John Robert King (John) (October 13, 1953 – April 3, 2009) was a

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

player known for his interpretation of classical music.

Early life and education

The son of a

navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

pilot, King was born in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. His father's position took the young King to Hawaii for a few years in his childhood, where he was introduced to the ukulele by his mother. Despite his early start in the ukulele, he initially showed no aptitude for the instrument, but quickly became a proficient

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

player, studying at one point with both

Pepe Romero Pepe Romero (born 8 March 1944, in Málaga, Spain) is a classical and flamenco guitarist. Biography Early life Pepe Romero was born in Spain, the second son of celebrated guitarist and composer Celedonio Romero, who was his only guitar ...

and his father Celedonio. King attended

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

and later took a post as a guitar teacher at

Eckerd College Eckerd College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. Founded in 1958, part of the campus is waterfront (area), waterfront and beach on Boca Ciega ...

—where he taught for 30 years—in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, a city that became his home for life.

Ukulele revolution

Upon learning that the ancestor of the modern guitar was tuned similarly to the ukulele, he reacquainted himself with the instrument, commissioning an Italian

luthier A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...

to make a classical ukulele for him. With it, he revived a guitar-playing technique from the Baroque era: succeeding notes are played on different strings, allowing the previous note to continue ringing. Known as campanella style, which means 'little bells' in Latin. His influential book The Classical Ukulele is part of Jim Beloff’s Jumpin’ Jim’s Ukulele Masters series. King's repertoire ranged widely, but he is particularly noted for his interpretation of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

. In 2008, the

Journal of the Society for American Music The ''Journal of the Society for American Music'', published quarterly, is a Peer review, peer-reviewed academic journal and the official journal of the Society for American Music. It is published by Cambridge University Press and edited by Loren ...

called King "perhaps the world's only true classical 'ukulele virtuoso'". Luthier Joel Eckhaus made King's "Strad Uke" modeled after one of the five Stradivari guitars. King is featured in a short segment in the extras on the DVD release of ''Mighty Uke: The Amazing Comeback of a Musical Underdog'', a 2010 documentary on the ukulele. According to The Journal of the Society for American Music, John King is "the worlds only truly classical ukulele virtuoso".

Works

King recorded two records and wrote several books of ukulele arrangements. He did extensive research into the history of classical guitar and the ukulele, writing numerous essays. He wrote an encyclopedia of Hawaiian luthiers. He was working on a history of the ukulele with Jim Tranquada at the time of his death which was published in 2012, ''The Ukulele: A History'', published by the University of Hawaii Press.

Death

King died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at his home at the age of 55.

References

Works and external links

* * * * * 1953 births 2009 deaths American ukulele players Eckerd College faculty 20th-century American musicians {{US-musician-stub