All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth - Music

All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth by Spike Jones & His City Slickers

Spike Jones & His City Slickers

Artist Biography For Spike Jones & His City Slickers

Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones 1911–1965 Was A Popular Musician And Bandleader Specialising In Performing Satirical Arrangements Of Popular Songs. Ballads And Classical Works Receiving The Jones Treatment Would Be Punctuated With Gunshots Whistles Cowbells And Ridiculous Vocals. Jones Was Born On The 14th December 1911 In Long Beach California. He Got His Nickname By Being So Thin That He Was Compared To A Railroad Spike. At The Age Of Eleven He Got His First Set Of Drums. As A Teenager He Played In Bands That He Formed Himself. A Railroad Restaurant Chef Taught Him How To Use Pots And Pans Forks Knives And Spoons As Musical Instruments. He Frequently Played In Theatre Pit Orchestras. In The 1930s He Joined The Victor Young Orchestra And Thereby Got Many Offers To Appear On Radio Shows Including Al Jolson's Lifebuoy Program Burns And Allen And Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall. From 1937 To 1942 He Was The Percussionist For The John Scott Trotter Orchestra Which Played On Bing Crosby's First Recording Of " White Christmas". The City Slickers Evolved Out Of The Feather Merchants A Band Led By Vocalist-Clarinetist Del Porter Who Took A Back Seat To Jones Duing The Embryonic Years Of The Group. They Made Experimental Records For Cinematone Corp. And Performed Publicly In Los Angeles Gaining A Small Following. The Original Members Of The Band Included Vocalist-Violinist Carl Grayson Banjoist Perry Botkin Trombonist King Jackson And Pianist Stan Wrightsman. The Band Signed A Recording Contract With RCA Victor In 1941 And Recorded Extensively For The Company Until 1955. They Also Starred In Various Radio Programmes 1945-1949 And Television Programmes 1954-1961 On Both NBC And CBS. Jones's Second Wife Singer Helen Grayco Performed In His Stage And Television Shows. Jones Had Four Children Linda By His First Wife Patricia Spike Jr Leslie Ann And Gina. Spike Jr. Is A Producer Of Live Events And TV Broadcasts. Leslie Ann Is The Director Of Music And Film Scoring At George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch In Marin County. The Very Name Of Spike Jones Became Synonymous With Crazy Music. While He Enjoyed The Fame And Prosperity He Was Annoyed That Nobody Seemed To See Beyond The Craziness. Determined To Show The World That He Was Capable Of Producing Legitimate "pretty" Music He Formed A Second Group In 1946. Spike Jones And His Other Orchestra Played Lush Arrangements Of Dance Hits. This Alternative Group Played Nightclub Engagements And Was An Artistic Success But The Paying Public Preferred The City Slickers And Stayed Away. Jones Wound Up Paying Some Of The Band's Expenses Out Of His Own Pocket. The One Outstanding Recording By The Other Orchestra Is "Laura" Which Features A Serious First Half Played Exquisitely By The Serious Group And A Manic Second Half Played Hilariously By The City Slickers . Jones Died On The 1st May 1965 In Beverly Hills California.