Piano-Playing Baboon Had To Be Shot

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28420, 29 October 1957, Page 17

Piano-Playing Baboon Had To Be Shot

(By a Reuter Correspondent) PRETORIA. Mr J. A. Raath. a Pretoria musician, wants to form a “threeman” rock ’ll’ roll band—with chimpanzees as the musicians. Mr Raath is a musician himself. He has already taught a baboon to play the piano, and he feels that chimpanzees, which are more intelligent than baboons, would make excellent players. “If music has a rhythmic beat, apes love listening to it,” he says. “Classical music is a bit above them, and they soon get bored with it. But they are hep-cats for jazz.” The baboon he trained was never happier than when seated at the piano. Mr Raath plans to teach three chimpanzees to play a piano, the guitar and the drums. He is confident that he can teach them to play popular dance tunes. “Chimps will be able to play chords on the piano, and guitar as well as the melody.” Bertie, his musical baboon, could play the piano after six months’ tuition —but as his playing improved, his temperament became worse.

Eventually, after he had bitten I several people, one of whom got blood poisoning, Bertie had to be shot.