Spike Jones Biography

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Spike Jones
Pop Music | 3 CD Set
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Musicians for decades have looked down on music they called "square," "mickey mouse," and "corny." Jazz cats enjoyed making fun of, for example, Guy Lombardo and Lawrence Welk. But if someone can make a career out of making fun of that music, he could reap major benefits. Spike Jones was the guy who did that, and along the way has become an icon of how to have fun with music and gain the respect of other musicians. Born Lindley Armstrong (Murray) Jones, if different biographies can be believed, in 1911 in Long Beach, California, the son of a railroad worker (probably how he came to be called Spike). He became a drummer who played in jazz bands and in radio sessions in the 1930's, working with many names of that era, like Fred Astaire and even Bing Crosby. He is even said to be the drummer on the Crosby recording of "White Christmas," that became a perpetual holiday hit. Although enjoying a reputation as session drummer, Jones had to cater to music union rules that allowed only so many gigs, so he began adding various sound effects to his skit, making him not only a drummer, but one with more than the usual instruments. Cowbells, guns, whistles and sirens must have looked odd on his drum set but as time went on he certainly put them to use. With World War II came the need for humor to offset the seriousness of the war and Spike Jones became the leading purveyor of musical humor. He formed the City Slickers around the late '30s, and embarked on a career that made him definitely the humorous "King for a Day." When his "Der Fuehrer’s Face" single debuted about 1942, it became not only a big hit but as one writer has put it, "a national mania." That tune plus "Cocktails For Two," "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth," "Clink, Clink, Another Drink," "Sheik Of Araby" and "You Always Hurt The One You Love" all became big hits and spawned many more through the years. The secret, of course, was to play the first part of a song seriously and then suddenly have the band go bonkers with popguns, whistles, sirens, whatever effects needed to create the humor. And as important as the effects were, it is important to realize that Spike used technically awesome musicians to create the nonsense the City Slickers were known for. His bands through the years would include singers, midgets, acrobats, vaudevillians, whatever was needed to arouse the listener’s funny bone. (Imagine midget Billy Barty doing Liberace.) Spike’s tour de force was to take a serious hit of the day and turn it into a farce; this would, of course, make his version the lasting one. There were other musical satirists but none as proficient as Spike Jones and the City Slickers. His talent lives on in the latter part of the 20th century and the dawn of the 21st via skit-oriented television shows, for example Saturday Night Live. Spike died in 1965, only 53 years old, and by that time he had graduated from radio and records to television, but changing tastes in the '60s, most notably sappy pop music and the rise of rock, decimated his contributions. However, by the late '80s, he was re-discovered and his musical anarchy is alive and well in re-released Spike Jones music.

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