The kazoo's origin is southern, at least in the legend that is taken as fact. In the 1840's, an African-American, Alabama Vest, designed an instrument with similarites to the voice disguiser called a mirliton that was used by some African tribal doctors. A clockmaster of Vest's aquaintance, Thaddeus von Clegg, created a model based on Vest's work that was exhibited at the Georgia State Fair in 1852. The novelty attracted the attention of a toy manufacturer, who bought the right to market the unique instrument as the "Down South Submarine." The name kazoo was not yet used.

A half-century later, in 1902, Harry Richardson applied for a patent for a similar instrument called a kazoo. Around 1916, with the backing of Emil Sorg and Michael McIntyre, Richardson shifted some of the manufacturing capacity in his sheet metal shop to kazoo; they joined a product line that, at the time, included dog beds, tackle boxes, and furnace parts.

McIntyre eventually became the sole owner of what became known as the Original American Kazoo Company. But, according to Berghash, the firm changed hands six times and was failing in 1895, when Brimms bought it. Brimms's now-kazoo-inclusive toy division (other divisions produce such items as denture repair kits) has been called KazooCo ever since.