Red McKenzie, born William McKenzie on October 14, 1899, in St. Louis, Missouri, was an influential American jazz musician known for his unique skill of playing the comb-and-paper, which produced a sound akin to a kazoo. McKenzie founded the Mound City Blue Blowers in 1923 alongside Jack Bland and Dick Slevin, later joined by guitarist Eddie Lang. The group achieved significant success, selling over a million records, and recorded with prominent jazz figures such as Glenn Miller, Pee Wee Russell, Coleman Hawkins, Bunny Berigan, and Jimmy Dorsey.

In addition to his work with the Mound City Blue Blowers, McKenzie sang with the Paul Whiteman orchestra and led groups like the Spirits of Rhythm and the Farley-Riley band in the 1930s. He was also involved in promoting jazz, organizing recording sessions for artists like Bix Beiderbecke and Frankie Trumbauer. Despite a period of musical inactivity during the Great Depression, when he worked in a brewery in St. Louis, McKenzie returned to New York in 1944 to perform with Eddie Condon. He made his final recording in 1947 before passing away from cirrhosis on February 7, 1948, in New York City.