton Avon Edwards (June 14, 1895 – July 17, 1971) — known as "Ukulele Ike" — was an American singer and voice actor who enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early '30s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop standards and novelty tunes. He had a number-one hit with "Singin' In The Rain" in 1929. He also did voices for animated cartoons later in his career, and is best known as the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Walt Disney's ''Pinocchio'' (1940). ==Early life and musical career== Edwards was born in Hannibal, Missouri. He left school at age 14 and soon moved to St. Louis, Missouri and Saint Charles, Missouri, where he entertained as a singer in saloons. As many places had pianos in bad shape or none at all, Edwards taught himself to play ukulele to serve as his own accompanist (choosing it because it was the cheapest instrument in the music shop). He was nicknamed "Ukulele Ike" by a club owner who could never remember his name. He got his first break in 1918 at the Arsonia Cafe in Chicago, Illinois, where he performed a song called "Ja-Da", written by the club's pianist, Bob Carleton. Edwards and Carleton made it a hit on the vaudeville circuit. Vaudeville headliner Joe Frisco hired Edwards as part of his act, which was featured at the Palace in New York City, the most prestigious vaudeville theater, and later in the Ziegfeld Follies. Edwards made his first phonograph records in 1919. He recorded early examples of jazz scat singing in 1922. The following year he signed a contract with Pathé Records. He became one of the most popular singers of that decade, appearing in several Broadway shows. He recorded many of the pop and novelty hits of the day, including "California, Here I Come", "Hard Hearted Hannah", "Yes Sir, That's My Baby", and "I'll See You In My Dreams". In 1924, Edwards performed as the headliner at the Palace, the pinnacle of vaudeville success. Also in that year, he was featured in George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin's first Broadway musical ''Lady Be Good'', alongside Fred and Adele Astaire. In 1925, his recording of "Paddlin’ Madeleine Home" reached number three on the pop charts. His recording of "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" was number one for one week on the U.S. pop singles chart in 1928. The following year, his recording of "Singin' In The Rain" was number one for three weeks. Edwards's own compositions included "(I'm Cryin' 'Cause I Know I'm) Losing You", "You're So Cute (Mama O' Mine)", "Little Somebody Of Mine", and "I Want To Call You 'Sweet Mama'". He also recorded a few "off-color" novelty songs for under-the-counter sales, including "I'm A Bear In A Lady's Boudoir" and "Give It To Mary With Love". Edwards, more than any other performer, was responsible for the soaring popularity of the ukulele. Millions of ukuleles were sold during the decade, and Tin Pan Alley publishers added ukulele chords to standard sheet music. Edwards always played American Martin ukuleles favoring the small soprano model in his early career. In his later years, he moved to the sweeter, large tenor ukulele more suitable for crooning, which was becoming popular in the 1930s. Edwards' continued to record until shortly before his 1971 death. His last record album, ''Ukulele Ike'', was released posthumously on the independent Glendale label. He reprised many of his 1920s hits, but his failing health was evident in the recordings.〔Glendale Records GL-6011 LP, 1978〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cliff Edwards」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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