Bazooka (musical instrument)

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Bob Burns with his bazooka

The bazooka is a historical wind instrument which the American comedian and actor Bob Burns invented in 1905 and which gave its name to the anti-tank weapon that was later also named .

Structure and sound

The bazooka consists of two interconnected tubes and a slide with which the pitch can be changed. A funnel is attached to one end of the instrument. Musically, the bazooka lies between a trombone and a piston flute , and the variety is similar to that of a trombone. The range of the instrument is comparatively small, the sound is described as "rather comical than melodious" ( English more comical than dulcet ).

history

Bob Burns (1890-1956) played in a band when he was young. In 1905 they held a tasting session in the business of a plumber in his hometown of Van Buren from. During this rehearsal, Burns blew into a gas pipe. This tone reminded him of his own words a "wounded moose" ( english wounded moose ), which inspired him to develop it into a tool. The first bazooka consisted of 2 gas pipes, a slide regulator and a whiskey funnel. Burns chose the term bazooka based on the slang term bazoo , which roughly translates as windy type . Burns registered the name Bazooka in 1920.

In the First World War, Burns joined the US Marine Corps at. He carried his instrument with him and often played something on it for his comrades. When his unit was relocated to Europe, Burns formed a US Marine Corps Jazz Band, whose numerous appearances made the bazooka instrument increasingly known among soldiers. After the end of the war, Burns and his band initially performed further gigs in France until he and his comrades were ordered back to the USA. Back in his home country Burns began his career in show business , in which the bazooka always played an important role.

During the Second World War , the US armed forces developed a portable anti-tank system which, due to its similarity to Burns' instrument, was quickly given the name bazooka among soldiers , which is still used today as a synonym for this weapon system.

Others

Although Burns made many of his bazookas, very few original examples are known today; this is due to Burns' habit of regularly smashing his instrument at the end of his performances on stage. One preserved specimen will be on display in the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame in Pine Bluff , Arkansas .

At the height of Burns' career in the 1930s and 1940s, a so-called bazooka was introduced to the US market as a toy instrument. This corresponded to the kazoo with its related name : smaller than the original, made of sheet metal and equipped with a membrane based on the principle of the Mirliton .

The American confectionery manufacturer Topps Company launched a chewing gum called Bazooka in 1947 , the name of which, according to the company, goes back to Burns' musical instrument.

literature

  • Harry N. Blair: One and Only Bazooka. In: Picture Play Magazine, January 1937 issue, pp. 56, 84 f. ( Digitized version , English)

Web link

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e Ali Welky, Mike Keckhaver (ed.): Encyclopedia of Arkansas Music . Butler Center Books, Little Rock, AR 2013, ISBN 978-1-935106-60-9 , pp. 49 (English).
  2. ↑ a b Bob "Bazooka" Burns. arkansasroadstories.com, March 3, 2001, accessed September 19, 2019 .
  3. ^ Gordon L. Rottman: The Big Book of Gun Trivia . Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2013, ISBN 978-1-78200-620-6 , pp. 123 (English).