Despite such high-profile devotees as financier Warren Buffett and Beatle Paul McCartney, the ukulele — a small, four-stringed, Hawaiian adaptation of a traditional Portuguese guitar— is pretty well shunned in modern music. Derided by many musicians for its ease of play, the ukulele’s tiny size and sound most often conjure images of luaus and Tiny Tim on “The Tonight Show.”

But from the unlikely wellspring of Mississippi, one musician has helped rehabilitate the ukulele’s, or uke’s, status among musical instruments. Dent May, born and raised in Jackson, Miss., learned to play the ukulele from his mother but didn’t think much of the instrument until he picked it back up a couple of years ago for less than artistic reasons.

“I just liked that it was portable and easy to play,” says May, who now resides in Taylor, Miss., just outside Oxford where he went to college. “I was tired of lugging around guitars and amps and stuff like that.”

But as May, a veteran of such North Mississippi outfits as the psychedelic country mélange Cowboy Maloney’s Electric City and power poppers the Rockwells, began writing songs for the instrument, he found those deceptively simple four strings added a whole dimension to his richly layered compositions. The works drew from a wide swath of rock history, from doo-wop and the Brill Building to the Smiths and Prince.

“I kind of wanted to write a classic pop album, kind of timeless in a way,” says May, who plays the Hi-Tone Cafe in Memphis on Tuesday. “I think ukulele really lends itself to that kind of vibe. When people listen to my stuff I don’t want them to really be able to know when it came out, whether it’s new or old.”

Formed in 2007, Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele put out a little-heard EP — showcasing their eclectic lineup of uke, drums, pedal steel, violin, horns and bass — that same year. A year later the acclaimed New York art folk band Animal Collective was recording in Oxford when they heard May’s recordings. They signed him to their Paw Tracks label, and in February, May’s first full-length, The Good Feeling Music Of Dent May And His Magnificent Ukulele came out.

Cut in May’s Taylor double-wide, the album features a lush sound, reminiscent of the moody, orchestral productions the Beach Boys and Lee Hazelwood were churning out in the ’60s, that belies its humble origin. On “Meet me In the Garden,” for instance, May lays an at-first-incongruous hip hop beat underneath a crooning lounge melody while elsewhere he gives a hefty low end to an otherwise reverential cover of “26 Miles (Santa Catalina)”, which was one of the first songs his mother taught him.

“Whenever I picked up the ukulele I would always play that song,” says May of the Four Preps 1957 hit. “So when I started playing songs and needed to flesh out my set, naturally I returned to that song.”

Since the album’s release, May’s wistful tunes and unusual instrumentation have won him plenty of press and acclaim. The attention has put the singer, who had hardly ventured outside of North Mississippi to play a gig, on the road. Earlier this year, he toured the U.S. with AC Newman, and he made his first European run in the spring.

“It’s been really fun seeing how everything’s played out this year,” he says. “Every night when I play a concert, I’m shocked that anybody shows up.”

Still for all the success the ukulele has brought him, May is already looking past the instrument and its admittedly gimmicky appeal. He’s reformed Cowboy Maloney’s Electric City, with whom he plays guitar, and plans to release an EP with them next year. And he’s recently acquired an old analog synthesizer with which he’s writing songs for his uke-less follow-up.

“It’s a really similar songwriting style — lots of harmonies and good feelin’ vibes — but just a more divers instrumentation, more of an analog electronic vibe to some of the songs,” says May, suggesting that the new material may more fully follow the exotica pulse of his debut. “I never had the intention of picking up the ukulele and becoming the ukulele guy for the rest of my life. I want to explore every aspect of my musical interest. It’ll probably always be a staple of my live show, but I’m really eager to move on.”

Dent May with the Warble

Tuesday, 11 p.m. at the Hi-Tone Café, 1913 Poplar Ave. Tickets: $8, available at the door or online at hitonememphis.com. For more information, call 901-278-8663.