William Tell Overture (Spike Jones song)

Last updated

Spike Jones and his City Slickers recorded a musical parody that uses themes from Gioachino Rossini's William Tell Overture along with sound effects and humorous horse race calls performed by Doodles Weaver in the style of the famous announcer Clem McCarthy.

Jones released his version as a single in 1948 and it peaked at #6 on the charts. [1] The song was included on the album Spike Jones Is Murdering the Classics in 1971 and has frequently been included in various "greatest hits" compilations.

The recording begins with the "Storm" portion of the overture, played frenetically, with the band accompanied by barking dogs and clanging objects of various kinds. The progression is brought to a sudden end with the "Bang!" of one of the famous guns in Jones's unique percussion section.

The "Call to the Cows" begins with normal instruments and artificial bird chirps. The next part is played on pots and pans and bicycle horns, each one in perfect tune, followed by a crash. Finally, the melody is rendered by gargling, concluding with a "gulp."

The "Finale," a.k.a. the "Cavalry Charge," is played on the normal instruments of a big band, mostly as an underscore to the commentary of Doodles Weaver, who is describing a horse race. Weaver introduces the racehorses, some of them bearing a name similar to a real horse (Stoogehand for Stagehand, Dogbiscuit for Seabiscuit) and some of them with joke names ("Girdle" in the stretch, "Cabbage" out by a head, "Banana" out by a bunch, "Assault" passing "Battery", "Mother-in-Law" nagging in the rear ("ARK ARK ARK ARK!")).

Perennially trailing the field with distant 20-to-1 odds is the horse Beetlebaum (one of Weaver's radio-show characters was Professor Beetlebaum). The horse's name is always spoken in a deep, two-note "foghorn" cadence. During the race, Beetlebaum keeps falling farther and farther behind the field. As the race nears its finish, the announcer goes on a tangent, impersonating broadcaster Clem McCarthy, who had called the famous Seabiscuit-War Admiral match race in 1938 and also the famous Joe Louis-Max Schmeling boxing rematch of the same year. In this case, Weaver's now gravelly-voiced track announcer begins describing a boxing match. The song concludes with Weaver announcing the winner... Beetlebaum! [2]

The City Slickers and Doodles Weaver recorded a sequel, describing the Indianapolis 500 and underscored by Dance of the Hours . Near the conclusion of the race, a horrific accident (or the sound effects thereof) demolishes all the cars, a horse's whinny is heard, and Weaver announces the winner... Beetlebaum!

Related Research Articles

<i>Raiders of the Lost Ark</i> 1981 film directed by Steven Spielberg

Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. Set in 1936, the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, a globetrotting archaeologist vying with Nazi German forces to recover the long-lost Ark of the Covenant which is said to make an army invincible. Teaming up with his tough former romantic interest Marion Ravenwood, Jones races to stop rival archaeologist René Belloq from guiding the Nazis to the Ark and its power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doodles Weaver</span> American actor

Winstead Sheffield "Doodles" Weaver was an American character actor, comedian, and musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spike Jones</span> American actor, comedian, musician, bandleader and conductor (1911-1965)

Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones was an American actor, comedian, musician, bandleader and conductor specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gunshots, whistles, cowbells, hiccups, burps, and outlandish and comedic vocals. Jones and his band recorded under the title Spike Jones and His City Slickers from the early 1940s to the mid-1950s, and toured the United States and Canada as "The Musical Depreciation Revue".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stan Freberg</span> American actor and entertainer (1926–2015)

Stan Freberg was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director.

<i>Der Fuehrers Face</i> 1943 Donald Duck cartoon

Der Fuehrer's Face is a 1943 American animated anti-Nazi propaganda short film produced by Walt Disney Productions, created in 1942 and released on January 1, 1943 by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon, which features Donald Duck in a nightmare setting working at a factory in Nazi Germany, was made in an effort to sell war bonds and is an example of American propaganda during World War II. The film was directed by Jack Kinney and written by Joe Grant and Dick Huemer. Spike Jones released a version of Oliver Wallace's theme for the short before the film was released.

<i>Cool World</i> 1992 American film by Ralph Bakshi

Cool World is a 1992 American live-action/adult animated dark fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi and written by Michael Grais and Mark Victor. Starring Kim Basinger, Gabriel Byrne and Brad Pitt, it tells the story of a cartoonist who finds himself in the animated world he thinks he created, but has existed long before. In this world, he is seduced by one of the characters, a femme fatale who wants to become human.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Stern</span> American actor and sportscaster (1907–1971)

Bill Stern was an American actor and sportscaster who announced the nation's first remote sports broadcast and the first telecast of a baseball game. In 1984, Stern was part of the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame's inaugural class which included sportscasting legends Red Barber, Don Dunphy, Ted Husing and Graham McNamee. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame (1988) and has a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

<i>Remember... Dreams Come True</i> Nighttime spectacular at Disneyland

Remember... Dreams Come True was a Disneyland fireworks display commemorating the 50th anniversary of the park in 2005 and 2006. The show featured fireworks, lower level pyrotechnics, isobar flame effects, projection mapping, lasers, searchlights, and lighting set to the soundtracks of some of Disneyland's rides and shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clem McCarthy</span> American sportscaster and public address announcer

Clem McCarthy was an American sportscaster and public address announcer. He also lent his voice to Pathe News's RKO newsreels. He was known for his gravelly voice and dramatic style, a "whiskey tenor" as sports announcer and executive David J. Halberstam has called it.

<i>William Tell</i> Overture Overture to the opera William Tell

The William Tell Overture is the overture to the opera William Tell, whose music was composed by Gioachino Rossini. William Tell premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, after which he went into semi-retirement. The overture is in four parts, each following without pause.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chic Anderson</span>

Charles David "Chic" Anderson was an American sportscaster and public address announcer specializing in Thoroughbred horse racing. He was one of American sports' most famous PA voices, and remains among its most revered race callers. Anderson's narration of the 1973 Belmont Stakes, where he described Secretariat as "moving like a tremendous machine", remains one of horse racing's most memorable calls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoosier Hot Shots</span> American quartet

The Hoosier Hot Shots were an American quartet of musicians who entertained on stage, screen, radio, and records from the mid-1930s into the 1970s. The group formed in Indiana where they performed on local radio before moving to Chicago and a nationwide broadcasting and recording career. The group later moved to Hollywood to star in western movies.

A race caller is a public-address announcer or sportscaster who describes the progress of a race, either for on-track or radio and TV fans. They are most prominent in horse racing, auto racing and track-and-field events.

<i>Thank Your Lucky Stars</i> (film) 1943 film by David Butler

Thank Your Lucky Stars is a 1943 American musical comedy film made by Warner Brothers as a World War II fundraiser, with a slim plot involving theater producers. The stars donated their salaries to the Hollywood Canteen, which was founded by John Garfield and Bette Davis, who appear in this film. It was directed by David Butler and stars Eddie Cantor, Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, Edward Everett Horton and S.Z. Sakall.

<i>Variety Girl</i> 1947 film by George Marshall

Variety Girl is a 1947 American musical comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Mary Hatcher, Olga San Juan, DeForest Kelley, Frank Ferguson, Glenn Tryon, Nella Walker, Torben Meyer, Jack Norton, and William Demarest. It was produced by Paramount Pictures. Numerous Paramount contract players and directors make cameos or perform songs, with particularly large amounts of screen time featuring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Among many others, the studio contract players include Gary Cooper, Alan Ladd, Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland, William Holden, Burt Lancaster, Robert Preston, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Barbara Stanwyck and Paula Raymond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Copp and Ed Brown</span> American musical duo

Jim Copp and Ed Brown were a musical duo who recorded and released nine albums of stories and songs for children between 1958 and 1971. Andrew James "Jim" Copp III wrote all of the stories and songs, and played and recorded all of the music. Ed Brown designed and illustrated all of the duo's album covers. Both men performed the various characters' voices, often with the help of tape manipulation and were among the first to devise and use multi-track recording and electronic music for children's records. Copp and Brown's work has been compared to that of Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Dr. Seuss, and Pee-wee Herman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Ingle</span> American musician

Ernest Jansen "Red" Ingle was an American musician, singer and songwriter, arranger, cartoonist and caricaturist. He is best known for his comedy records with Spike Jones and his own Natural Seven sides for Capitol.

<i>Noahs Ark</i> (1928 film) 1928 film

Noah's Ark is a 1928 American sound part-talkie epic and disaster film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Dolores Costello and George O'Brien. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. The story is by Darryl F. Zanuck. The film was released by the Warner Bros. studio. Most scenes are silent with a synchronized music score and sound effects, in particular the biblical ones, while some scenes have dialogue.

<i>The Grey Hounded Hare</i> 1949 film

The Grey Hounded Hare is a 1949 Looney Tunes short film made by Warner Bros. Pictures and starring the voice talent of Mel Blanc. The film stars Bugs Bunny. It was directed by Robert McKimson, and animated by John Carey, Phil DeLara, Manny Gould and Charles McKimson, with music scored by Carl Stalling. The title refers to the greyhounds of the plot as well as "hounded" meaning pestered or pursued relentlessly.

<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> (season 7) 2002-2003 season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The seventh and final season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered on September 24, 2002 on UPN and concluded its 22-episode run on May 20, 2003. It maintained its previous timeslot, airing Tuesdays at 8:00 pm ET.

References

  1. "William Tell Overture" by Spike Jones peaks at #6 June 12 in History
  2. Gilliland, John. (197X). "Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #23 - All Tracks UNT Digital Library". Digital.library.unt.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-01.