By Kirk Silsbee
Pasadena Sun
Singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, bandleader, music historian, author and broadcaster Ian Whitcomb is a true Renaissance man. A 1960s British Invasion rocker who settled in Pasadena, he’s studied, written about and performed nearly the whole of the pop music continuum — and on both sides of the pond. His new book, “Ukulele Heroes: The Golden Age” (Hal Leonard), lovingly chronicles some of the most celebrated practitioners of one of his enduring passions — the ukulele.
Those who catch his weekly “Ian Whitcomb Show” on Luxuria Radio know he’s a walking treasury of music history who’s as fun as he is informative. Whitcomb will sign copies of his book and perform at Vroman’s Books on Tuesday. Speaking recently at his comfortable home on a quiet Altadena street, he says of the appearance, “It’ll be like my stage show but without my band.”
