Spike Jones
Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician, bandleader and conductor specializing in spoof arrangements and satire of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with various sound effects, including gunshots, whistles, cowbells, hiccups, burps, sneezes, animal sounds and outlandish and comedic vocals. Jones and his band recorded for RCA Victor under the title Spike Jones and His City Slickers from the early 1940s to the mid-1950s, and they toured the United States and Canada as "The Musical Depreciation Revue". |
Birth and Death Data: Born Long Beach (city in Los Angeles County, California, United States), Died May 1, 1965 (Beverly Hills (city in Los Angeles County, California, United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1937 - 1950
Roles Represented in DAHR: drums, leader, arranger, songwriter, vocalist, washboard, lyricist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 160 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | PBS-026186 | 10-in. | 10/12/1938 | J'ai ta main | Lou Bring Orchestra ; Jean Sablon | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-026187 | 10-in. | 10/12/1938 | Two sleepy people | Lou Bring Orchestra ; Jean Sablon | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-026188 | 10-in. | 10/12/1938 | Un coussin, deux tetes | Lou Bring Orchestra ; Jean Sablon | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-026189 | 10-in. | 10/12/1938 | Cette melodie | Lou Bring Orchestra ; Jean Sablon | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-026190 | 10-in. | 10/12/1938 | Star dust | Lou Bring Orchestra ; Jean Sablon | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-026191 | 10-in. | 10/12/1938 | Blue nightfall | Lou Bring Orchestra ; Jean Sablon | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-036149 | 10-in. | 4/26/1939 | Strange enchantment | Dorothy Lamour | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-036150 | 10-in. | 4/26/1939 | That sentimental sandwich | Dorothy Lamour | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-036151 | 10-in. | 4/26/1939 | The lamp is low | Lou Bring ; Dorothy Lamour | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-036152 | 10-in. | 4/26/1939 | The man I love | Lou Bring ; Dorothy Lamour | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-042384 | 10-in. | 1/19/1940 | I gotta right to sing the blues | Lou Bring ; Dorothy Lamour | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-042385 | 10-in. | 1/19/1940 | It had to be you | Lou Bring ; Dorothy Lamour | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-042386 | 10-in. | 1/19/1940 | Your kiss | Lou Bring ; Dorothy Lamour | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-042387 | 10-in. | 1/19/1940 | This is the beginning of the end | Lou Bring ; Dorothy Lamour | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-061517 | 10-in. | 8/8/1941 | Red wing | City Slickers ; Spike Jones ; Del Porter | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-061518 | 10-in. | 8/8/1941 | Barstool cowboy from old Barstow | City Slickers ; Spike Jones ; Del Porter | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-061519 | 10-in. | 8/8/1941 | Behind those swinging doors | City Slickers ; Spike Jones ; Del Porter | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-061520 | 10-in. | 8/8/1941 | The covered wagon rolled right along | City Slickers ; Spike Jones ; Del Porter | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-061560 | 10-in. | 8/27/1941 | Canción de amor | Tito Guizar | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-061562 | 10-in. | 8/27/1941 | Hay que saber perder | Tito Guizar | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-072020 | 10-in. | 1/12/1942 | The wild, wild women (are making a wild man of me) | City Slickers ; Spike Jones ; Del Porter | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-072021 | 10-in. | 1/12/1942 | Clink, clink, another drink | Mel Blanc ; Boys in the Back Room ; City Slickers ; Spike Jones ; Del Porter | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo, male vocal ensemble, and hiccups | leader, instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-072022 | 10-in. | 1/12/1942 | Beautiful eggs | City Slickers ; Spike Jones ; Del Porter | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PBS-072023 | 10-in. | 1/12/1942 | Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag (and smile, smile, smile) | City Slickers ; Spike Jones | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal ensemble | leader, instrumentalist, drums | |
| Victor | PCS-072036 | 12-in. | 1/16/1942 | The song is you | John Charles Thomas ; Frank E. Tours ; Victor Concert Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | instrumentalist, drums |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Jones, Spike," accessed December 25, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104407.
Jones, Spike. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 25, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104407.
"Jones, Spike." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 25 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Spike Jones
Discogs: Spike Jones
Allmusic: Spike Jones
Grove: Spike Jones
IMDb: Spike Jones
Britannica: Spike Jones
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Jones, Spike, 1911-1965 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n83196091
Wikidata: Spike Jones - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q622636
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/71578416
MusicBrainz: Spike Jones - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/469766dd-1b1b-4c66-af3d-d443e6d49be0
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/119530 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/119530
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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