Spike Jones Popularity?

[martinsantos]

Just discovered that Spike Jones and His City Slickers are very popular ever between those who usually wouldn't have any curiosity about 40s music. And ever more than several other orchestras.

Why this? A guy told me about he started to like Jones after reading a comment by Thomas Pynchon.

I like a lot Jones' Orch, but this is strange, anyway... It's a novelties orchestra, very musical, but it isn't the kind of music to say "is my very very best orchestra".

Did anybody see something similar happening?

Martin

 

[LizzieMaine]

Spike Jones records seem to sell for more than they ought to -- they aren't at all rare, and you have to understand '40s popular culture more than is common today in order to get all the jokes. I think Jones himself is seen as some kind of breakthru proto-hipster-comedian, even though Freddie "Schnickelfritz" Fisher was doing pretty much the same style of self-conscious parody/corn several years before Jones was.

 

[Tomasso]

Generally I don't care much for Spike but his rendition of Harlem Nocturne is my absolute favorite. It's devoid of his usual shenanigans but for a tiny little swizzle at the end.

[video=youtube;SKezdZjHnFA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKezdZjHnFA[/video]

 

[Lefty W.]

his rendition of Harlem Nocturne is my absolute favorite.

Very interesting bass line in that one.

I compare Spike Jones' music with some of Frank Zappa's work in the '70s. Zappa always had MONSTER players in his various band incarnations. I suspect the same is true for Mr. Jones.

 

[martinsantos]

This is a wonderful record!!

In fact, almost all tracks from this CD are very very good.

Skipe could play very seriously when wanted to do so; he had for a while "the Other Orchestra".

Generally I don't care much for Spike but his rendition of Harlem Nocturne is my absolute favorite. It's devoid of his usual shenanigans but for a tiny little swizzle at the end.

Msss Lizie, I will look for Freddie Fisher, never heard about this!

Anyway, I think that the new public of Jones just understand the revolver shots, percussion, etc, and do not take care about the "period jokes". And he had a strange good musically. I like his version of "Holliday for Strings", for example. Another songs are funny, but can get a little tedious when you hear several in the same sequence.

One of his banjoists (Freddie Morgan) recorded an LP with charlestons, etc, very good, in 1952 or 1953. I suppose all personal were from Jones Orch, ever because himself produced and supervised all the sessions, and the sound is very similar.