"Play it f*****g loud!" The pineapple attempts amplification.

 Whilst playing at a barbecue in 1927, the Pineapple found it difficult to be heard above the noise of the extremely violent wind and various other weather phenomenon which seemed to occur whenever he was engaged to provide outdoor entertainment. This lead him to set about creating the first  portable amplification system ever used, which he first trialled in an abandoned living room and then took to The Gibson (TM)  musical instrument factory in Kalamazoo, with the intention of selling the idea for ready money.
   The system was basically a public address microphone and loudspeaker system balanced on a chair, and connected to  an electrical amplifier, which was powered by a small but serviceable coal fed, belt driven steam traction engine. Pineapple's design was assessed by Lloyd Loar, who declared it "rubbish", and suggested Staggers should "stop wasting my time".
  Having studied his plans, we think the main problem was the general size of the traction engine, volume of coal needed to fuel it, and the eighteen hour "flashing up" period needed to get a head of steam. Also, the team of stokers shovelling coal into it made so much noise that they outweighed any possible amplification benefits by a long mark. However, this then lead the Pineapple to invent his patented "silent" coke shovel, although this was actually nothing more than a preloaded wooden shovel, with the coke tied onto it with strips of an old bed sheet. The principle was that the shovel would be picked up silently, and the whole thing thrown, complete, into the furnace. Unfortunately the amount of shovels needed, and time taken to tie the coke in place made the idea not really viable. Nice try though, Staggers! (This system can actually be heard in use on the field recording of  "Pineapple Rag" made by Richtonbard Van Schnoitz in 1928. If anyone has a copy let us know!)
  He got his first real amplifier in 1938,a Longview Cornsnake model 1, but couldn't use it as he had  pawned his guitar to get the money.There then followed an eight month period where he neither played nor recorded, being trapped in a spiral of pawning amps and guitars, but never having both at the same time.It was around this time that he took up the spoons, at the suggestion of Crispy Willis,in an effort to pay back the money they had spent on publicity photographs. It is unclear if pineapple ever played an amplified electric guitar.