Spike Jones Off the Record : The Man Who Murdered Music [Paperback]

Jordan R. Young (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1994

The acclaimed biography of the pistol-packing bandleader and his his accomplices in musical mayhem, whose zany slam-bang versions of classics and popular songs are enjoying a major resurgence via CD and home video. This book offers an irreverant backstage look at the man behind the carefully-crafted image: a lover of classical music who wanted to be taken seriously, a man with a razor-sharp tongue and an X-rated sense of humor, and a shrewd public relations wizard who never made an unrehearsed move.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"By the time you're finished, you'll know more about the music business than, perhaps, you wanted to -- and you'll also have a nifty perspective on American social history in the 1940s." -- San Francisco Examiner, 4/5/85.

"Jordan Young digs beneath the public persona to shed some light on this complicated man who... was colorful and wacky, larger-than-life, and always hustling behind the scenes." -- United Press International.

"Looks for the real Spike Jones. Not simply another glowing Hollywood biography... objectively covers the ups and downs of Jones' career." -- The Los Angeles Times, 12/14/84.

"Spike Jones is again the cult rage. Jordan R. Young's carefully researched biography is making its own noise..." -- Time, 6/13/94

"Thanks to this book, we can learn at last just how Spike Jones made his magic, and what sort of magic man he was." -- Dr. Demento, 6/84

"Young reveals the private world of Jones and expands on thre public career which brought universal fame to this master of musical mayhem." -- Jazz Journal, 7/85

From the Author

Spike Jones was an immensely private individual who took great pains to hide the truth. His love of classical music was kept carefully under wraps, as were his razor-sharp tongue and ribald sense of humor. "If the real me were ever known," he once confided to Tom Prideaux of Life magazine, "my entire image would be shot."

The idea for this book was sown one evening in 1976, at a spirited Hollywood banquet where I found myself seated next to Doodles Weaver. Despite every intention of pumping him for anecdotes about Jones, he made me laugh so hard, just being himself, I didn't get the chance. The following year I interviewed Mickey Katz for The Los Angeles Times. His amusing and unexpected remarks about his former employer further aroused my curiosity.

Five years later, when a wealth of long lost memorabilia fell serendipitiously into my hands -- including Jones' personal files, and the actual arrangements used by the band -- the time was ripe. I began to track down and interview the survivors of the Spike Jones organization and draw out their recollections of the man, who assaulted popular and classical music with unparalleled artistry.

When "Spike Jones and his City Slickers" was first published in 1984, I didn't realize it was work in progress. Although many people have called it the definitive book, I do not feel it is possible to exhaust a subject as complex as Spike Jones. The subject will surely exhaust the author first.

A few years ago I realized a third of the people I had interviewed for the first edition had passed away, and that a part of history was fast disappearing. It occurred to me that perhaps I hadn't told the whole story. This revised and expanded edition digs deeper into the past and hopefully gives a much more complete picture of the man and his largely unsung accomplices, the niche they inhabited in the entertainment world and the circumstances under which they worked.

"Spike Jones Off the Record" is largely an oral history, of necessity, a story told by the men and women who lived it, on the road and in the studio. The additional research for this edition shed new light on many facets of Jones' life and career and yielded much heretofore unpublished information. New discoveries, however, have led only to further contradictions.

Jones himself never let the truth get in the way of a good story; he would sacrifice almost anything for the sake of a joke. This is an effort to separate fact from fiction and delineate reality from fantasy. It is not my intent to build Jones up or tear him down; he deserves neither hagiography nor hatchet treatment.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Past Times Pub Co; Rev Exp Su edition (June 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940410273
• ISBN-13: 978-0940410275
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,276,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a freelance writer, entertainment historian and playwright. I've traveled extensively in Europe and the U.S. but researching and writing books like "Spike Jones Off the Record," "Acting Solo," and "The Beckett Actor" has been the great adventure of my life. Without readers I wouldn't be here, so I thank all of you who have discovered my books and shared my adventures.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-researched look at the king of crazy music., January 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Spike Jones Off the Record : The Man Who Murdered Music (Paperback)

This is an excellent, well-researched look at a musician who influenced people from Zappa to Weird Al. Jones' serious side and dedication to his music are well-explored without the sense of a tabloid "tell-all." This is the ultimate biography of Jones, with attention paid to the importance of the members of his band. Reading the book made me listen to his music with a new, informed ear. I was especially interested in (and saddened by) the life of Doodles Weaver. An honest and fascinating book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive authority on Spike Jones - great., February 27, 1999

By 

Pete Levin & The Clams ([e-mail]) (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spike Jones Off the Record : The Man Who Murdered Music (Paperback)

Other than being a fun read, "Off The Record" is a definitive, all-inclusive reference source for Jones' life and career, as well as a great source of information about the bands and musicians he performed and recorded with. Great photos too. As a tribute band with only one recording we're only a small part of the story, but we were honored (and tickled) to be included with a reference.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Off the Record ... Spike Jones ... Man Who Murdered Music (Bear Manor)", November 2, 2010

By 

J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spike Jones Off the Record: The Man Who Murdered Music (Paperback)

BearManor Media presents "SPIKE JONES OFF THE RECORD:THE MAN WHO MURDERED MUSIC" (Paperback), by Jordan R. Young(Author) --- The author gives us detailed background and behind the scenes within the life and times of this one of a kind musician --- Young lets us the reader in on the magic that surrounded this complicated man --- Spike reportedly got his idea for demented re-workings of popular songs after hearing the squeaking shoes of an orchestra conductor during a live broadcast of a symphony performance --- Spike started out as a top studio drummer, working on several Bing Crosby sessions and as a percussionist and on the "The Wizard of Oz" (1939) soundtrack --- .Largely an oral history, of necessity, as told by the men and women who lived it, on the road and in the studios while history was being engraved into the granite of show business --- Highly recommend this five star book and all the fun reading it contains.

BIOS:
Spike Jones (aka: Lindley Armstrong Jones)
Date of Birth: 14 December 1911 - Long Beach, California
Date of Death: 1 May 1965 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California

As the author Jordan Young points out -- "Jones himself never let the truth get in the way of a good story, he would sacrifice almost anything for a the sake of a joke. This is an effort to separate fact from fiction and delineate reality from fantasy. It is not my intent to exalt or depreciate Jones, neither hagiography nor sensationalism is appropriate". --- Remember this was back in the day when his music and himself was a pioneer of entertaining the public -- Thanks to Ben Ohmart and his BearManor Media gang for imploring the author for this 20th Anniversary Edition giving us a much more complete picture of the bandleader and his accomplices --- gotta love it!

Total Page: 420 Pages ~ BearManor Media #ISBN-10: 1593930127 ~ (October 2004)