The Beatles On Ukulele Marathon

by Robin Hilton

Imagine hearing the entire Beatles catalog -- all 185 songs -- performed live by a sprawling group of musicians playing ukuleles. Now, imagine that the whole performance stretches over two days.

This is actually going to happen, and you can catch the whole thing as it unfolds at this year's 2nd Annual Beatles Complete on Ukulele Festival, scheduled for Dec. 6 and 7, at the intersection of North 8th Street and Williamsburg in Brooklyn, N.Y. It's being billed as a benefit for Yoko Ono. If you bring your own ukulele, you can play along and get in free.

Highlights from last year's marathon.

Producer Roger Greenawalt and David Barratt are organizing the marathon. It's actually way cooler than you might think. While all the songs are performed on ukulele, they also include drums and bass (and other instruments), and a large group of guest vocalists will sing them.

Every Tuesday this year, Greenawalt and Barratt have been releasing recorded versions of the songs (performed on ukulele, with guest singers) for free download online. They've also included a comprehensive essay about each song. Here are a couple samples:

"Across the Universe"
Performed by Krista Crommett, with Roger Greenawalt on Ukulele

Download (Right-click or control-click to save to your computer)

"I Am the Walrus"
Performed by The Newspaper Taxis

Download (Right-click or control-click to save to your computer)

You can hear and download many, many more tracks like these at The Beatles Complete on Ukulele Web site.

10:32 AM ET | 10-21-2009 | permalink

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