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Where do Bazooka's come from?


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Bazooka was the name of a radio performer's horn. Bob Burns, who played with Tommy Dorsey, had a musical and comedy act. You can listen to the instrument by clicking here: http://www.angelfire.com/de/classicalstories/bazooka1.wav

They were very popular with the soldiers who listened on the radio.

Bob Burns got the name Bazooka from a black jazz musician of the 30s.

The "bazooka" was a horn with a wide bell mouth. The M9A1 reminded people of the bazooka in its flaring ends, so the name stuck.

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A musical instrument. The official designation was infantry anti-tank rifle, rocket or some such. But the troops called them bazookas because they decided they looked like some sort of wood-wind (probably a bassoon, in reality), in the big bands of the era, which for some reason was commonly or in slang called a "bazooka". So the name comes from the shape, its similiarity in looks to a bassoon.

Why did big band jazz musicians call their bassoons, bazookas? Presumably to jazz up the name. Whether it meant anything else in terms of a modification to the instrument or how it was played, is more than I know.

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<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jasoncawley@ameritech.net:

Aha, thank you sir. I wasn't sure want instrument they were refering to, but you did a better job on that part - LOL.

In any event, it is a matter of jazz...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You were correct that it was jazz. Three books though talk about three different musicians with "bazookas" but two of them are more obscure New Orleans and Chicago club players, not likely to be all that well known by troops from all overs. Burns seems more correct to be since in 1942 he was playing his bazooka to the troops, and it is a wide mouth horn.

So several answers are possibly correct, I just told the most likely.

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Teacher says every time a bell rings, a soldier gets his zook.

------------------

"Gentlemen, you may be sure that of the three courses

open to the enemy, he will always choose the fourth."

-Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke, (1848-1916)

[This message has been edited by Bruno Weiss (edited 01-19-2001).]

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<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bruno Weiss:

Teacher says every time a bell rings, a soldier gets his zook.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

ROLfreekin F

tinkle tinkle tinkle

FWoooooSH

BOOM!!!!

hahahahah smile.gif

------------------

Berlin calling, Berlin calling,

when Berlin calls it pays to listen.....

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Its very interesting that there is a Jazz music connection,but surely better results could have been obtained by simply PLAYING jazz music through loud speakers towards enemy troops causing them to surrender en-masse .Anything to get away from that crap!

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