Spike Jones

Late in life, Spike told an interviewer that his gravestone would read, "I told you I was sick."

Duh... that was Spike Milligan. Sorry.

I'm familiar with it.

I thought that was Oscar Levant, my aunt had a bunch of his records of classical piano. He always opened his gigs up with some really lam comedy about being a hypochondriac.

What is often missed in all the hilarity is just what superb musicians Spike Jones had in his band. Those guys could play anything and the whole band could turn on a dime.

Spike Jones and His Other Orchestra[edit]
While Jones 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 alternate 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. Some of th
e City Slickers band members appeared and recorded with the Other Orchestra, but most of the Other Orchestra personnel consisted of "serious," accomplished studio musicians from the Los Angeles area.
The one outstanding recording by the Other Orchestra is "Laura", which features a serious first half (played exquisitely by the Other Orchestra) and a manic second half (played hilariously by the City Slickers).

Exactly — I was going to mention "Laura" specifically!