The Ukulele Alphabet: Hey Julie by Fountains of Wayne
Letter F, Week 1
“Hey Julie” by Fountains of Wayne
The introductory chord progression of “Hey Julie” — G C G D — is my personal Wayne’s World “Stairway to Heaven” riff.
(And if the youngs don’t get that joke, too bad. I could write a whole essay on why that movie is so creatively subversive and maybe someday I will.)
It’s the first thing I play pretty much any time I pick up a uke and make sure it’s in tune. It’s such ingrained, reflexive muscle memory at this point that even a Taylor Swift song probably couldn’t shake it out of the top spot of Chords I Have Memorized.
And I am still sad about the time we went to see FoW at Maxwell’s in Hoboken and the band pulled an audience member on stage to play percussion (tambourine? maracas? I cannot remember) with them on this song.
It should have been me! But I was way in the back on the risers — and standing through an entire show in Chuck Taylors, which shows you how young I was! — so my chance was nil.
And I’ll be angry forever that we will never again experience the joy of a new Adam Schlesinger song, but at least we have five perfect Fountains of Wayne albums. Throw one on tonight and raise a glass to his genius.
Listen to the original version of “Hey Julie”:
What’s the Ukulele Alphabet?
Read all about my 2025 ukulele performance project (and its rules) here.
I want to A-B-SEEEE some more!
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