After midnight, on this date in 1952, Spike Jones and his City Slickers were still playing their notorious “Musical Depreciation Revue of 1952” for over seven thousand fans at the UND Fieldhouse. According to this day's evening edition of the Grand Forks Herald, individual performers had kept spectators occupied starting at 8:30, until the set was ready for the main show, which then started two hours late. As the entertainers took their bows after midnight, members of the audience were reported to have become “laughsick.” The Herald also reported that the group’s delayed start was cause by a baggage car derailing near Staples, Minnesota.
The Grand Forks chapter of Disabled American Veterans sponsored this greatly anticipated concert. Tickets were $1.50, $2.50, and $3.50 at Scott's Music shop.
Spike Jones became a star in 1942 when he satirized Adolf Hitler with his hit single: “Der Fuehrer's Face.” It featured the line “Heil [Bronx cheer].” The song would later be featured in a Disney cartoon with the same name, starring Donald Duck.
“Spike Jones and His City Slickers” became known for what the Dakota Student charitably called “each unusual sound” from “each unique instrument.”
The comedy musical group would also play five years later on March 8, 1957 at the North Dakota Winter Show in Valley City.
A promotional catch phrase for the group claimed that Spike Jones was “the man who set music back ten thousand years.” He was too modest. Along with antics which, on a scale of one to ten, brought zaniness up to eleven, he and his band wore perhaps the classiest suits that could have been made from window curtains and couch upholstery. Spike Jones and His City Slickers frequently performed in drag. One of their songs went, “It's tough to be a girl musician, especially if you happen to be a man.”
This notorious murderer of popular music pioneered the foghorn in public performance. With thirty-three cowbells, Spike Jones may have had enough cowbell for actor Christopher Walken, who famously pleaded for “more cowbell” from Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live.
Jones, the “Clown Prince of Musical Comedy,” would have a profound influence on future generations of artists. These included Dr. Demento, Weird Al Yankovic, and North Dakota native Peter Schickele, who was a senior at Fargo Central High at the time of the 1952 performance.
Dakota Datebook by Andrew Alexis Varvel
References:
- “Spike Jones Revue Plays To 7,000”, Grand Forks Herald, 8 April 1952, page 2, column 8.
- “7,000 See 'Spike' at Fieldhouse”, Grand Forks Herald (evening edition), 8 April 1952, page 6, column 6.
- “DAV to Stage Spike Jones Musical Revue”, Dakota Student (Grand Forks), 28 March 1952, page 6, column 1.
- “Der Fuehrer's Face”, The best of Spike Jones and his City Slickers (New York: RCA Victor, 1967), vinyl recording found on YouTube.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g73kKLts95U
- “Der Fuehrer's Face” (animated short movie), (Burbank, CA: The Walt Disney Company, 1943; distributed by RKO Radio Pictures), found on YouTube.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-PZVrWvJM0
- “'Spike' Rehearses”, Dakota Student (Grand Forks), 4 April 1952, page 2, column 3.
- “Zany Bandleader Spike Jones Dies” (Associated Press), Bismarck Tribune, 1 May 1965, page 20, columns 3-4.
- “Outstanding Shows At Winter Show”, Hope Pioneer, 28 February 1957, page 2, columns 6-7.
- “North Dakota Winter Show” (advertisement), Hope Pioneer, 28 February 1957, page 4, columns 4-6.
- “ENTERTAINMENT OUTSTANDING FOR WINTER SHOW”, Steele County Press (Finley, ND), 28 February 1957, page 2, column 5.
- “The Evolution of Music” from “All Star Revue 2”, Disc 2, “Spike Jones: the legend” (Burbank, CA: Estate of Spike Jones & Slingshot Entertainment & Infinity Entertainment, 2007)
- “The Evolution of Music” from Volumes 1 & 2, Disc 1 and Volume 3, Disc 2 in “The best of Spike Jones: the funniest show on Earth” (Los Angeles: Infinity Entertainment Group, 2009, special edition)
- “It's Tough To Be A Girl Musician...” in “The Bewitching Hour” from “All Star Revue 1”, Disc 2, “Spike Jones: the legend” (Burbank, CA: Estate of Spike Jones & Slingshot Entertainment & Infinity Entertainment, 2007)
- “It's Tough To Be A Girl Musician...” in “The Bewitching Hour” from Volume 1, Disc 1, “The best of Spike Jones: the funniest show on Earth” (Los Angeles: Infinity Entertainment Group, 2009, special edition)
- “Music Murderer!: Spike Jones Attributes Success to 33 Cowbells”, Winnipeg Tribune, 27 March 1946, page 11, columns 3-4.
- “More Cowbell”, Saturday Night Live (Season 25), National Broadcasting Company, 8 April 2000. Here is a link to SNL's video on YouTube.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVsQLlk-T0s
- “Gala Musical Revue Stars Spike Jones”, Los Angeles Times, 24 August 1952, Home Show Section (Part VI), page 3, column 2.
- Wayne Robins, “Novelties from Dr. Demento”, Newsday (New York), 1 December 1985, Part II, page 19 (page 132).
- “The happy notes: We may be too jaded for musical satire”, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jauary 1988, Section 5, page 9.
- “Crazy 'Weird Al' spoofs more tunes 'In 3-D'” (Gannett News Service), Palladium-Item (Richmond, IN), 20 April 1984, page 19.
- “'Weird Al' Discusses Spike's Influences”, Disc 3: Special Features, “Spike Jones: the legend” (Burbank, CA: Estate of Spike Jones & Slingshot Entertainment & Infinity Entertainment, 2007)
- “Peter Schickele, zany perpetrator of P. D. Q. Bach” (Christian Science Monitor), Daily Messenger (Canandaigua, NY), 27 August 1976, page 10.
