Lindley “Spike” Jones
December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965
Spike Jones was a musical genius who specialized in creating satirical versions of popular songs by injecting them with crazy sound effects made by anything from cowbells and whistles to oddball noises out of his own mouth. Although he achieved most of his fame and fortune in the ’40s and ’50s, his timeless novelties continued to reach new generations of fans thanks to such radio personalities as Dr. Demento. Spike Jones died at the age of 53 as a result of many years of heavy smoking.