 Jack Jackson.
Jack Jackson was born in London, and commenced his musical career at the age of fourteen in
a ship's band. It was not long before he came back to dry land and became the ace trumpeter of the Savoy Orpheans,
then Jack Hylton's band, then Jack Payne's band. He left Jack Payne's band and formed his own. In 1933 he was
appointed to the Dorchester Hotel in succession to Ambrose. It was then that he made his radio debut. Jack did
all his own orchestrations and led with the trumpet. |
 Spike Jones.
Lindley Armstrong Jones was born on 14th December 1911 in Long Beach, California. In the 1940s
he put together a band with great musical talent, and a sense of humour, called them "The City Slickers" and proceeded to
satirise the great and popular songs of the day. He used cow-bells, revolver shots, screams, burps, car klaxons, and all
manner of other hardware, as well as the usual instruments, and came up with a truly unique result. Key members of the
team included Red Ingle, who went on to make some very silly records with other people too. Spike died on May 1st 1965.
Hear Spike Jones:
Hawaiian War Chant
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Spike Jones Links:
The Spike Jones Fan Site
|
 Eileen Joyce.
Eileen Joyce was born in Zeehan, Tasmania, but nobody knows exactly when. She was certainly
born in 1915, but that is all she knew. She was an infant when her father (an Irish-Australian labourer) left
Tasmania for Western Australia. They lived in tents in the bush, and when fire destroyed their home, they trekked
to Boulder City. It was in Boulder City that Eileen found an old piano, and her playing was the talk of the
township. At first she was trained at a convent, and she went to Leipzig for more lessons. She made her radio
debut in 1931, and rose to fame during the 1930s. |
 Janet Joye.
Janet was billed as "the girl with a hundred personalities". She wanted to be a great
Shakespearean actor, but the lack of good parts for pint-sized leading ladies made her think differently, and she
ended up finding fame as a comedienne and mimic. She wrote all her own material, and preferred to invent her own
characters, rather than imitating living ones. Of course, she was not just for grown-ups, and also went down very
well in Children's Hour. |
