DVD News
Spike Jones and the City Slickers brought back on DVD, Dec.12th
By April MacIntyre Dec 5, 2009, 22:00 GMT
The Best of Spike Jones is brought back from the past, a new DVD set to be released on December 12.
M&C Holiday Web Thump for curious budget conscious consumers:
The Best of Spike Jones is brought back from the past, a new DVD set to be released on December 12.
“Spike Jones was a hilarious innovator. With a starter’s pistol,
assorted screams and a band of crazy musicians, Spike was the Mozart of Mayhem.” - Billy Crystal
Spike's comedic genius was light years ahead of his time, directly influencing such iconoclasts as Frank Zappa, Ernie Kovacs, Dr. Demento, Weird Al Yancovic, George Carlin and Billy Crystal.
Preceding parodies on YouTube, iconic comedic bandleader Spike Jones and the City Slickers were the original “Bad Boys of Music.”
Their legacy comes to DVD in The Best of Spike Jones, trumpeting onto DVD from Infinity Entertainment Group.
Dubbed the “Master of Musical Mayhem” by Rolling Stone magazine, comedic bandleader Spike Jones and the City Slickers were hugely popular in the ’40s, ’50s and early ’60s.
A life-long smoker, Spike died young, at age 53.
Background:
From 1954-61 Spike came into living rooms across the nation with The Spike Jones Show (NBC & CBS). He took America’s most popular songs, and added sneezes, hiccups, gun shots, explosives, belches, cowbells, fog horns, milk bottles and, of course, knockwurst.
According to his biography, in 1942, a strike by the American Federation of Musicians prevented Jones from making commercial recordings for over two years. However, Spike could make records for radio broadcasts.
These were released on the Standard Transcriptions label (1941–46) and have been reissued on a CD compilation called (Not) Your Standard Spike Jones Collection.
Jones had a huge broadcast hit late in 1942 with "Der Fuehrer's Face," a song ridiculing Adolf Hitler that followed every use of the word "Heil" with the classic razzberry, as in the repeated phrase "...Heil, (razzberry), Heil (razzberry), right in Der Fuehrer's face!".
The classic television show is on DVD for the first time, digitally re-mastered and featuring over 60 songs (including Spike’s biggest hits), in a special-edition, three-disc collector's set produced under the personal supervision of Spike Jones, Jr.
The Best of Spike Jones is presented in full frame with an aspect ratio of 4 x 3 and mono sound. Bonus material includes two never-before-aired pilots, marking the band’s television debut.
