Spike Jones
The wilderness yearsLindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 - May 1, 1965) was a popular musician and comedian. He was born in Long Beach, California. His father was a Southern Pacific railroad agent. He got his nickname by being so thin that he was compared to a railroad spike. At the age of eleven he got his first set of drums. As a teenager he played in bands that he formed himself. A chef in a railroad restaurant taught him how to use adapted pots and pans, forks, knives and spoons as musical instruments. He frequently played in theater pit orchestras. In the 1930's he joined the Victor Young Band and thereby got many offers to appear to radio shows including the Al Jolson Lifebuoy Show, Burns and Allen (with George Burns) and Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall. In 1940, he had an uncredited part in the film Give Us Wings, and in 1942 as a hillbilly in Pass the Biscuits, Mirandy. He joined up with vocalist Del Porter and performed in Los Angeles, gaining a cult following. By 1941 the band included violinist Carl Grayson. Other band members were George Rock (voice and trumpet), Doodles Weaver (voice) and Red Ingle (voice). They became his backing band The City Slickers.Jones's wife was the singer Helen Grayco, who performed on some of his radio shows. They recorded five records for Victor's label "Bluebird" before receiving their big break. Der Fuehrer's FaceIn 1942 Walt Disney made a propaganda cartoon called "Donald Duck in Nutzi Land". It contained the song "Der Fuehrer's Face" which was released as a single. It reached number 2. It is said that even Hitler heard it. Spike had seven top ten hits from 1942 to 1949, even though no new recordings were made for a year during a strike by the American Federation of Musicians. His signature tune, Cocktails for Two, was recorded in about 1943. In 1945 he got his own show. In more than 60 shows his guests included Groucho Marx, Hank Williams, Frankie Laine and Burl Ives. Spike's parody of Vaughn Monroe's "Ghost Riders In the Sky" was quickly withdrawn and is a prized rarity. Sinatra appeared in October 1948, Lassie in May 1949. Through the late 40s and early 50's the band toured the USA and Canada under the name "The Musical Depreciation Revue". The band grew from 7 to 16 players. He appeared in a dozen films in the late forties and fifties, always playing himself. Murdering The ClassicsOne of his earliest recordings was an adaption of Liszt's "Liebestraum". It was played at a jaunty pace on inappropriate instruments. Rossini's "William Tell Overture" was rendered on kitchen implements. In live shows Spike would acknowledge the applause with complete solemnity, saying "Thank you music lovers". A collection of 12 of these homicides was released in 1971 as "Spike Jones is Murdering The Classics". Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and other Warner Brothers cartoon characters, provided the hiccups on "Clink Clink Another Drink". It used drinking glasses as musical instruments. In 1948 Spike recorded "(All I want for Christmas is) my two Front Teeth". It was a number one hit. Dora Bryan had a hit in 1963 with a variation called "All I want For Christmas is a Beatle". SoundiesA series of short musical films were made by the band. These so-called soundies were put onto juke boxes. In them we see Jones dressed in a suit with an enormous check pattern, leaping around playing cowbells, a suite of klaxons, foghorns, then xylophone then shooting a pistol into the air. One of their instruments was a "latrinophone", a toilet seat with strings. The band got their own variety shows on NBC then CBS from 1954 to 1961. In 1990 BBC2 screened six compilation shows from these broadcasts. Songs from the soundies were released on a compilation called Not Your Standard Spike Jones Collection. The FiftiesThe war years were lean times for Frank Sinatra. He was glad to have work as a comedy actor. Once his fame grew he repaid his debt to Spike by inviting him onto his show in 1958. "The Perry Como Show" had him as a guest in 1956, and Jack Benny in the same year. Also in 1956, Jones released his first LP, Dinner Music For People Who Aren't Very Hungry. By 1959 his act seemed old-fashioned and work dried up. Spike Jones died in Beverly Hills on 1st May 1965. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Radioland MurdersIn 1994 Mel Smith directed a film based on a script by George Lucas. Set in 1939, it contains fictionalized versions of Spike Jones and Frank Sinatra. "Radioland Murders" was poorly reviewed and compared unfavorable with Woody Allen's "Radio Days". It contains the last appearance of George Burns. Two members of Spike Jones's band appear in the film - Billy Barty (1924 - 2000) and Paul "Mousie" Garner (1909 - 2004), playing themselves. Misleading biographiesMany compilations from the seventies and eighties contained spurious dates of birth and death for Spike in the liner notes. Unfortunately they have been widely reproduced on the web and in books. He was not born on 14th May 1916, nor did he die on March 29th 1966. His real name was not Harry Joseph Chick Daugherty. InfluenceThere is a clear line of influence from the Marx Brothers to Spike Jones and to Stan Freberg, The Goons, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and to "Weird Al" Yankovic. Billy Barty even appeared in a video by "Weird Al" Yankovic. Some other well-known tracks included:
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Some other well-known tracks included:. She was nominated for a 2005 Grammy award for "Best Instrumental Composition Accompanying a Vocal" for her interpretation of the song "Unchained Melody" on her At Last album. Billy Barty even appeared in a video by "Weird Al" Yankovic. In March of 2004 the full length "Shine" album was finally released, though exclusively in Japan. There is a clear line of influence from the Marx Brothers to Spike Jones and to Stan Freberg, The Goons, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and to "Weird Al" Yankovic. In November 2003 an album of standards was released entitled At Last (formerly "Naked City"), which became a top 40 hit in the US and Australia. His real name was not Harry Joseph Chick Daugherty. She maintains a devoted fanbase and lives in New York with her husband, actor David Thornton, and their child. He was not born on 14th May 1916, nor did he die on March 29th 1966. She then re-signed with Sony/Epic Records, the label that made her a star, and a new album called Naked City was in the works. Many compilations from the seventies and eighties contained spurious dates of birth and death for Spike in the liner notes. Unfortunately they have been widely reproduced on the web and in books. Additionally Lauper's former label Sony issued a new greatest hits CD entitled The Essential Cyndi Lauper. Two members of Spike Jones's band appear in the film - Billy Barty (1924 - 2000) and Paul "Mousie" Garner (1909 - 2004), playing themselves. of remixes from the unreleased "Shine" album was sold on the Edel America Records website. It contains the last appearance of George Burns. In 2003, an E.P. "Radioland Murders" was poorly reviewed and compared unfavorable with Woody Allen's "Radio Days". She undertook her second co-headlining tour with Cher in 2002. Set in 1939, it contains fictionalized versions of Spike Jones and Frank Sinatra. of the same name was made available through her website and at Tower Records, the full length album concept was scrapped. In 1994 Mel Smith directed a film based on a script by George Lucas. Although a five song E.P. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Just weeks before the album's scheduled release, however, her label, Edel America Records, folded, and, to Lauper's consternation, the tracks were leaked to the public. Spike Jones died in Beverly Hills on 1st May 1965. In 2001 Lauper prepared an album, Shine, which saw her returning to her early bubblegum pop sound without losing the "maturity" she had embraced on later records. Also in 1956, Jones released his first LP, Dinner Music For People Who Aren't Very Hungry. By 1959 his act seemed old-fashioned and work dried up. She also garnered critical plaudits for her roles in several independent films including The Opportunists (with Christopher Walken) and Off and Running. "The Perry Como Show" had him as a guest in 1956, and Jack Benny in the same year. In 1999 she co-headlined a tour alongside Cher, and contributed a cover version of the disco classic "Disco Inferno" to the soundtrack of the film A Night at the Roxbury. Once his fame grew he repaid his debt to Spike by inviting him onto his show in 1958. The album's singles were remixed to great acclaim, and Lauper began performing as a featured artist at gay pride events around the world. He was glad to have work as a comedy actor. The topicality of the album also contributed to its "pink" appeal: the song "Ballad of Cleo and Joe" addressed the complications of a drag queen's double life, while "You Don't Know" tackled the thorny issue of coming out. The war years were lean times for Frank Sinatra. With subject matter even more adult than before, it was quickly embraced by the gay community for its disco and club stylings. Songs from the soundies were released on a compilation called Not Your Standard Spike Jones Collection. Her 1997 album Sisters of Avalon brought her back into the limelight. In 1990 BBC2 screened six compilation shows from these broadcasts. The album was released under a number of different titles, packaging and track listings around the world. The band got their own variety shows on NBC then CBS from 1954 to 1961. and Then Some, a greatest hits compilation that included two new tracks, one of which was a remix of her first big hit, newly christened "Hey Now (Girls Just Wanna Have Fun)". One of their instruments was a "latrinophone", a toilet seat with strings. She also released 12 Deadly Cyns.. In them we see Jones dressed in a suit with an enormous check pattern, leaping around playing cowbells, a suite of klaxons, foghorns, then xylophone then shooting a pistol into the air. In 1995 Lauper won an Emmy award for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series" for her portrayal of wealthy contessa Marianne Lugasso in Mad About You. These so-called soundies were put onto juke boxes. With a smooth new R&B sound and production by Junior Vasquez, she tackled such topics as spousal abuse and abortion. A series of short musical films were made by the band. She released the critically acclaimed album Hat Full of Stars in the same year, but once again sales were poor. Dora Bryan had a hit in 1963 with a variation called "All I want For Christmas is a Beatle". Fox's secretary in My Life With Mikey. It was a number one hit. Lauper took a break from singing at this point, but didn't disappear from show business, and in 1993 she played Michael J. In 1948 Spike recorded "(All I want for Christmas is) my two Front Teeth". In 1990 she joined many other guests for Roger Waters' massive performance of The Wall in Berlin. It used drinking glasses as musical instruments. Orbison's version was not released until 1992, three years after Lauper's version and four years after Orbison's death. Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and other Warner Brothers cartoon characters, provided the hiccups on "Clink Clink Another Drink". Lauper's third album, 1989's A Night to Remember, though critically well-received, was not as commercially successful as its predecessors, spawning just one hit, "I Drove All Night", which was originally penned for Roy Orbison. A collection of 12 of these homicides was released in 1971 as "Spike Jones is Murdering The Classics". Her soundtrack contribution, "Hole In My Heart (All the Way to China)", also flopped. In live shows Spike would acknowledge the applause with complete solemnity, saying "Thank you music lovers". In 1988 she appeared as the female lead in the quirky comedy Vibes, which was poorly received by critics and a commercial flop. It was played at a jaunty pace on inappropriate instruments. Rossini's "William Tell Overture" was rendered on kitchen implements. The title song went on to become her second Platinum number 1 hit. One of his earliest recordings was an adaption of Liszt's "Liebestraum". Revealing a more mature sound and sensibility, it reached number 4 on the US album charts. He appeared in a dozen films in the late forties and fifties, always playing himself. In 1986, after recording the song "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" for the 1985 film The Goonies, Lauper released her second album, True Colors. The band grew from 7 to 16 players. At this stage of her career, she was often compared to Madonna. Through the late 40s and early 50's the band toured the USA and Canada under the name "The Musical Depreciation Revue". Lauper was popular with teenagers, in part because of her quirky image which took the popular late 1970s punk look and marketed it to a mainstream audience. Sinatra appeared in October 1948, Lassie in May 1949. The album also included "She Bop", a paean to female masturbation, and the romantic ballad "Time After Time", an instant "standard" which has since been covered by over 70 artists (most notably Miles Davis). Spike's parody of Vaughn Monroe's "Ghost Riders In the Sky" was quickly withdrawn and is a prized rarity. Cyndi Lauper was the first female artist to have four consecutive Top 5 hits from one album, She's So Unusual. In more than 60 shows his guests included Groucho Marx, Hank Williams, Frankie Laine and Burl Ives. Lauper won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards of 1984 for her work on the album. In 1945 he got his own show. A mixture of teen-friendly pop-rock and edgier, almost punky sounds, the album's biggest hit, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", quickly established itself as a female anthem. His signature tune, Cocktails for Two, was recorded in about 1943. She began her career in a band named Blue Angel, and in 1983 started dating her manager David Wolff with whom she released She's So Unusual, a worldwide hit which made Lauper a household name. Spike had seven top ten hits from 1942 to 1949, even though no new recordings were made for a year during a strike by the American Federation of Musicians. Cyndi Lauper was born in Queens, New York. It is said that even Hitler heard it. Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper (born June 22, 1953), better known as Cyndi Lauper, is a singer whose melodic voice and wild costumes have come to epitomize the 1980s, the decade in which she first came to fame. It reached number 2. 2005 The Naked Brothers Band (currently in post-production). It contained the song "Der Fuehrer's Face" which was released as a single. 1999 The Opportunists. In 1942 Walt Disney made a propaganda cartoon called "Donald Duck in Nutzi Land". Parker and the Vicious Circle (Cameo). They recorded five records for Victor's label "Bluebird" before receiving their big break. 1994 Mrs. They became his backing band The City Slickers.Jones's wife was the singer Helen Grayco, who performed on some of his radio shows. 1993 Life With Mikey. By 1941 the band included violinist Carl Grayson. Other band members were George Rock (voice and trumpet), Doodles Weaver (voice) and Red Ingle (voice). 1991 Off and Running. He joined up with vocalist Del Porter and performed in Los Angeles, gaining a cult following. 1988 Vibes. In 1940, he had an uncredited part in the film Give Us Wings, and in 1942 as a hillbilly in Pass the Biscuits, Mirandy. 1985 The Goonies (Cameo). In the 1930's he joined the Victor Young Band and thereby got many offers to appear to radio shows including the Al Jolson Lifebuoy Show, Burns and Allen (with George Burns) and Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall. Sincerely...Mariya Takeuchi Songbook (Various Artists) - 2003 (Vocals on "Winter Lovers"). He frequently played in theater pit orchestras. Blowback (Tricky) - 2000 (Vocals on "Five Days"). A chef in a railroad restaurant taught him how to use adapted pots and pans, forks, knives and spoons as musical instruments. Rugrats in Paris - the Movie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Various Artists) - 200 (Contributes track). As a teenager he played in bands that he formed himself. Southie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Various Artists) - 1999 (Vocals on Wild Colonials track "If By Chance"). At the age of eleven he got his first set of drums. A Night at the Roxbury: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - 1998 (Contributes track). His father was a Southern Pacific railroad agent. He got his nickname by being so thin that he was compared to a railroad spike. Largo (Various Artists) - 1998 (Contributes 2 tracks). He was born in Long Beach, California. Out of Body (The Hooters) - 1993 (Lead vocals on "Boys Will be Boys"). Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 - May 1, 1965) was a popular musician and comedian. Put on Your Green Shoes (Various Artists) - 1993 (Performs title track, billed as part of "3 Cats 'n Jammers").
"That Old Black Magic". The Bridge (Billy Joel) - 1986 (Duets on "Code of Silence"). "I Went to your Wedding". Cyndi Lauper & Friends (Compilation with songs by others) - 1985 (Brazil Only). "Cocktails for Two". The Wrestling Album (Various Artists) - 1985 (Backing Vocals, billed as "Mona Flambe"). Confrontation (Face to Face) - 1985 (Backing Vocals, billed as "Kindy Lipkey"). USA For Africa - 1985. The Goonies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack = 1985. What's In a Name? (Henry Gross) - 1981 (Backing Vocals). Shine Remixes - 2003. Shine E.P. - 2002. Wanna Have Fun - 1998. Shine - 2004 (Japan Only). At Last - 2003. The Essential Cyndi Lauper - 2003. Shine - 2002 (Unreleased). Pop Wave - 2002 (Germany Only). Cyndi Lauper - V.I.P. - 2002 (Germany Only). Feels Like Christmas - 2001. Grande Sucesses - 2001 (Brazil Only). Siglo XXI Cyndi Lauper Los Exitos Del Siglo - 2001 (Brazil Only). Media Markt Presents Cyndi Lauper - 2001 (Germany Only). Cyndi Lauper Greatest Hits - 2000 (Colombia Only). Best of Best Gold - Time After Time - 2000 (UK/France Only). Cyndi Lauper - The Best - 2000 (Peru Only). Merry Christmas...Have a Nice Life - 1998. Sisters of Avalon - 1996. Twelve Deadly Cyns...and Then Some - 1994. Hat Full of Stars - 1993. The Best Remixes - 1989. A Night to Remember - 1989. True Colors - 1986. She's So Unusual - 1984. Blue Angel - 1980. Download sample of "Time After Time" from She's So Unusual. |