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Comedic bandleader Spike Jones and the City Slickers were the original bad boys of music, directly influencing such iconoclasts as Frank Zappa, Ernie Kovacs, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Stan Freberg and George Carlin.

Now you can experience this unique, classic television – featuring some of Spike’s biggest hits – on DVD for the first time in a special-edition, four-disc collector’s set, Spike Jones: The Legend, in stores nationwide Oct. 30 from Infinity Entertainment Group and SJ2 Entertainment.

In the late ’40s, Spike produced the Musical Depreciation Revue, touring the U.S. with a company of 40 musicians, acrobats, dancers, jugglers, singers and comedians, traveling via two Pullman sleepers and a baggage car… a virtual Cirque du Spike.

In the early ’50s, with beautiful vocalist Helen Grayco (Mrs. Spike Jones) by his side, Spike brought his musical aggregation into living rooms across the country. Best known for novelty songs and parodies of popular music from the day, ranging from classical to pop, his musical maxim was, “They write ‘em and I wreck ‘em!” And the public loved him!

Led with precision by their gum-chewing conductor, who wielded a pistol or plunger as baton, the City Slickers were equipped with an arsenal of non-standard instruments: flit guns, bird calls, tuned cowbells and auto horns, which they punctuated with sneezes, hiccups, snores and belches.

Included on Spike Jones: The Legend are four of his earliest NBC television shows, two Colgate Comedy Hour shows from 1951 and two All Star Revue programs from 1952. Also included is a bonus audio CD containing two NBC pilot radio shows from 1945, never before made available.

Songs included are “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” and “Cocktails for Two,” both inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, as well as Spike’s hits “Laura,” “Glow Worm,” “Hawaiian War Chant,” “Chloe” and “You Always Hurt the One You Love.”

Making appearances are Liberace, Jim Backus (the voice of Mr. Magoo, Gilligan’s Island), Billy Eckstine, Gale Robbins, Hugh Herbert (in his last TV appearance), a young Mike Wallace (as the announcer) and a surprise walk on by television pioneer Dave Garroway.

Commented Spike Jones, Jr., executive producer of the box set, “My family and I are thrilled about this collection, especially the rare special feature footage.”

Special features include: A rare interview with Spike and his family in their Beverly Hills home on CBS’ Person to Person (1960); Spike’s appearance as “Leonard Burnside” on The Ed Sullivan Show (1961); “Weird Al” Yankovic discussing Jones’ influence on his career, comedy and music; “Spike Bytes” from Joe Siracusa, Spike’s drummer from 1946-52, whose audio commentary takes us behind the Slickers scene; and interviews with musicians, writers and family members including Helen Grayco.

Meet Spike Jones in this nostalgic video treasure, digitally remastered for the highest picture and audio quality. We’ll never see his like again, but we can appreciate what he left behind. Enjoy, music lovers!

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