on Jul 28, 2017 at 9:28 p.m.
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FARGO—Don Ho had a "hit" with it. So did Tiny Tim.
Why then, is the ukulele often the Rodney Dangerfield of string instruments.
You will have to ask a ukulele-playing man who was in Fargo at the Red Raven Espresso Parlor Friday night, July 28, trying to break a World Record for ukulele playing.
The task seems daunting, sitting on a stool, plucking and strumming the four strings of a Baritone ukulele.
For Julian Ruck, it is the life of a road musician.
"I take Greyhound, actually, not a car, it is a money pit. On the bus, I can work and contact people and keep this momentum going," Ruck said.
Since he was a boy, music has been part of his life.
"John Denver, the Carpenters, Simon and Garfunkel, that is what I grew up with," Ruck said. "Folksy, homespun kind of way."
Lately, Julian has been crisscrossing the country, connecting with other musicians and trying to break records.
"Can be done, should be done," Ruck said.
Friday night in Fargo, Ruck was hoping to break a world record by playing the ukulele for 30 straight hours at the Red Raven, 916 Main Ave.
He loves his four-string ukulele.
His hope is that musicians and others will kick back and listen.
Ruck got a break now and then. For every hour of playing, he gets a five-minute break.
He's ready for the sore fingers and cramped hands, and the opportunity to make a little history, with this misunderstood instrument he just can't part with.
"One thing I have learned is to find you passion and path in life, consider what you are born into that other people do not have and we had music and love and not much else," Ruck said.
He hopes to break the record by 6 p.m. Saturday, July 29.
Kevin Wallevand has been a Reporter at WDAY-TV since 1983. He is a native of Vining, Minnesota in Otter Tail County. His series and documentary work have brought him to Africa, Vietnam, Haiti, Kosovo, South America, Mongolia and the Middle East. He is an Emmy and Edward R. Murrow award recipient.
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