When I was about nine years old in the early 50s, my mother bought a striped sports jacket for me. It was sorta loud, but not a screamer. When I wore it to Sunday School, I could not understand why so many older people called me Spike Jones. Now I understand!
Same, I had it explained to me that all the effects were done live but until you see it on video you don't appreciate the sure spectacle and raw talent it took to keep up with Spike Jones and his City Slickers
@@rotunda57 Guy died so soon, I'm now at the age he was when he died. He could've accomplished so much more with his talent. If only he wasn't such a heavy smoker. That's a damned addiction.
Sigourney Weaver’s uncle Doodles Weaver was Spike’s chief sound effects man. It so happens that when “Doodles” was born, his mother thought he was “funny looking” and nicknamed him Doodles. Doodles’ brother was the chief executive of CBS. Later I saw Doodles on the Groucho Marx show, he admitted he “needed a job.” He was the one who did the sound effects of Beetlebaum. (Aka “Beetle bomb”) When I was a child, all us grandchildren would go to her house on Sundays and laugh hysterically at “Love in Bloom”, Beetlbomb, and other standards of the day as interpreted by Spike Jones’ extremely talented musicians. Virginia Simpson Whedon
Sigourney's father was Sylvester "Pat" Weaver who was president of NBC (not CBS) from 1953-1955. Pat was the older brother of Winstead Sheffield "Doodles" Weaver who had an extensive acting and voice resume but killed himself in 1983 over failing health.
Loved Spike Jones and His City Slickers since I first discovered "Beetlebaum" on an old 45 record when I was 6 years old. Between him and Ernie Kovacs, television was so much more creative than now.
What you have to admire is that Spike, being the creative mastermind behind it all, always looked as if he was the most bored or irritated person in the room when he performed. His deadpan adds a whole new dimension of humour to the madness of the routine, because you´re aware he is the center of it all
James Peyton : So you are from my parent's generation "The Baby Boomers " who were the first young generation to grow up watching television. Very remarkable life your generation lived.
We got our first TV in 1956. My mom was totally against any type of humorous music. We would watch Liberace, that and later Laurence Welk, but that was about it. The big radio-record player was for classical music only. Only saw Spike a couple of times back then, but loved him instantly.
My dad had I Went to your Wedding on a 78rpm. My poor heart was praying, to hear the groom saying, I do-hooh, I do hoo-hoo-hoo, I doooooo-hooh-hoo-hoo.....
Memories of my childhood come flooding back, before we had TV our family together huddled around the 'wireless', listening to the Spike Jones show,. Outstanding talent combined so well to resemble chaos. Great fun. And all those sound effects! Wonderful times.
@cathydoyle8804 ppl fir some reason don't get humor like this anymore! I tried telling an old Reagan joke and ppl were like,.....huuunnnhhh,,,??? First they were 'offended, ' that is was Reagan telling the joke, & 2nd, they didn't get it. Omgosh. Gee u have to THINK?? and who the hell CARES of it was Reagan?! He's DEAD! 🙄
I discovered Spike Jones through his "Nutcracker Suite" when I was five or six years old. My high school orchestra teacher was a huge fan. RIP Larry Maupin.
It takes exceptionally brilliant musicians, who truly admire and love the works of Tschaikovsky and other great classical composers, to perform them so comically!
Yeah these guys must go home and listen to every type of music ever recorded. A real musician will appreciate the skill that these guys have and also the sense of humor.
This is the very definition of a well-oiled machine...my goodness, what incredible talent, I wish this was still a thing! My mouth was open the entire time. I just couldn't believe it.
The bug sprayer ensemble at 6:07 has to be one of the most impressive things I've seen them do. I always thought they were "faking it" and there was an organ or something being played off-screen, but you can clearly see (and hear) Spike hit a wrong note at the very beginning, and he quickly switches the sprayers around to correct it. The coordination among ALL of them to accurately play Tchaikovsky on a bunch of bug sprayers blows my mind lol.
That's what most people fail to understand: to play songs like this, in the middle of the self-created insanity, you had to be one helluva good musician to do it! Not a slouch in the bunch!
I was born in the 70's. I am forever grateful that my dad introduced me to Spike Jones when I was 6 years old. Everything rolled into one comedy, musical and acting talent. This is the stuff I appreciate even more at my current age. Thank you for posting.👍🤪😂
I don't know why but I remember this I was 5 yrs old but a lot of Spike Jones I'm 70 yrs now. This brings back memorizes of me and my family and neighbors (we had the tv) Thank You for sharing this!!!!!
Billy Stokes : Then you are from my parent's generation "The Baby Boomers " who were the first young generation to grow up watching television. Remarkable.
That band had a superhuman sense of time. To be able to play accurate 16th notes is not easy. But having each individual 16th note assigned to separate players, played with such accuracy, is other worldly. Every one of those players were genius musicians and comedic performers. I challenge any Symphony orchestra to do that.
I am guessing@@joeday4293 you are thinking about the bells they play at around 6:40 those are cowbells, they just have a handle om them so they easy can pick them up
Just came across this video and it sure brought back so,e very old memories! I’m guessing I saw Spike Jones on TV way back in the early 1950s - I was born I. 1947 so I know I was young - but I laughed and laughed! Loved this guy and his band! I had forgotten how crazy they all wore - and those suits!!! Thanks to whomever posed this!
He's good. He has a lot of charm, is loveable, and we all know and love him from Gilligan's island, but he's one of those guys that did a whole career in a single character.
Isn't it nice to know that these old broadcast signals from the Fifties are winging their way through outer space as ambassadors of Earth culture?! "They" probably will love Spike Jones! :)
I grew up listening to Spike and other musicians of that era. It's great to SEE how awesome they were instead of just hearing. Thank you for the videos!
Neat "blast from the past" with a cameo by Jim Backus to boot! But darn, THOSE SUITS!!! Spike Jones looks like he survived an encounter with a giant waffle iron! Hard to believe this was from 70 years ago!
I remember sitting in my grandmothers tiny living room watching this show. I was about 7-8 and couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. They were amazing musicians and dancers.
They all were Brilliant Musicians ,actors and Comedians ,all wrapped up into the Mad Cap mind of Spike Jones ! His movies were hilarious and glad there so much of his insanity & genius on YT !
@@spikejj I played drums for you, when you rehearsed a band , in the canyon, (don't remember the name) doing your dad's music, in the early 70's (I think). I had a great time, thanks.
This was on the recommendation list and I'm not sure why but I watched it and I'm glad I did. These people are very talented and creative. I enjoyed the video.
These musicians included some of the top studio players of the era! This stuff was hard!! In fact fact, Spike was a studio player himself! He played on Bing Crosby's White Christmas, and many other hits of the times. I would have Killed to be on this band!!
@@cathydoyle8804That was definitely something. A wonderful bit of calm and relative normalcy in the middle of a sea of zany antics. My personal favorite part, though, was the headless banjo players.
I have cd's, all 3 editions of a book on Spike, and all dvd's I can find. I CANNOT imagine the talent that was involved with that band. What I would give to be able to play with such a group. His personnel in '48, '49 and 50 were probably the most awesome group of entertainers ever assembled. God Bless Spike Jones; the Wackiest Band in the Land!
+burnleyize I like the story of when Spike and his band jammed with another band - I forget if it was Goodman or a Dorsey - and Spike told his guys to play twice as fast, and the other group couldn't keep up. For all the over-the-top gagging, they were incredibly tight and disciplined. Weird Al Yankovic (influenced by Jones) is similar in his way. When he performs his material live, you can see some super musicians at work, and it's easy to not notice it.
I was watching a Toronto drummer name of Jorn " john" Andersen-son ? The guy is likely one of the top 5 Rock & Roll drummers I've ever witnessed and I've seen them all, I'm 56. There was a guy with a Rush t-shirt on, who of course had to state how much better Neil Peart was and that Andersen didn't have a tenth of the drums Peart has. I told him that I saw Peart with his 4 drum kits around him and the other 20 things as well and Pert only played one kit at a time and during a solo stood up and walked to another set and played that one, just stopping everything and honestly very disappointingly playing on both. Just then Andersen opened up and after the show the guy turned to me and said wow best drum solo ever. My point ? Andersen played so well with so many different left hand solos alone on the snare, but was so great he made it look easy. The very best always make it look so easy. To play and do all these things took master players and athletes all in one. Spike was a master !
Many Happy Hours spent laughing hilariously with joy thanks to the antics and skits by Spike Jones and company, the many guest appearances of different actors, singers, dancers, and comedians.... Making fun of how super serious we all tend to take ourselves was always and will always be the great levelers when we need to step back and take a break from the seriousness of politics and war... Thanks Spike and Company , for those already gone REST IN PEACE .
My father's mother listened to Spike Jones on the radio in the 50's, so when I was staying there, so did I. It was a large wooden Motorola, as I recall. Huge thing, as tall as I was at seven, dials and buttons and all the radio frequencies being used from short wave up! Great sound from that old piece... She also had 45 RPM records of Spike Jones and likely got sick of me playing them over and over. My mother the Librarian thought he was tasteless. However -- this is the first time I've gotten to see the clothes they wore! OH MY! What wonderful fun they must have had thinking up these suits! And my mother was rights -- tasteless. I still love them! Then again -- I love certain aspects of the Circus and Vaudeville and volunteered to work for the Moisture Festival in Seattle for a number of years. The One-Man-Band has always been a fascination for me.
These routines are filled with musical references that few in today's audiences would understand. There was an adage that "you don't chew gum in the orchestra" that was widely known of in popular culture. The upturned trombone bell is no doubt a reference to Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet. The giant portrait of Spike behind the band comes from Paul Whiteman, who used a similarly placed caricature of himself with his band. References to "all girl bands", players opening their case and blowing the dust off their instrument (they never practice...), a harpist knitting during a piece (they count a lot of rests and of course the harp isn't utilized in most pieces of symphonic repertoire..). The tuba which expels bubbles (ala Lawrence Welk), and many more. And Spike calmly presiding over all of the bedlam, chewing away on a stick of Beeman's. Among his sidemen for this NBC TV series: George Rock, trumpet; Mickey Katz, clarinet; Tommy Pederson, trombone. Thanks for the laughs, Spike, we love you.
It's funny how much which just seems irreverent today was actually topical in it's time! (Knew something was up with the gum chewing... thanks for nailing-it-down!) Another was the anti-Soviet barb at the end! This show was done after the start of the Cold War! Stuff he did during WWII praised the Russians as allies! (HEY... Schikelgruber… Why you run so quick??? From the Bolshevik?!?)
Does anyone know of a transmitter that incorporates a macro recording capability of the maneuvers that you were making so that you can replay it in a particular segment at the flip of a switch for the touch of a button that would be very helpful for us robotics this so that when we’re trying to do multiple maneuvers all at the same time we could just flip a switch and you can do these various tasks automatically and therefore doesn’t put such a high demand of skill on the operator
Awesomely good fun... I remember back in the late 70s driving around with friends and listening to Spike Jones Greatest Hits. We knew all the words and tunes. Ahhhhh good times.
We might have mixed fairly well, cruising and singing Zappa songs from Uncle Meat, 200 Motels, Chunga's Revenge, and Waka Jawaka...... and some of Pink Floyd's "UmmaGumma" LP, and Genesis' "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" :) Anywhere near the region of Baltimore, Maryland? :) Zappa's hometown, of course :)
Many years ago I met a musician who had worked with Spike Jones back in the 1950s. He said only the best musicians could keep up with the manic goings on in the land of the City Slickers.
For all the chaos, this was a disciplined band. Watch how Spike holds the final note (7:50) until the right moment, then gives the signal and everybody stops together. It was reportedly said of him "He conducted the band with a baton in one hand and a revolver in the other".
Imagine this act in today's hypersensitive environment when Spike fires off a few (blank) rounds during one of his many parody numbers. They'd have him cancelled overnight.
I'm a Boomer. I discovered Spike Jones when I got into my mom's record collection of 78s when I was about 4 years old. The record I found was "The William Tell Overture" by Spike Jones. My sisters and I went crazy over it. It wasn't until years later that Dr. Demento began to play Spike Jones on his show that heard more from these guys. "My Old Flame" was a favorite on Dr. Demento's show because all Boomers knew of Peter Lorre's manic voice and manner. Years later, I found a double CD set of Spike Jones. I keep it around for difficult times.
I was privileged to see "Spike Jones and his Whacky Whacaateers" perform at Ascot Park in Gardena, Ca. (a dirt track raceway) in the sixties. I knew who they were as my mother had several of their albums (yes vinyl ). He and his band were incredible performers and musicians.
I used to play with Spike Jones, Jr. in the 70's. Great time. Recorded a spoof of "raindrops falling on my head" by B.J. Thomas. Was played on Dr. Demeto Radio show on Sunday. You had to be on your toes. A lot of breaks and effects.
All former radio show orchestra / recording studio session players and former Big Band members. You will never find better musicians able to time and play anything in any key whenever, however. AND belt down a few shots during the breaks...Spike Jones was the drummer during 1938-1940 during NBC's Fibber McGee and Molly show in the Billy Mills Orchestra.
@@musicom67 I did this in high school as we did variety shows and stuff on the local level and I was okay but we had one guy that was one of those that could do anything any instrument he went on to be a professional musician I ended up in radio and he wasn't even the guy that can play two parts on Two Trumpets at one time now that skill was amazing
Imagine doing a show similar to this in Vaudeville before TV five shows a day, six days a week. It's long forgotten now and since it was all LIVE! and just the of its day, which is why so little of the routines of the great Vaudevillians was never preserved - it just wasn't filmed. People just took meticulous timing and precision for granted as nothing out of the ordinary. And Spike Jones put it on steroids. That's how they make it look so easy after working that much in front of an audience, from before the turn of the century (1900) until well into the 1940s (until TV came along on top of movies with sound) ... in a different city every week... By 1952 performers out of that era could do this at this level in their sleep.
I remember seeing this on TV as a very young child. My parents said that i could barely walk, but I would dance around. I giggled all the way through the program
This flim is witness to the level of talent these folks had, great video! The show is fast paced in the same vein as earlier vaudeville acts, as were many other Golden Age television shows. However, they surely would not be appreciated in more modern times, and would have most likely been "Gonged" on the Gong Show!
People in those days did full tours of stage shows. TV was an upstart medium that many thought would not last. The energy you see here was crafted over months and years of being on the road 340 days a year, and doing the same set of gags in every performance. If anything, watching these folks proves the old adage "practice makes perfect." because they make it all look so easy and spontaneous. The only guy I know that could compete with SJ was Ernie Kovacs and his crew.
And all done live, nonstop, with zero electronic gadgets to pre-cord the hard parts to make sure it sounded right. No, they did it all live and on the spot. Simply unbelievable. Spike & Company were among the best of the best!
The music score is pure genius. It is one thing to write it but to keep it that tight? Take the writing and rehearsals there couldn't be many days left in a year to prep a full show.
And they wrote and prepped and rehearsed and performed a new show on TV every week. And being LIVE! there wasn't any pre-recording or dubbing. They did it and the chips fell where they fell.
The guy that comes out at 4:34 is an amazing physical performer. Hes doing so many things that require strength, flexibility, and energy and makes it seem effortless. I can see the beginnings of break dance moves in a few instances. The whole show is fantastic.
Levon Helm: Now me and my mate were back at the shack We had Spike Jones on the box She said, "I can't take the way he sings But I love to hear him talk" Now that just gave my heart a throb To the bottom of my feet
Wow, truly mind blowing. Never seen anything like this. The best of music, dance, theater, just everything. So well done and the energy, forget it. What an ensemble of amazing characters everyone showcased in some way. Spike Jones forever.
I first heard Spike Jones and his City Slickers when I was quite young--maybe 5 or 6--from some 78s my parents had. I listened to them over and over so I was able to memorize their routines. ❤
My granddad played this music. Listened to Spike Jones as a kid.. Frank Zappa has an album called Does Humor Belong in Music? Yes .. it very much does.
Spike Jones was nothing but crap .. nothing funny about him .. What a loser he was ... waste of time watching his stupid so called entertainment .. I notice their was only white people in his band ..this indicates he was a racist ,a total white supremacist .. his stench will not be missed
@@FreedomFighter-cr5xg I notice that there were only white people in the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, and only black people in the Supremes and lots of other Motown groups. I guess they're all racists, too, right? People like you just...suck. The sooner you realize it, the sooner you can begin to learn not to.
@@FreedomFighter-cr5xg racist attitudes will never go away, its been with us since the beginning of time, so dont waste your time worrying about it, its a human condition noone can change.
The tune that starts at 6:08 (first on flit guns with reeds and then with a vocal "squawker" and finally on tuned bells) is the "Melody in F" by Rubinstein.
It didn't end with the bells, the headless banjo players continued and ended the medley on it. I am wondering what this medley has to do with Tchaikovsky, and the best I can come up with is that Rubenstein was the university professor who taught Tchaikovsky, and was his predecessor as head of the university's music department.
I had HEARD numerous Spike Jones recordings when I was a kid, but I had never SEEN his show. HOLY MACKEREL, I had NO idea!
When I was about nine years old in the early 50s, my mother bought a striped sports jacket for me. It was sorta loud, but not a screamer. When I wore it to Sunday School, I could not understand why so many older people called me Spike Jones. Now I understand!
Same, I had it explained to me that all the effects were done live but until you see it on video you don't appreciate the sure spectacle and raw talent it took to keep up with Spike Jones and his City Slickers
Thank God for TH-cam for keeping this stuff alive 🙏
Amen to that ❤
Absolutely! 😁
@lethersing5909 👍😁
Hear, hear Stuart. Considering Spike has been dead now longer than he lived
@@rotunda57 Guy died so soon, I'm now at the age he was when he died. He could've accomplished so much more with his talent. If only he wasn't such a heavy smoker. That's a damned addiction.
Sigourney Weaver’s uncle Doodles Weaver was Spike’s chief sound effects man. It so happens that when “Doodles” was born, his mother thought he was “funny looking” and nicknamed him Doodles. Doodles’ brother was the chief executive of CBS. Later I saw Doodles on the Groucho Marx show, he admitted he “needed a job.” He was the one who did the sound effects of Beetlebaum. (Aka “Beetle bomb”) When I was a child, all us grandchildren would go to her house on Sundays and laugh hysterically at “Love in Bloom”, Beetlbomb, and other standards of the day as interpreted by Spike Jones’ extremely talented musicians. Virginia Simpson Whedon
Sigourney's father was Sylvester "Pat" Weaver who was president of NBC (not CBS) from 1953-1955. Pat was the older brother of Winstead Sheffield "Doodles" Weaver who had an extensive acting and voice resume but killed himself in 1983 over failing health.
Thank you for sharing that memory
My fa m
Whedon, you say?
I met Sigourney Weaver "up close and personal" at an Explorers Club Annual Dinner years ago at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC. Such a beautiful woman.
Loved Spike Jones and His City Slickers since I first discovered "Beetlebaum" on an old 45 record when I was 6 years old. Between him and Ernie Kovacs, television was so much more creative than now.
I’ve heard of these guys but never realized how good they really were until watching their videos. Great musicians.
Ditto. Great musicians and insane energy.
I played clarinet in high school to get out of gym class, 3 years. I didn't realize until today what it was supposed to sound like.
It would never have worked if they were just a bunch of second-rate players.
No they knew how good they were. Many musicians back then wanted to be in spikes band simply for the craziness they were able to do
Just another of the Vaudeville acts that made it to the Radio, then the movies, then T V.
What you have to admire is that Spike, being the creative mastermind behind it all, always looked as if he was the most bored or irritated person in the room when he performed. His deadpan adds a whole new dimension of humour to the madness of the routine, because you´re aware he is the center of it all
For people that don't know the headless banjo players were found in arkansas.
hahaha... funny is kind of being the spectator of your own LSD trip, it do be like that...
As a bandleader/arranger I watch all these clips for inspiration. They are the reason I never laugh onstage.
Like George and Gracie, he was the straight man...
My exact thought. Irritated being key… or just going through the motions.
I'm 85 and so grateful to continue listen Spike Jones and company all my years.
I remember seeing him on tv when I was about 8 years old. I loved his antics and music. I’m almost 77.
James Peyton : So you are from my parent's generation "The Baby Boomers " who were the first young generation to grow up watching television. Very remarkable life your generation lived.
I was just thinking about the same thing. I'm almost 78. It was a crazy 3/4 of a century.
We got our first TV in 1956. My mom was totally against any type of humorous music. We would watch Liberace, that and later Laurence Welk, but that was about it. The big radio-record player was for classical music only. Only saw Spike a couple of times back then, but loved him instantly.
My dad had I Went to your Wedding on a 78rpm. My poor heart was praying, to hear the groom saying, I do-hooh, I do hoo-hoo-hoo, I doooooo-hooh-hoo-hoo.....
@@herondelatorre4023 I was born in 1944 so I’m a war baby, not a boomer. Pretty close though.
Memories of my childhood come flooding back, before we had TV our family together huddled around the 'wireless', listening to the Spike Jones show,. Outstanding talent combined so well to resemble chaos. Great fun. And all those sound effects! Wonderful times.
You are my older brother. I was born in 50.
Sounds like you are from modern-day New Jersey !
@@SeamusMcGillicuddy0 Yes.
What the world needs now is more zany, crazy wonderful stuff like this. It always puts a big smile on my face. 😊
Well said (written). It’s called ‘entertainment’. Not much of it about nowadays.
😊
The world is so serious and has no time for making people laugh! Smile! And spread a little happiness 😊
@cathydoyle8804 ppl fir some reason don't get humor like this anymore!
I tried telling an old Reagan joke and ppl were like,.....huuunnnhhh,,,??? First they were 'offended, ' that is was Reagan telling the joke, & 2nd, they didn't get it. Omgosh. Gee u have to THINK?? and who the hell CARES of it was Reagan?! He's DEAD! 🙄
Bring back my favorite...the Gong Show....why did this go away ???
Comedic genius! First heard Spike Jones on radio in the very late 50s/early 50s. I'm South African - we didn't have TV until 1975!!
You didn't miss much. I understand that all yhr bad qualities about people wound up there, too...like wife beating
I discovered Spike Jones through his "Nutcracker Suite" when I was five or six years old. My high school orchestra teacher was a huge fan. RIP Larry Maupin.
That gentleman's dance routine is simply amazing.
His lovely blonde proved what shape muscles can achieve.
My mom introduced me to spike Jones. I still enjoy watching and listening to him..
It takes exceptionally brilliant musicians, who truly admire and love the works of Tschaikovsky and other great classical composers, to perform them so comically!
Yeah these guys must go home and listen to every type of music ever recorded. A real musician will appreciate the skill that these guys have and also the sense of humor.
We never got Spike Jones on Australian tv. First time i've ever seen him. What phenominal talent. All of them.
This is the very definition of a well-oiled machine...my goodness, what incredible talent, I wish this was still a thing! My mouth was open the entire time. I just couldn't believe it.
The bug sprayer ensemble at 6:07 has to be one of the most impressive things I've seen them do.
I always thought they were "faking it" and there was an organ or something being played off-screen, but you can clearly see (and hear) Spike hit a wrong note at the very beginning, and he quickly switches the sprayers around to correct it.
The coordination among ALL of them to accurately play Tchaikovsky on a bunch of bug sprayers blows my mind lol.
Quick, the Flit!
That's what most people fail to understand: to play songs like this, in the middle of the self-created insanity, you had to be one helluva good musician to do it! Not a slouch in the bunch!
Wasn't expecting to see you here
I was born in the 70's. I am forever grateful that my dad introduced me to Spike Jones when I was 6 years old. Everything rolled into one comedy, musical and acting talent. This is the stuff I appreciate even more at my current age. Thank you for posting.👍🤪😂
Wait, but you never shared your current age? 😜
@@bennybongosbigolebonanza894 Well I was born the 70's. Pretty much that puts me in my late 40's early 50's😁🤪
Today we have tv.programs on abandoned storage lockers and house renovations to keep us entertained.
That handbell duo was freaking INSANE!
I don't know why but I remember this I was 5 yrs old but a lot of Spike Jones I'm 70 yrs now. This brings back memorizes of me and my family and neighbors (we had the tv) Thank You for sharing this!!!!!
Billy Stokes : Then you are from my parent's generation "The Baby Boomers " who were the first young generation to grow up watching television. Remarkable.
Can we talk for a moment about how impressive that cowbell ensemble was? The hand-eye coordination and dexterity required is INSANE!
*Handbell. And yes.
That band had a superhuman sense of time. To be able to play accurate 16th notes is not easy. But having each individual 16th note assigned to separate players, played with such
accuracy, is other worldly. Every one of those players were genius musicians and comedic performers.
I challenge any Symphony orchestra to do that.
@@ricardofranciszayas Exactly. I mean, they probably could, but this is indeed a near-symphonic or near-studio level of musicianship.
I am guessing@@joeday4293 you are thinking about the bells they play at around 6:40 those are cowbells, they just have a handle om them so they easy can pick them up
sure
Just came across this video and it sure brought back so,e very old memories! I’m guessing I saw Spike Jones on TV way back in the early 1950s - I was born I. 1947 so I know I was young - but I laughed and laughed! Loved this guy and his band! I had forgotten how crazy they all wore - and those suits!!! Thanks to whomever posed this!
tell me if I am wrong. Spike Jones is the product of James Cagney and Red Skelton hybrid.
Incredible musicianship! These guys were beyond professional
Agree with your comment 😊
Watching these guys, when I was a kid, was always a barrel of laughs. They were great ...
I am so thrilled to see this on TH-cam, you have no idea. Thank You Spike Jones Estate!!!
Love this, my dad played his records every weekend at home!!
Those costumes were hilarious too. Between the clothes and music and TALENT, I am loving this.
I love how Jim Backus showed up and sounded very "Mr. Magoo" in his routine. What a great voice!
Ooh..Magoo, you done it again!'
I LOVED that!
Thursten Howell!
@@demolitionsexpert the Third.
He's good. He has a lot of charm, is loveable, and we all know and love him from Gilligan's island, but he's one of those guys that did a whole career in a single character.
Isn't it nice to know that these old broadcast signals from the Fifties are winging their way through outer space as ambassadors of Earth culture?! "They" probably will love Spike Jones! :)
Yeah, wait until they meet the real deal and see how we screwed things up.
The talent of these performers is trull amazing.
My dad loved Spike Jones! I loved the song where he says, “and night falls!” Then it sounds like a piano being tipped over.
Kelley Bryant : Was your dad from the " Greatest Generation " . Those who were young people in the 1940's and who lived thru WWII ????
Wow ... the sheer amount of energy and training for the dancing girl to perform ... love that the most
Her name was Ruth Foster.
I saw him and his band in person at the Fox theater in Atlanta, Georgia. I was just a kid and was scarred for life!
Lucky! 😉
digitalbookworm5678 I do realize the talent it took to do that. My dad always said it takes more talent to make someone laugh than to make them cry.
Did you go into music at all? I played trombone for 12 years, but haven't touched it since college. 😕
digitalbookworm5678 I played clarinet. I kind of left off during college. My major was chemistry, so there wasn’t much spare time.
the first show I saw at the Fox Theater was REO Speedwagon...
I grew up listening to Spike and other musicians of that era. It's great to SEE how awesome they were instead of just hearing. Thank you for the videos!
If we could just have a show like this again, maybe people would start to remember how valuable humanity and it’s creative, empathetic genius is.
what?, this 1920's rubbish should never have been digitised in the first place, as the generations who loved it died 90 years ago!!
You tell ‘em, Brother Michael.
@@andyvan5692 yes, now go enjoy your Sam Smith videos and kardashian “reality”…that’s the height of culture clearly. 🙄
We're living in a NEW AGE. Anything is possible...😎😁🥰❤️
For White folks 😅😅😅😅😅
Neat "blast from the past" with a cameo by Jim Backus to boot! But darn, THOSE SUITS!!! Spike Jones looks like he survived an encounter with a giant waffle iron! Hard to believe this was from 70 years ago!
I have listened to Spike Jones recordings for decades but have never seen a video until now. Love the memories.
I'm not sure what all the comments were about, but all I see and hear is a wonder classical orchestra that was far underrated. Spike was the best.
I remember sitting in my grandmothers tiny living room watching this show. I was about 7-8 and couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. They were amazing musicians and dancers.
They all were Brilliant Musicians ,actors and Comedians ,all wrapped up into the Mad Cap mind of Spike Jones ! His movies were hilarious and glad there so much of his insanity & genius on YT !
Wizard, thanks for the kind words. Spike Jones, Jr.
Your most graciously welcome !
@@spikejj I played drums for you, when you rehearsed a band , in the canyon, (don't remember the name) doing your dad's music, in the early 70's (I think). I had a great time, thanks.
Wow....I grew up listening to my grandfathers 78 Spike Jones records. Thanx 4 the memories. Love the bug sprayers ! 😂
Wonderful, thanks for posting. I loved Spike when I was a kid and still do now I'm 76. A unique talent.
I was raised as a toddler on Spike Jones and as a young adult on P D Q Bach.
This was on the recommendation list and I'm not sure why but I watched it and I'm glad I did. These people are very talented and creative. I enjoyed the video.
2
These musicians included some of the top studio players of the era! This stuff was hard!! In fact fact, Spike was a studio player himself! He played on Bing Crosby's White Christmas, and many other hits of the times. I would have Killed to be on this band!!
They all were so talented!
I would of loved to have seen them live in person!
The beautiful dancing girl lady was great to watch!❤
@@cathydoyle8804That was definitely something. A wonderful bit of calm and relative normalcy in the middle of a sea of zany antics. My personal favorite part, though, was the headless banjo players.
I think a bit of my mind just melted from the pure awesomeness of all this talent.
Thanks for this! As a kid I had a whole Spike collection on 78 rpm vinyl. Wish I still had it.😢
I have cd's, all 3 editions of a book on Spike, and all dvd's I can find. I CANNOT imagine the talent that was involved with that band. What I would give to be able to play with such a group. His personnel in '48, '49 and 50 were probably the most awesome group of entertainers ever assembled. God Bless Spike Jones; the Wackiest Band in the Land!
+burnleyize
I like the story of when Spike and his band jammed with another band - I forget if it was Goodman or a Dorsey - and Spike told his guys to play twice as fast, and the other group couldn't keep up. For all the over-the-top gagging, they were incredibly tight and disciplined. Weird Al Yankovic (influenced by Jones) is similar in his way. When he performs his material live, you can see some super musicians at work, and it's easy to not notice it.
I was watching a Toronto drummer name of Jorn " john" Andersen-son ?
The guy is likely one of the top 5 Rock & Roll drummers I've ever witnessed and I've seen them all, I'm 56.
There was a guy with a Rush t-shirt on, who of course had to state how much better Neil Peart was and that Andersen didn't have a tenth of the drums Peart has.
I told him that I saw Peart with his 4 drum kits around him and the other 20 things as well and Pert only played one kit at a time and during a solo stood up and walked to another set and played that one, just stopping everything and honestly very disappointingly playing on both.
Just then Andersen opened up and after the show the guy turned to me and said wow best drum solo ever.
My point ?
Andersen played so well with so many different left hand solos alone on the snare, but was so great he made it look easy.
The very best always make it look so easy.
To play and do all these things took master players and athletes all in one.
Spike was a master !
no, spike propelled music 1000 years ahead . made my day. grew up listening to the records on dr demento.
Metric Michael, here. Would look forward to anything from SJ that the Doc had me spin :-)~
Me too. Dr Demento. You wanna buy a bunny? I still have Dr D. Vinyl.
Never ever has there been a musical genius such as this. God bless this man and the musicians who got to work with him.
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention
The rehearsals must have endless. wow and get a load of that male dancer doing what hip hoppers do today. breathtaking
This is brilliant I love it. I’ve known of Spike Jones but I’ve never seen his show until today.
Many Happy Hours spent laughing hilariously with joy thanks to the antics and skits by Spike Jones and company, the many guest appearances of different actors, singers, dancers, and comedians.... Making fun of how super serious we all tend to take ourselves was always and will always be the great levelers when we need to step back and take a break from the seriousness of politics and war... Thanks Spike and Company , for those already gone REST IN PEACE .
In spite of what the critics of the time had to say, Jones and his entourage were legitimate musicians and performers.
And extremely talented for what they did with their comedy recordings! 😀😀😀😀😀
A musician must be very good to play those arrangements. Breaking the rules takes effort when you spent your wholelife learning them.
They packed an hour of entertainment into 10 minutes
Your so right!
All that talented energy! Great stuff 🎉
This is great. I had forgotten about Spike. He looks a little like Red Skelton. 😊
My father's mother listened to Spike Jones on the radio in the 50's, so when I was staying there, so did I. It was a large wooden Motorola, as I recall. Huge thing, as tall as I was at seven, dials and buttons and all the radio frequencies being used from short wave up! Great sound from that old piece...
She also had 45 RPM records of Spike Jones and likely got sick of me playing them over and over.
My mother the Librarian thought he was tasteless.
However -- this is the first time I've gotten to see the clothes they wore! OH MY! What wonderful fun they must have had thinking up these suits!
And my mother was rights -- tasteless.
I still love them! Then again -- I love certain aspects of the Circus and Vaudeville and volunteered to work for the Moisture Festival in Seattle for a number of years. The One-Man-Band has always been a fascination for me.
The incomparable vocal stylings of trumpeter George Rock at 6:20, ladies and gents…
Yes at first I thought that was Mel Blank ha ha
Might wanna back up to 6:18 or so
These routines are filled with musical references that few in today's audiences would understand. There was an adage that "you don't chew gum in the orchestra" that was widely known of in popular culture. The upturned trombone bell is no doubt a reference to Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet. The giant portrait of Spike behind the band comes from Paul Whiteman, who used a similarly placed caricature of himself with his band. References to "all girl bands", players opening their case and blowing the dust off their instrument (they never practice...), a harpist knitting during a piece (they count a lot of rests and of course the harp isn't utilized in most pieces of symphonic repertoire..). The tuba which expels bubbles (ala Lawrence Welk), and many more. And Spike calmly presiding over all of the bedlam, chewing away on a stick of Beeman's. Among his sidemen for this NBC TV series: George Rock, trumpet; Mickey Katz, clarinet; Tommy Pederson, trombone. Thanks for the laughs, Spike, we love you.
It's funny how much which just seems irreverent today was actually topical in it's time! (Knew something was up with the gum chewing... thanks for nailing-it-down!) Another was the anti-Soviet barb at the end! This show was done after the start of the Cold War! Stuff he did during WWII praised the Russians as allies! (HEY... Schikelgruber… Why you run so quick??? From the Bolshevik?!?)
garnerjazz58 g
I'm sure I rate as an ignoramus but I have heard of Spike Jones before.
+Thrashpondo Pons, I know the difference between irreverent and irrelevant, and so should you.
Does anyone know of a transmitter that incorporates a macro recording capability of the maneuvers that you were making so that you can replay it in a particular segment at the flip of a switch for the touch of a button that would be very helpful for us robotics this so that when we’re trying to do multiple maneuvers all at the same time we could just flip a switch and you can do these various tasks automatically and therefore doesn’t put such a high demand of skill on the operator
Awesomely good fun...
I remember back in the late 70s driving around with friends and listening to Spike Jones Greatest Hits. We knew all the words and tunes. Ahhhhh good times.
We might have mixed fairly well, cruising and singing Zappa songs from Uncle Meat, 200 Motels, Chunga's Revenge, and Waka Jawaka...... and some of Pink Floyd's "UmmaGumma" LP, and Genesis' "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" :)
Anywhere near the region of Baltimore, Maryland? :) Zappa's hometown, of course :)
I used to watch him on TV years ago. Loved his show. Always funny
Thank you...Thank you...Thank you. Priceless.
I'm 30 watching this in 2022. I love older music much more than my own times music. How am I just now discovering Spike Jones?
Listen to Cocktails for Two.
You probably no longer have a way to play those 78s in the attic.
Many years ago I met a musician who had worked with Spike Jones back in the 1950s. He said only the best musicians could keep up with the manic goings on in the land of the City Slickers.
For all the chaos, this was a disciplined band. Watch how Spike holds the final note (7:50) until the right moment, then gives the signal and everybody stops together.
It was reportedly said of him "He conducted the band with a baton in one hand and a revolver in the other".
Sounds like Frank Zappa, or Benny Goodman.
Imagine this act in today's hypersensitive environment when Spike fires off a few (blank) rounds during one of his many parody numbers. They'd have him cancelled overnight.
I'm a Boomer. I discovered Spike Jones when I got into my mom's record collection of 78s when I was about 4 years old. The record I found was "The William Tell Overture" by Spike Jones. My sisters and I went crazy over it. It wasn't until years later that Dr. Demento began to play Spike Jones on his show that heard more from these guys. "My Old Flame" was a favorite on Dr. Demento's show because all Boomers knew of Peter Lorre's manic voice and manner. Years later, I found a double CD set of Spike Jones. I keep it around for difficult times.
I was privileged to see "Spike Jones and his Whacky Whacaateers" perform at Ascot Park in Gardena, Ca. (a dirt track raceway) in the sixties. I knew who they were as my mother had several of their albums (yes vinyl ). He and his band were incredible performers and musicians.
I used to play with Spike Jones, Jr. in the 70's. Great time. Recorded a spoof of "raindrops falling on my head" by B.J. Thomas. Was played on Dr. Demeto Radio show on Sunday. You had to be on your toes. A lot of breaks and effects.
Me too. I rehearsed with Spike, in his garage, in the canyon. It was fun. I had other gigs and couldn't make enough rehearsals to continue.
@@farshimelt Yes, was fun. But one time I loaned him $500. and he never paid me back. No respect for the guy. NONE.
Wonderful and if noticed the break dance moves that confirm he and his troupe were on the leading edge. Amazing stuff.
I noticed that, too!
Ha ha. Yes, that's what I thought too. Such a nimble guy.
Those musicians were as tight as anything you'd ever see in any genre. fantastic timing
chitlika Masters...when you had to be top notch to be a paid musician
They better be. The guy waves a gun.
All former radio show orchestra / recording studio session players and former Big Band members. You will never find better musicians able to time and play anything in any key whenever, however. AND belt down a few shots during the breaks...Spike Jones was the drummer during 1938-1940 during NBC's Fibber McGee and Molly show in the Billy Mills Orchestra.
@@musicom67 I did this in high school as we did variety shows and stuff on the local level and I was okay but we had one guy that was one of those that could do anything any instrument he went on to be a professional musician I ended up in radio and he wasn't even the guy that can play two parts on Two Trumpets at one time now that skill was amazing
Tight as a duck's ass and that's water tight😂
Imagine doing a show similar to this in Vaudeville before TV five shows a day, six days a week. It's long forgotten now and since it was all LIVE! and just the of its day, which is why so little of the routines of the great Vaudevillians was never preserved - it just wasn't filmed. People just took meticulous timing and precision for granted as nothing out of the ordinary. And Spike Jones put it on steroids.
That's how they make it look so easy after working that much in front of an audience, from before the turn of the century (1900) until well into the 1940s (until TV came along on top of movies with sound) ... in a different city every week...
By 1952 performers out of that era could do this at this level in their sleep.
I remember seeing this on TV as a very young child. My parents said that i could barely walk, but I would dance around. I giggled all the way through the program
This flim is witness to the level of talent these folks had, great video! The show is fast paced in the same vein as earlier vaudeville acts, as were many other Golden Age television shows. However, they surely would not be appreciated in more modern times, and would have most likely been "Gonged" on the Gong Show!
Unbelievable energy level in all these guys. Nothing compares today.
Perhaps amphetamines aren't as widely embraced nowadays... Oh wait...
People in those days did full tours of stage shows. TV was an upstart medium that many thought would not last. The energy you see here was crafted over months and years of being on the road 340 days a year, and doing the same set of gags in every performance. If anything, watching these folks proves the old adage "practice makes perfect." because they make it all look so easy and spontaneous. The only guy I know that could compete with SJ was Ernie Kovacs and his crew.
Bang on Maxwell!
One never knows what Spike Jones is going to do. In 2019, he and his band are still hilariously funny.
1':30
1:4🎉 1:50 2
And all done live, nonstop, with zero electronic gadgets to pre-cord the hard parts to make sure it sounded right. No, they did it all live and on the spot. Simply unbelievable. Spike & Company were among the best of the best!
The dancing girl so beautiful and talented😊! Enjoyed this ! Great talent in all of them !🎉
She was Ruth Foster.
The music score is pure genius. It is one thing to write it but to keep it that tight? Take the writing and rehearsals there couldn't be many days left in a year to prep a full show.
And they wrote and prepped and rehearsed and performed a new show on TV every week. And being LIVE! there wasn't any pre-recording or dubbing. They did it and the chips fell where they fell.
An unforgettable Team of Musicians under Spike's command...
The guy that comes out at 4:34 is an amazing physical performer. Hes doing so many things that require strength, flexibility, and energy and makes it seem effortless. I can see the beginnings of break dance moves in a few instances. The whole show is fantastic.
I’m 67 years old ! But I never heard of the spike jones show ??? I did recognize Jim bacus ! Wow ! Mr magoo
This is a rare glimpse into the world of pre-TV entertainment. Incredible performance skills.
Before we had TV in the 50s, we laughed at his records. I would have been a year old when this was done.
I can only guess at the sheer amount of rehearsal these routines took! such talent
Levon Helm:
Now me and my mate were back at the shack
We had Spike Jones on the box
She said, "I can't take the way he sings
But I love to hear him talk"
Now that just gave my heart a throb
To the bottom of my feet
Wow, truly mind blowing. Never seen anything like this. The best of music, dance, theater, just everything. So well done and the energy, forget it. What an ensemble of amazing characters everyone showcased in some way. Spike Jones forever.
That was one of the craziest things I've ever seen. Man, live television sure was the cat's meow!
Such a great intro! It never fails to crack me up.
In 10 minutes more talent than every pop artist today combined.
Yeah, right!
That's what's called "damning with faint praise"
Yes, but somewhat wasted.
And Jim Bachus
You have got that right
I first heard Spike Jones and his City Slickers when I was quite young--maybe 5 or 6--from some 78s my parents had. I listened to them over and over so I was able to memorize their routines. ❤
My dad loved Spike Jones. This is the first time I've ever seen him.
My granddad played this music. Listened to Spike Jones as a kid.. Frank Zappa has an album called Does Humor Belong in Music? Yes .. it very much does.
Spike Jones, what a Grade A nut! This stuff is on another plain of reality/talent.
Spike Jones was nothing but crap .. nothing funny about him .. What a loser he was ... waste of time watching his stupid so called entertainment .. I notice their was only white people in his band ..this indicates he was a racist ,a total white supremacist .. his stench will not be missed
*plane
@@FreedomFighter-cr5xg I notice that there were only white people in the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, and only black people in the Supremes and lots of other Motown groups. I guess they're all racists, too, right?
People like you just...suck. The sooner you realize it, the sooner you can begin to learn not to.
great timing....the shows ambience sounds quite modern to me,Spike seem.ed ahead of his time.
@@FreedomFighter-cr5xg racist attitudes will never go away, its been with us since the beginning of time, so dont waste your time worrying about it, its a human condition noone can change.
Around 5:40 look at the birth of a breakdancing move. These performers got some fresh moves way ahead of their time
I think it comes from Vaudeville, where you rose or fell on your ability to improvise.
My comment before reading yours. Good eye brother.
The guy looks like Paul Merson who used to play for Arsenal football club!
Curly - The Three Stooges - break dance moves! Coffee Grinder - nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!
Not mention the Rapping at 4:40, one of the first Rappers
What a treasure! So glad we have this to look back on! Thank you for sharing and thanks Spike for all the laughs!
My dad use to mention this show and how he liked it. Now I see why. Funny stuff!
Thanks for posting it. 😊
The tune that starts at 6:08 (first on flit guns with reeds and then with a vocal "squawker" and finally on tuned bells) is the "Melody in F" by Rubinstein.
It didn't end with the bells, the headless banjo players continued and ended the medley on it. I am wondering what this medley has to do with Tchaikovsky, and the best I can come up with is that Rubenstein was the university professor who taught Tchaikovsky, and was his predecessor as head of the university's music department.