Sigourney Weaver’s uncle Doodles Weaver was Spike’s chief sound effects man. It so happens that when “Doodles” was born, his mother thought he was “funny looking” and nicknamed him Doodles. Doodles’ brother was the chief executive of CBS. Later I saw Doodles on the Groucho Marx show, he admitted he “needed a job.” He was the one who did the sound effects of Beetlebaum. (Aka “Beetle bomb”) When I was a child, all us grandchildren would go to her house on Sundays and laugh hysterically at “Love in Bloom”, Beetlbomb, and other standards of the day as interpreted by Spike Jones’ extremely talented musicians. Virginia Simpson Whedon

Thank God for KZfaq for keeping this stuff alive 🙏

The bug sprayer ensemble at 6:07 has to be one of the most impressive things I've seen them do. I always thought they were "faking it" and there was an organ or something being played off-screen, but you can clearly see (and hear) Spike hit a wrong note at the very beginning, and he quickly switches the sprayers around to correct it. The coordination among ALL of them to accurately play Tchaikovsky on a bunch of bug sprayers blows my mind lol.

Many Happy Hours spent laughing hilariously with joy thanks to the antics and skits by Spike Jones and company, the many guest appearances of different actors, singers, dancers, and comedians.... Making fun of how super serious we all tend to take ourselves was always and will always be the great levelers when we need to step back and take a break from the seriousness of politics and war... Thanks Spike and Company , for those already gone REST IN PEACE .

What you have to admire is that Spike, being the creative mastermind behind it all, always looked as if he was the most bored or irritated person in the room when he performed. His deadpan adds a whole new dimension of humour to the madness of the routine, because you´re aware he is the center of it all

That gentleman's dance routine is simply amazing.

I had HEARD numerous Spike Jones recordings when I was a kid, but I had never SEEN his show. HOLY MACKEREL, I had NO idea!

They packed an hour of entertainment into 10 minutes

Can we talk for a moment about how impressive that cowbell ensemble was? The hand-eye coordination and dexterity required is INSANE!

I remember seeing him on tv when I was about 8 years old. I loved his antics and music. I’m almost 77.

My mom was a teen in the '40s, so naturally us kids heard it all! Spike Jones, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, et. al.

Loved Spike Jones and His City Slickers since I first discovered "Beetlebaum" on an old 45 record when I was 6 years old. Between him and Ernie Kovacs, television was so much more creative than now.

Comedic genius! First heard Spike Jones on radio in the very late 50s/early 50s. I'm South African - we didn't have TV until 1975!!

If we could just have a show like this again, maybe people would start to remember how valuable humanity and it’s creative, empathetic genius is.

I’ve heard of these guys but never realized how good they really were until watching their videos. Great musicians.

It takes exceptionally brilliant musicians, who truly admire and love the works of Tschaikovsky and other great classical composers, to perform them so comically!

That handbell duo was freaking INSANE!

I discovered Spike Jones through his "Nutcracker Suite" when I was five or six years old. My high school orchestra teacher was a huge fan. RIP Larry Maupin.

I was born in the 70's. I am forever grateful that my dad introduced me to Spike Jones when I was 6 years old. Everything rolled into one comedy, musical and acting talent. This is the stuff I appreciate even more at my current age. Thank you for posting.👍🤪😂

Rest in powerful peace Spike Jones🙏 4 December 1911 ~ 1 May 1965⚘

For all the chaos, this was a disciplined band. Watch how Spike holds the final note (7:50) until the right moment, then gives the signal and everybody stops together. It was reportedly said of him "He conducted the band with a baton in one hand and a revolver in the other".

I love how Jim Backus showed up and sounded very "Mr. Magoo" in his routine. What a great voice!

The incomparable vocal stylings of trumpeter George Rock at 6:20, ladies and gents…

What the world needs now is more zany, crazy wonderful stuff like this. It always puts a big smile on my face. 😊

Memories of my childhood come flooding back, before we had TV our family together huddled around the 'wireless', listening to the Spike Jones show,. Outstanding talent combined so well to resemble chaos. Great fun. And all those sound effects! Wonderful times.

Those costumes were hilarious too. Between the clothes and music and TALENT, I am loving this.

Around 5:40 look at the birth of a breakdancing move. These performers got some fresh moves way ahead of their time

Wow ... the sheer amount of energy and training for the dancing girl to perform ... love that the most

In spite of what the critics of the time had to say, Jones and his entourage were legitimate musicians and performers.

Hilarious and excecuted with phenomenal musicianship. This is like a Vaudeville equivalent of Frank Zappa.

My mom introduced me to spike Jones. I still enjoy watching and listening to him..

Dude that liked to knock himself silly was the first break dancer.

I don't know why but I remember this I was 5 yrs old but a lot of Spike Jones I'm 70 yrs now. This brings back memorizes of me and my family and neighbors (we had the tv) Thank You for sharing this!!!!!

We never got Spike Jones on Australian tv. First time i've ever seen him. What phenominal talent. All of them.

My dad loved Spike Jones! I loved the song where he says, “and night falls!” Then it sounds like a piano being tipped over.

If Frank Zappa and the mothers came out in 1949 this is how they would sound. These guys are most incredible musicians without a doubt. 🙏

This is the very definition of a well-oiled machine...my goodness, what incredible talent, I wish this was still a thing! My mouth was open the entire time. I just couldn't believe it.

In 10 minutes more talent than every pop artist today combined.

My granddad played this music. Listened to Spike Jones as a kid.. Frank Zappa has an album called Does Humor Belong in Music? Yes .. it very much does.

That bell ringing was something else!

Incredible musicianship! These guys were beyond professional

The guy that comes out at 4:34 is an amazing physical performer. Hes doing so many things that require strength, flexibility, and energy and makes it seem effortless. I can see the beginnings of break dance moves in a few instances. The whole show is fantastic.

That was one of the craziest things I've ever seen. Man, live television sure was the cat's meow!

I'm 70,I've heard of him,but this is my first time watching him. Great musicians, great comical talent & the pretty woman with talent! Perfect!

These musicians included some of the top studio players of the era! This stuff was hard!! In fact fact, Spike was a studio player himself! He played on Bing Crosby's White Christmas, and many other hits of the times. I would have Killed to be on this band!!

Before we had TV in the 50s, we laughed at his records. I would have been a year old when this was done.

Now THAT'S entertainment!!!! Pure 100% comic genius.

I remember sitting in my grandmothers tiny living room watching this show. I was about 7-8 and couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. They were amazing musicians and dancers.

Isn't it nice to know that these old broadcast signals from the Fifties are winging their way through outer space as ambassadors of Earth culture?! "They" probably will love Spike Jones! :)

I'm not sure what all the comments were about, but all I see and hear is a wonder classical orchestra that was far underrated. Spike was the best.

I used to watch him on TV years ago. Loved his show. Always funny

Wonderful and if noticed the break dance moves that confirm he and his troupe were on the leading edge. Amazing stuff.

I am so thrilled to see this on KZfaq, you have no idea. Thank You Spike Jones Estate!!!

I think a bit of my mind just melted from the pure awesomeness of all this talent.

My father's mother listened to Spike Jones on the radio in the 50's, so when I was staying there, so did I. It was a large wooden Motorola, as I recall. Huge thing, as tall as I was at seven, dials and buttons and all the radio frequencies being used from short wave up! Great sound from that old piece... She also had 45 RPM records of Spike Jones and likely got sick of me playing them over and over. My mother the Librarian thought he was tasteless. However -- this is the first time I've gotten to see the clothes they wore! OH MY! What wonderful fun they must have had thinking up these suits! And my mother was rights -- tasteless. I still love them! Then again -- I love certain aspects of the Circus and Vaudeville and volunteered to work for the Moisture Festival in Seattle for a number of years. The One-Man-Band has always been a fascination for me.

Just came across this video and it sure brought back so,e very old memories! I’m guessing I saw Spike Jones on TV way back in the early 1950s - I was born I. 1947 so I know I was young - but I laughed and laughed! Loved this guy and his band! I had forgotten how crazy they all wore - and those suits!!! Thanks to whomever posed this!

Watching these guys, when I was a kid, was always a barrel of laughs. They were great ...

One never knows what Spike Jones is going to do. In 2019, he and his band are still hilariously funny.

I'm 30 watching this in 2022. I love older music much more than my own times music. How am I just now discovering Spike Jones?

A high energy effort indeed. Spike eventually gave up spoofing popular music after rock-and-roll hit the scene. He said he couldn't satirize such music because it satirized itself. He may have been right.

Those musicians were as tight as anything you'd ever see in any genre. fantastic timing

I have cd's, all 3 editions of a book on Spike, and all dvd's I can find. I CANNOT imagine the talent that was involved with that band. What I would give to be able to play with such a group. His personnel in '48, '49 and 50 were probably the most awesome group of entertainers ever assembled. God Bless Spike Jones; the Wackiest Band in the Land!

Wonderful, thanks for posting. I loved Spike when I was a kid and still do now I'm 76. A unique talent.

I saw him and his band in person at the Fox theater in Atlanta, Georgia. I was just a kid and was scarred for life!

Spike Jones and Weird Al Yankovic--I've always loved listening to them both.

Many years ago I met a musician who had worked with Spike Jones back in the 1950s. He said only the best musicians could keep up with the manic goings on in the land of the City Slickers.

Neat "blast from the past" with a cameo by Jim Backus to boot! But darn, THOSE SUITS!!! Spike Jones looks like he survived an encounter with a giant waffle iron! Hard to believe this was from 70 years ago!

Funny funny funny. Thanks Spike. Here in 2023 true entertainment is difficult to come by

These routines are filled with musical references that few in today's audiences would understand. There was an adage that "you don't chew gum in the orchestra" that was widely known of in popular culture. The upturned trombone bell is no doubt a reference to Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet. The giant portrait of Spike behind the band comes from Paul Whiteman, who used a similarly placed caricature of himself with his band. References to "all girl bands", players opening their case and blowing the dust off their instrument (they never practice...), a harpist knitting during a piece (they count a lot of rests and of course the harp isn't utilized in most pieces of symphonic repertoire..). The tuba which expels bubbles (ala Lawrence Welk), and many more. And Spike calmly presiding over all of the bedlam, chewing away on a stick of Beeman's. Among his sidemen for this NBC TV series: George Rock, trumpet; Mickey Katz, clarinet; Tommy Pederson, trombone. Thanks for the laughs, Spike, we love you.

An unforgettable Team of Musicians under Spike's command...

Never ever has there been a musical genius such as this. God bless this man and the musicians who got to work with him.

I grew up listening to Spike and other musicians of that era. It's great to SEE how awesome they were instead of just hearing. Thank you for the videos!

I used to play with Spike Jones, Jr. in the 70's. Great time. Recorded a spoof of "raindrops falling on my head" by B.J. Thomas. Was played on Dr. Demeto Radio show on Sunday. You had to be on your toes. A lot of breaks and effects.

This flim is witness to the level of talent these folks had, great video! The show is fast paced in the same vein as earlier vaudeville acts, as were many other Golden Age television shows. However, they surely would not be appreciated in more modern times, and would have most likely been "Gonged" on the Gong Show!

Love this, my dad played his records every weekend at home!!

The rehearsals must have endless. wow and get a load of that male dancer doing what hip hoppers do today. breathtaking

The talent of these performers is trull amazing.

I wake up from insomnia in a depression and turn this on and laugh my arse off reminds me of a veteran friend that I lost he loved old Spike

I was privileged to see "Spike Jones and his Whacky Whacaateers" perform at Ascot Park in Gardena, Ca. (a dirt track raceway) in the sixties. I knew who they were as my mother had several of their albums (yes vinyl ). He and his band were incredible performers and musicians.

This is brilliant I love it. I’ve known of Spike Jones but I’ve never seen his show until today.

This was hilarious beyond all hilarity! This guy is talented and funny as hell!!!

no, spike propelled music 1000 years ahead . made my day. grew up listening to the records on dr demento.

Wow....I grew up listening to my grandfathers 78 Spike Jones records. Thanx 4 the memories. Love the bug sprayers ! 😂

I first heard Spike Jones and his City Slickers when I was quite young--maybe 5 or 6--from some 78s my parents had. I listened to them over and over so I was able to memorize their routines. ❤

They all were Brilliant Musicians ,actors and Comedians ,all wrapped up into the Mad Cap mind of Spike Jones ! His movies were hilarious and glad there so much of his insanity & genius on YT !

Thank you...Thank you...Thank you. Priceless.

I grew up on this stuff! Love it!!!

The music score is pure genius. It is one thing to write it but to keep it that tight? Take the writing and rehearsals there couldn't be many days left in a year to prep a full show.

Well what can we say: absolutely world class act. Never bettered!

I was about 7 years old when my family went to dinner at the El Rancho in Sacramento. Spike Jones and his band were playing in the dining room. My parents convinced me to go up to him with a menu and get his autograph. I was terrified but I wanted his autograph so badly. Had that menu for years.

My dad loved Spike Jones. This is the first time I've ever seen him.

This was on the recommendation list and I'm not sure why but I watched it and I'm glad I did. These people are very talented and creative. I enjoyed the video.

Wow great stuff! So many things in this video. We saw the birth of Thurston Powell from Gilligan's island, the invention of break dancing and why today's performers don't even compare to the entertainers from this era. During the first segment you can see how gassed the performers became by their heavy breathing . Not too many current ones can even perform live.

Imagine doing a show similar to this in Vaudeville before TV five shows a day, six days a week. It's long forgotten now and since it was all LIVE! and just the of its day, which is why so little of the routines of the great Vaudevillians was never preserved - it just wasn't filmed. People just took meticulous timing and precision for granted as nothing out of the ordinary. And Spike Jones put it on steroids. That's how they make it look so easy after working that much in front of an audience, from before the turn of the century (1900) until well into the 1940s (until TV came along on top of movies with sound) ... in a different city every week... By 1952 performers out of that era could do this at this level in their sleep.

This, this is what type of music I have been looking for since I was a young boy

They'll win hands down in any "Got Talent" iteration...brilliant !!

Now that's entertainment! Spike's band was filled with guys who could really play their instruments well, but boy could they make a comical mess of the music when it was called for.

I remember as a young elementary school child watching the Spike Jones show thinking they were clowns. And really enjoyed it.

Thanks for this! As a kid I had a whole Spike collection on 78 rpm vinyl. Wish I still had it.😢

Awesomely good fun... I remember back in the late 70s driving around with friends and listening to Spike Jones Greatest Hits. We knew all the words and tunes. Ahhhhh good times.