A Happy Accident that Lasted a Lifetime
For most of his musical career, Upstate New York banjoman Dick Sheridan has made his bones with trad-jazz tunes like “I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate” and “Bourbon Street Parade.” As the longtime leader of the Syracuse-based Soda Ash Six, Sheridan has strummed and sung everything from “Tiger Rag” to “Winchester Cathedral.”
One of the most versatile string musicians in Upstate New York, Dick Sheridan has also emerged as one of America’s most prolific proponents of ukulele music. Over the past decade, Sheridan has written nearly 30 songbooks, most for the humble four-string uke. The majority are compilations of songs focused on a particular theme such as Christmas favorites, sea chanties or college fight songs, presented complete with chords, melody for ukulele and occasional text. Sheridan’s most recent publication is 2018’s Ultimate Waltzes for Ukulele.
His readers—primarily ukulele novices—often express their appreciation of his teaching techniques by posting comments on amazon.com. Typical responses include, “easy to understand and learn” and “thank you, Dick Sheridan, for sharing so well what is obviously a true love of your heart and soul.”
While he has become an icon of ukulele music, Sheridan’s early introduction to the instrument happened entirely by accident. In the 1940s, as a youn
