| "Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Cheech and Chong | |
| from the album Los Cochinos | |
| Released | September 1973 |
| Genre | Comedy rock, funk, psychedelic soul |
| Length | 4:04 |
| Label | Ode Records |
"Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces" is a song by Cheech and Chong that first appeared on the 1973 album Los Cochinos.
Sung in falsetto by Cheech Marin, playing the title character Tyrone (as in "tie-your-own") Shoelaces, it told the story of Shoelaces' love of basketball. It was a parody of the song "Love Jones" by Brighter Side of Darkness. In the album version, the song was preceded by a mock interview with Jones' basketball coach named "Umgwana Kickbooti" (or something like that), in a parody of a Wide World of Sports interview conducted by a character named "Red Blazer". "Jones", both in the original song and this parody, is slang for "craving" or "addiction".
Musicians who appeared on the record included George Harrison, Carole King, Billy Preston, and Tom Scott. The Blossoms and Michelle Phillips (from The Mamas & the Papas) performed vocals as cheerleaders on the track.
The song was released as a single in September 1973 and reached #15 in the US charts. It was backed with "Don't Bug Me", also from Los Cochinos. To coincide with the graffiti artwork from the album's cover, both sides of the single feature the Ode label covered with graffiti.
An animated short film called Basketball Jones was created to promote the release of the single. The cartoon became better known when it was featured in the 1979 Hal Ashby film Being There.
The song was covered by Barry White and Chris Rock in the 1996 film Space Jam.
The song is featured in a 2008 commercial for the Television Series House of Payne and the season 22 episode of The Simpsons A Midsummer's Nice Dream.