Bernie Jones Biography

He is no relation to either the Jones jazz family of Elvin Jones, Sam Jones, and Hank Jones and is not related to his one-time employer Spike Jones, either. And if Bernie Jones was the “Mr. Jones” in the Bob Dylan song “Ballad of a Thin Man,” then the “something happening here” would be polka. This Jones has devoted much of his career to leading polka bands, appearing on the syndicated television program Polka Parade until the ’80s. When Jones, as in Spike, decided to go polka, the madcap bandleader was under the sway of Lawrence Welk. It was Jones, as in Bernie, that helped pull off a best-selling album, co-writing three songs and singing practically all the lead vocals.The saxophonist started out professionally in the bands of Jimmie Greer. Jones became a staff musician at CBS in Los Angeles, then joined the hit band of Ozzie Nelson. Nelson’s group was busy playing on two radio shows, that of Red Skelton as well as Ozzie and Harriet. Dealing with the lunacy of Skelton was preparation him for Spike Jones, 1950. In the City Slickers he was part of the reed section and spotlighted on vocals, under the name of Ole Svenson. His run with the Slickers lasted a bit more than six years, during which time the band’s name was changed to the Spike Jones Revue. The band’s first polka project came about in 1952, resulting from a song written by Bernie Jones and grimacing banjoist Freddie Morgan while sitting in boredom on a train. In 1957, Jones again returned to the polka theme for Hi Fi Polka Party, hiring the conductor off the record of “Beer Barrell Polka” to assure authenticity. Bernie once again became Ole Svenson. This album was released on the sly, under the name of the Polka Dots, but when it turned into a hit, the boss was compelled to admit it was really Spike Jones and the Band That Plays for Fun. When Bernie stopped playing with Spike, it was supposedly in order to form his own band. But perhaps he had just had too much fun, such as almost witnessing a fellow bandmember get his head shot off when a special effect went wrong, or having to chase a wild turkey around stage during the non-magic act of the Great Screwdini.