Cliff Edwards

Clifton Avon "Cliff" Edwards, also known as "Ukelele Ike", was an American singer, actor, and voice actor, who enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, 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) and Jim or Dandy Crow in Walt Disney's Dumbo (1941). Also at Disney, he sang "Yankee Doodle Spirit" in the wartime Donald Duck short The New Spirit, which he co-wrote with Disney composer Oliver Wallace. 
==Early life and musical career==
Edwards was born in Hannibal, Missouri. He left school at age 14 and soon moved to St. Louis, 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 the ukulele (then often spelled "ukelele") to serve as his own accompanist (selecting that instrument as it was the cheapest in the music store). He got the nickname "Ukelele Ike" from a club owner who could not remember his name. He got his first break in 1918 at the Arsonia Cafe in Chicago, Illinois, where he performed a tune called "Ja Da", written by the club's pianist, Bob Carleton. Edwards and Carleton made the tune 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 theater in vaudeville, and then 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 the decade, and appeared in several Broadway shows. He recorded, in his distinctive style, many of the pop and novelty hits of the day, such as "California, Here I Come", "Hard Hearted Hannah", "Yes Sir, That's My Baby", and "I'll See You in My Dreams".
In 1925, his recording of "Paddlin' Madeleine Home" would reach number three on the pop charts. In 1928, 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 1929, 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)", "Stack O' Lee", "Little Somebody of Mine", and "I Want to Call You 'Sweet Mama'". He also recorded a few "off-color" novelty numbers for under-the-counter sales, including "I'm a Bear in a Lady's Boudoir".
More than any other performer, Edwards was responsible for the soaring popularity of the ukulele in the 1920s. 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, Edwards moved to the sweeter, large tenor ukulele more suited to 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 then failing health was evident in the recordings. His body was unclaimed and was donated to the University of California, Los Angeles medical school. The Actors' Fund of America and the Motion Picture and Television Relief Fund purchased his remains for a burial while Disney, which had been quietly paying his medical bills, paid for his grave marker at Valhalla Memorial Park in Burbank, CA.
==Roles==
Jiminyumbrella.png|Jiminy Cricket(1940-1971; archival recording in Once Upon a Studio)
Dumbo-disneyscreencaps com-5644.jpg|Jim/Dandy Crow(Dumbo)
DrinkMeBottle.jpg|Anthropomorphic "Drink Me" Bottle(Alice in Wonderland; deleted)
==Gallery==
Dickie Jones & Cliff Edwards.jpg|Cliff Edwards (right) and Dickie Jones behind the scenes of Pinocchio.
Cliff edwards on the mickey mouse club.JPG|Edwards performing on Mickey Mouse Club.
Cliff edwards Clarence nash Jose oliveira mickey mouse club.jpg|Edwards performing with Clarence Nash and José Oliveira.
== Trivia ==
* He was considered to voice Anthropomorphic "Drink Me" Bottle in Alice in Wonderland before the character was deleted. 
* He was also considered to voice Roquefort in The Aristocats. 
==External links==
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pt-br:Cliff Edwards
Category:Males
Category:American people
Category:People from Missouri
Category:Actors
Category:Radio actors
Category:Singers
Category:Voice actors
Category:1800s births
Category:1970s deaths
Category:Deceased
Category:Disney Legends
Category:Pinocchio
Category:Fun and Fancy Free
Category:Dumbo
Category:Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
Category:Mickey Mouse Club
Category:Jiminy Cricket
Category:Silly Symphonies
Category:Alice in Wonderland