Bien Venidos !
|
 PRINT THIS
Printable PDF Flyer
Georgia State Fair - Macon, Georgia, 1852
Birthplace of the kazoo, an ALL-American Instrument
To illustrate the rich cultural and musical heritage of Georgia and the Georgia STATE FAIR, we bring
you this informatuion on the history of the kazoo.
Who invented the kazoo?
- The kazoo is based on the African mirliton, and was a popular African-American folk instrument during the 1800's. The
manufactured version we know today was invented in Macon, GA, by an African-American named
Alabama Vest, in the 1840's. The first manufactured kazoo was made by Thaddeus Von Clegg, a German clockmaker in Georgia, and
the instrument was introduced to the South at the Georgia State Fair in 1852. The kazoo's
been around a long time.
What about the rest of the kazoo's history?
- It wasn't until the early 1900's that the kazoo went nationwide, when a traveling salesman named Emil Sorg and a New York tool and
die maker named Michael McIntyre developed a way to mass-produce metal kazoos. McIntyre teamed up with Harry Richardson in Eden, NY, in
1914 to begin mass producing kazoos. In 1923, McIntyre received a patent on the production kazoo, and the company he founded went on to
become the Original American Kazoo Company.
- From Barbara Stewart's The Complete How To Kazoo...
KAZOO ROOTS:
Birth of the Kazoo in America
Since disclosing the secret of the tribal voice "disguiser" meant death, it seems unlikely that any African slaves would have held "mirliton show and tell" for their
captors. However, it is plausible that an American descendant, generations removed from tribal ritual, was familiar with the mirliton, perhaps even without knowing
its sacred function. Legend has it the kazoo was invented in Macon, Georgia, in the 1840s by Alabama Vest, an American black, and made to his specifications
by Thaddeus Von Clegg, a German-American clockmaker. It was reported to have been exhibited at the Georgia State Fair in 1852 before being sold to a toy
manufacturer, who produced it under the name "Down South Submarine."1
Source: Green, Parp, Melody Maker and Rhythm, October 20, 1951, page 11.
Wooden kazoos are found for sale in the Montgomery Ward catalog of 1889. George Dana Smith of Buffalo, NY, acquired a patent for a metal kazoo in 1902 and
The Kazoo Company, Inc., in Buffalo was the first to manufacture metal kazoos for mass sale.
- From Kazoo World...
KAZOO FACTS: The Mirliton (KAZOO) appeared in great numbers and in a variety of shapes, sizes
and materials throughout
Africa as far back as tribal history can trace. The most prevalent style found in many cultures is a hollow tube with a hole in the middle
and the open ends covered with animal membrane. Bone, reed, gourds, corn stalks, animal horns and even human skulls were used. The
instrument was used to impersonate the voices of the dead, to make terrifying sounds and to bring messages from the spirit world. The
"Witch Doctor", enshrouded in ceremonial robes and mask, used the Mirliton to disguise his voice and to intimidate and terrify the
people. To reveal the secret of the Mirliton to an outsider, a woman or an uninitiated male tribe member was an offense punishable by
death. There is also evidence to indicate that an instrument of this general description has been used since prehistoric times by all
cultures around the world to imitate animal sounds and as a means of communication.
The Mirliton (KAZOO) could easily be regarded as mankind's first musical instrument. The KAZOO as we know it today was designed and
built by Alabama Vest and Thaddeus Von Clegg in Macon, Georgia in the early 1840's. In 1852 it
was exhibited at the Georgia State Fair and was later manufactured under the name, because of its shape,
"DOWN SOUTH SUBMARINE". It soon became the favorite of children and street musicians and then found its way into JAZZ, JUG
and HILLBILLY bands.
The KAZOO and the SOUSAPHONE are the ONLY 2 ALL AMERICAN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. A number of groups are
petitioning Congress to designate the Kazoo as the official "national Instrument."
Other Kazoo Links
How To Kazoo.com
http://www.captainkazoo.com/
http://www.kazoos.com/webkazoo.htm
http://www.kazoobie.com/index.htm
PRINT THIS
Printable PDF Flyer
|
