Customer Reviews

Spike Jones Off the Record : The Man Who Murdered Music

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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.

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.

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)

This is a very thorough, well documented and well written biography of Spike Jones. Readers will get a good sense of Spike the man, his approach to music, the main members of the his band and the legacy of his music. One is left with the impression that Jones and his fellow band musicians worked very hard for their money and fame. Their frequently hilarious music remains a wonderful gift to us in the 21st century. Read and enjoy!

Jordan R. Young returns to a subject he originally covered in the 1984 "Spike Jones and His City Slickers", in a somewhat expanded format. His revised version is far and away the definitive work on an incredibly complex entertainer. Jones comes across in the work as a man for whom show-business was truly a business, and a ruthless one at that. His habit of stealing credit for all manner of innovations developed by his band members makes him appear the Tom Edison of Corn, in more ways than one. While the book is highly informative -- particularly in the biographical appendix of the band members -- it suffers from atrocious editing.