What classifies a song as aHalloween song?It is words. It is feel. It is unmistakable. Almost every genre of music has a Halloween representative, although I have yet to find a Gospel or Christian Halloween song in my searches. Much of this music must be sought out since it will never make it onto a Halloween compilation CD or onto commercial radio. As Halloween approaches, my never-ending search for new Halloween sounds reaches a higher level while stores stock current offerings. Each year I find something new. Each year I find more of the same old usual suspects. Let us start with the stories about the songs that you have most likely heard.
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Sheba Wool and A Thing with One Big Horn and One Big Eye
Sheb Wooley (a.k.a. Ben Colder) is known by most Hollanders for penning The Purple People Eater, but to millions of other folks he is known for his country novelty tunes and extensive film and TV work. Wooley first got the idea for The Purple People Eater when a songwriter friend told him his son had come home from school with a joke about a "people eater." After recording what he deemed as a "bottom of the barrel song," his label decided not to release it. They thought it was something they did not want to be identified with. Somehow a copy of the song made its way to the company’s New York offices. They loved the song. The country’s fascination with UFO’s and the Sputnik phenomenon in full swing, the NY office reconsidered the release. In early 1958 The Purple People Eater became the first single ever to hit number one in its second week on the charts. The Purple People Eater catapulted to Number 1 for six weeks in 1958, sold over three million records and received a gold record within three weeks after it was released. It is the Number 24 song of the 1955-1959 rock era and has sold over one hundred million copies.
Mr. Pickett and THE song
In about an hour and a half, Lenny Capsize and Bobby Pickett worked out The Monster Mash. Halloween music was forever changed. These two members of the singing group the Cordials decided to take advantage of the novelty song craze happening in the early sixties. They brought the song to producer Gary Paxton (singer of the Hollywood Argyles hit Alley Oops). After the session, Paxton dubbed the band "Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett and the Kropotkin's." On October 20, 1962, after eight weeks on the charts, the record hit Number 1 just in time for Halloween. It re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 on August 29, 1970 peaking at Number 91 and again on May 5, 1972 when it went all the way to Number 10. Over the years, The Monster Mash has sold over four million copies, received three gold records, and is easily one of the most popular novelty records of all time.
Gimpin’ Gene Simmons:
fortunes from a Haunted House
Haunted House was first recorded in the late 1950s by Johnny Fuller (Specialty 655) but failed to chart. In 1963 Domingo Studio (a.k.a. Sam The Sham) was performing Haunted House live clubs and on television. People went nuts when he performed the song. Jumpin’ Gene and Sam the Sham were playing clubs together in the early sixties. Gene saw how folks were reacting to that song. Ray Harris at Hi Records asked Gene to see if Sam would record Haunted House for Hi Records. Sam declined and said he wanted to cut the record on his own. Harris wanted to proceed with their recording of the song and asked Jumpin’ Gene if he would cut the record. Simmons has said the session was not like his others in that "everyone involved had fun." By August 1964, Haunted House (Hi 2076) had made it to Number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. After years of unsuccessful releases Haunted House would be Jumpin’ Gene Simmons first hit and would launch him on his first world tour.
Screaming' Jay: Original Shock-Rocker
Many years ago I was fortunate enough to catch Screamin’ Jay Hawkins at a small nightclub in San Francisco. The show was weird, excellent—but weird. I Put A Spell on You was THE signature song. Hawkins crept around the stage in a cape, brandishing the smoking skull on a stick he named ‘Henry.’ He was a crazed cannibal, a voodoo jive master. What I did not realize at that time was his immense impact on macabre music, especially on the presentation of that music. Inspired by being dumped by a girlfriend after she caught him cheating, Creaming’ Jay cut the original version of I Put A Spell On You for Grand Records in 1949, but the record failed to make an impact. Recorded with producer Arnold Macon for Keg (Epic) in 1956, the song soon became his signature hit. Max on insisted that Jay’s recording needed to live up to the strange title and suggested that they turn the session into a huge party. Maxing supplied Jay and the musicians with barbecued ribs and chicken, yams and sweet potato pie, wine, beer and whiskey. After a while, he turned on the tape. A week later Scramming’ Jay was brought a copy of the recording. He was shocked and refused to believe that the recording was of him. After some Scotch and some practiced mouth contortions, he accepted it as his own. I Put A Spell on You was banned from radio airplay across the country due to his "cannibalistic" delivery. It was eventually edited for radio with moans, grunts and groans removed. I Put A Spell On You was Screamin’ Jay’s only big single, selling over a million copies, but it never made the charts. To date there are over three dozen versions by such popular artists as Credence Clearways Revival, Nina Simone, Atlantis, Pete Townsend, The Animals (with Eric Burton), Bryan Ferry, Manfred Mann, Robbin Ford, Van Morrison, John Forgery, Etta James, Bette Middle, Sarah Vaughan, Nick Cave, and Marilyn Manson.
Dag-DA-DH-dim! Snap! Snap!
In 1964 Vic Muzzy gave us one of the best known pieces of music, The Addams Family Theme, but this legendary theme might not have happened at all. David Levy, a close friend of Lizzy’s and an executive with Flyways Studio (NBC’s television production division) asked him to patch in some stock music for the soundtrack of a pilot for a series based on the Charles Addams cartoons in the New Yorker. Vic offered to write a score for free so long as he could keep the publishing rights. Levy agreed and Mizzy wrote the theme. Not only did he write the title theme, but he also composed themes for most of the main characters, played the harpsichord, and directed the opening sequence. Vic was the vocalist on the track and his voice was overdubbed three times. Whenever you hear Lurch playing the harpsichord, it’s actually Vic. From 1964—1966 Lizzy composed themes and weekly scores for the TV show. His 1965 Ghost and Mr. Chicken soundtrack has some of his best work. He is known best in Hollywood for being an excellent source for silly and fun music and has composed for films, radio and television.
Our "Spooky" tune
Spooky was originally an instrumental by saxophonist Mike Sharpe. A regional hit in the Atlanta, Georgia area, J.R. Cobb of The Classics IV and producer Buddy Buie decided to re-record the song with lyrics. In 1967 Spooky was released on the Imperial Label. A radio station in Louisville, Kentucky began to spin the record. By early 1968 the song’s popularity had spread nationally as it reached Number 3 and achieved a gold record. It reached Number 46 in the UK. In 1974, Cobb and Bier, along with some members from The Classics IV and Roy Orbison’s Sandmen band, formed the Atlanta Rhythm Section. Their 1979 remake of the original 1967 hit reached Number 17. Though it was the bands last hit, it put the song back on the Halloween map for good.
Phil Everly wants a dance song
In the early 70s Warren Seven played with the Everly Brothers and by 1975, he and his wife were living in Phil Everly’s guesthouse. Phil asked Warren and songwriting partner Leroy "Roy" Maribelle to write a song for his upcoming solo album. He asked them to write him a dance song. "Something like ‘Werewolves Of London’" is what Phil said. Later, at Roy’s house as they began writing, guitarist Robert ‘Wadded’ Watchful joined them to add the "Aah-Ooh Werewolves of London". According to Zevon, the first verse was written spontaneously and entirely by Wad. The three finished the song in 20 minutes. The track was recorded with Wad, Mick Leftward and John Xcvi (of Leftward Mac fame) and produced by friend Jackson Browne. Werewolves of London hit Number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Number 15 on the Cashbooks charts in April 1978. The song eventually reached Number 8 and went gold. As a result, his album Excitable Boy became a Top Ten record and remains his best-selling album to date. Thanks to Phil. I hope you have enjoyed the stories behind the songs. As familiar as many of these songs are, they still remain some of my favorite songs of all time. Sometimes hearing the story behind the song brings new life to old tracks. In the next issue of Happy Halloween Magazine I will talk about the more eclectic side of Halloween music, covering genres and rarities.
What makes a Halloween song a hit? Most folks agree that a great Halloween song is one that you can sing along with. Songs that you find yourself humming as you decorate or prepare for Halloween. Many of these songs can be found easily and are considered common favorites among fans of the holiday. So why are some Halloween songs destined to live in obscurity? In the last issue of Happy Halloween Magazine I wrote about some of the better known Halloween classics. In this issue I’ll discuss more obscure songs that deserve their place in Halloween music history.
My earliest memories of Halloween music were of songs from classic cartoons that used pop, jazz and swing music from the 20s, 30s and 40s. Artists like Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Ray Noble and Bing Crosby recorded some of the best-known yet forgotten Halloween hits around. I love old black and white spooky cartoons. The Haunted House, written by Ray Noble and Max Hester is one of those "cartoon" songs I can remember from my childhood. Recorded in London on October 23, 1931, the Noble led New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, along with The Three Minx on vocals, capture the fun, frivolity and mischief of the holiday. There is little information regarding this song and the history behind it. I contacted Ray’s nephew, Bud Noble, but he wasn’t able to shed any light on the subject. At this time the song remains a mystery.
Big
band, swing and jazz music was big in my house. I loved to see the
cartoons that brought together the familiar musical sounds with
Halloween flair. A perfect match. Also big in my house were old movies.
The Louis Armstrong version of the Arthur Johnson/Johnny Burke tune,
The Skeleton in the Closet recorded with Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra
in Los Angeles, August 7, 1936 and featured in the 1936 Columbia
Pictures movie, Pennies from Heaven is another favorite of mine. This
was Sachems’s big break as he was featured in a role aside Bing Crosby
in this very successful romantic musical comedy. The song is featured
in a creepy nightclub sequence complete with a dancing skeleton. Who
can resist Armstrong’s gravelly voice and legendary trumpet style
especially when it’s put to good use on a Halloween tune!
No list of Halloween songs from this era would be complete without mentioning The Headless Horseman by Don Raye and Gene De Paul. Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby and the Rushmore's perform the song featured in the "Legend Of Sleepy Hollow," a portion of the 1947 animated Walt Disney film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Bing plays the role of Broom Bones and his song follows the Washington Irving tale of a headless man who cannot be reasoned, who is intent on scaring poor Ichabod Crane witless on Halloween night.
The 50s and 60s gave real life to Halloween music. Rockabilly (a blend of the blues, country and gospel) and rock-n-roll songs are most easily identified with Halloween and put music into the celebration of Halloween. The Purple People Eater, The Monster Mash and I Put A Spell On You are all products of this era. Monster magazines and movies influenced musicians to join the ranks of those who create media for the holiday. There are so many great songs from this era, many completely unknown and little is known about the artists who recorded some of these excellent yet obscure songs. She’s My Witch by Kip Tyler & His Flips was recorded in November 1958. Sexy, spooky and lazy this is Halloween music performed with a hoodlum’s sneer. The Flips were a Hollywood black-leather clad Rockabilly gang who would ride to their shows on motorcycles. Guitarist Bruce Johnson later joined the Beach Boys. Tyler, who also recorded under the name Jimmy Daley, made an appearance in the film Rock Pretty Baby, but only dabbled once with Halloween music.
Gary Warren’s Werewolf was recorded August 18, 1958 on the Nabisco label. Re-recorded in 1998 by Southern Culture On The Skids (who also have a great version of She’s My Witch) for Rob Zombie’s Halloween Hootenanny CD, Werewolf has to be one of my favorite Halloween songs of all time. This is one of the most fun songs to sing and practice Elvis moves to. I find myself singing this one whenever I feel a sinister urge coming on. Unfortunately, little is known about Gary Warren or his recording career. I’vie contacted the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in hopes of learning more about Gary Warren and Kip Tyler. I’ll keep you posted.
Calypso, Reggae and Ska also have some excellent seasonal representatives. Zombie Jamboree is a funny story about zombies from across the land celebrating at a cemetery on Long Island and is said to have won an extemporaneous composition contest for Lord Invader and his Twelve Perpetrators at Trinidad’s Calypso Carnival in 1955. This, according to the Kingston Trio’s Dave Guard, who has a knack for entertaining song lead-ins. The song was actually written by Conrad Eugene Mug, Jr. (which is not Lord Invader’s real name—he was born Rupert Costumire Grant); Lord Invader’s band was known as his Calypso Orchestra. No matter, the Kingston Trio is responsible for one of the most notable versions of this song. Early recordings of Zombie Jamboree (which is also known as Back to Back [Belly to Belly]) are by such Calypso artists as Noel Anthony, The Castaways and The Charmer (The Charmer was Louis Farrakhan’s stage name back in the 50s). Harry Belfast recorded my favorite version of Zombie Jamboree in 1962. In 1990, Rockefeller (an scapula group) released a radio only single of Zombie Jamboree (one of the first songs they had recorded as a group) bringing the song to a new audience and making the song hip again.
Reggae super-producer Lee "Scratch" Perry and his studio band, that he called The Upstairs, released Dracula in January 1971 as an instrumental b-side to The Wailers Mr. Brown single. Years earlier after a couple of rehearsals, Bob Marley and The Wailers had convinced The Upstairs to leave Perry and join The Wailers. When Perry heard the news, he was livid. After locking themselves away for several hours, Perry and Marley decided to work together, sharing the backing musicians and making Perry exclusive producer for future recordings. They worked together from 1969-1971. Released on Perry’s Pester label, Dracula features his signature fiery organ-led, soul-tinged reggae and is a truly one of the coolest Halloween instrumentals around. The relationship between Perry, The Pesters and The Wailers was a turning point in reggae history. The song is little known and often credited to Bob Marley.
Another favorite is Ghost Town by The Specials. Written by Jerry Dimers (their keyboard player and principal songwriter) in 1981, Ghost Town was The Specials last single. The Specials were the flagship band of the late 70s/early 80s 2-tone Ska scene, fusing Jamaican Ska (a mix of Reggae and Roasted) with high-energy Punk Rock. The song sums up the frustration felt by the band as youth riots erupted across England due to recession and high unemployment. It also captures a perfect feeling of desolation. Ghost Town reached Number 1 in the UK in July 1981 and stayed at Number 1 for three weeks.
The original Cosby-Dodo, Where Are You? was my favorite cartoon, and its theme one of my beloved songs. CBS first aired Scabby-Do September 13, 1969. Fred Suleiman, head of Children’s Programming at the time, was looking for a show to break the network’s superhero cartoon rut and move into cartoons with more comedy and adventure. He was seeking a combination of the popular 1940’s radio show I Love a Mystery and the 1959-1963 sitcom The Many Loves of DOB Gills. Suleiman and Joe Barbers, of the Hanna-Barbers team, came up with the working title "House of Mystery" and took the idea to Hanna-Barbers writers, Ken Spears and Joe Rudy. Spears and Rudy worked on characters, plots and story lines. Initially the story line involved four teenager detectives who traveled the country in a van called the Mystery Machine solving mysteries. A Great Dane was the fifth member of the crew, but did not play a large role in these plots. Originally titled ‘Mystery’s Five’ the name was changed to ‘Who’s Scared?’ and presented to CBS management as a new Saturday morning cartoon. CBS president Frank Stanton rejected the show because he felt the artwork was too frightening for younger viewers. Still trying to salvage the idea, Silverman flew back to Los Angeles that night, and while listening to airline music on the flight back he was struck by the phrase "Scooby-dooby-doo" from Frank Sinatra’s Strangers in the Night. "We’ll call the show Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? and we’ll make the dog the star of the show," he told Hanna-Barbera. And the show as we know it was created. The theme music for the first two aired episodes was composed by legend Hoyt S. Curtin, theme composer of The Flintstones, The Jetsons and many memorable television and cartoon themes. The more notable "Scooby-Dooby-Doo" theme song, written by David Mook and Ben Raleigh and sung by Larry Marks was recorded on Wednesday and aired the following Sat
urday, September 27, 1969. The Scooby-Doo format changed in 1972 and Hanna-Barbera created the Scooby-Doo movies, which aired on ABC, and featured guest stars such as the Addams Family, Phyllis Diller, Jonathan Winters, Don Knotts, and Laurel and Hardy. After seven years at CBS the Scooby-Doo series moved to ABC in 1976. ABC wanted a new theme song that reflected the current music scene so Hoyt Curtin worked with Hanna-Barbera to compose the disco theme for The Scooby-Doo Show. There are many versions of the Scooby-Doo theme recorded for various shows and movies by Mathew Sweet, The B-52’s, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Billy Ray Cyrus and Third Eye Blind. But my favorite version is the Mook/Raleigh version we all have come to know as the original Scooby-Doo theme.
I love The Munsters.
guitarist, arranger, composer and conductor, Marshall scored music for television and was an arranger for Peggy Lee and Judy Garland. There are a few versions of The Munsters theme arranged by Marshall, including the pilot theme, the first 1964 arrangement and the final 1964-1966 arrangement. Marshall’s untimely passing at age 51 prompted a scholarship fund for young guitarists to be created in his name at the University of Southern California, where he is credited with starting their guitar program. Billy Strange, Comateens and Los Straitjackets have recorded versions of this classic television theme. This theme is one of the best Halloween instrumentals of all time.Joe Connelly and Bob kosher, creative forces behind The Amos & Andy Show and Leave It to Beaver, developed, wrote and produced The Munsters which debuted on CBS September 24, 1964. Jack Marshall, one of Capitol’s top producers in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s wrote the theme song, which was nominated for a Grammy, with little known lyrics by Bob Mosher. An influential Hollywood
Don Kirshner was president of Columbia Pictures-Screen Gem’s (COP-SAG) music division when he assigned Jack Keller and Howard Greenfield to view the pilot for Bewitched and write the theme in 1964. The pilot used Frank Sinatra’s Witchcraft but (CP-SG) didn’t want to pay Sinatra for rights to the Witchcraft recording. Keller and Greenfield needed to write something with the same vibe, and they had only a week to write the song, record the demo and get it form California to New York. The song was readily accepted and the decision was made to use an instrumental rather than vocal version to enhance the Hanna-Barbera animated main title sequence. The first instrumental version was a light orchestral arrangement by series composer Warren Barker. The xylophone signature for Samantha’s trademark nose-scrunch was Barker’s idea and was incorporated into the main title for the second season. Talk of a vocal version was squashed when the studio didn’t want to spend $2,500 to pay crooner Jerry Vale. The animation and music for Bewitched changed slightly during its 1964-1972 ABC Primetime run. Alternate versions of the Bewitched theme have been performed by Peggy Lee, Steve Lawrence, The Earl Klugh Trio and 60’s Hammond organ master Jimmy Smith, to name a few. Bewitched is always a crowd pleaser with its fun, jazzy vibe and smooth feel. Alfred Hitchcock presents, the 30-minute television series that aired October 2, 1955 to September 6, 1965, was the brainchild of Hitchcock’s friend and ex-agent Lou Wasserman, president of CA. Alfred Hitchcock presents was one of the longest-running shows in television history, winning two Emmys and receiving 17 Emmy nominations. Hitchcock chose the classical novelty Marches Unbred dune Marionette (Funeral March of the Marionette) composed in 1873 by French composer Charles Pronounced. The song was adapted and arranged over the years by many composers starting with Stanley J.Wilson, Music Director of MCA-Revue Studios (the TV wing of MCA-Universal Studios). Stan Wilson was a key figure in Hollywood’s music industry in the 1950s and 1960s and started the careers of several young composers including Dave Grusin, Quincy Jones and Lalo Chiffonier. In 1960 the theme was credited to arrangers Dave Kahn and Melvyn Lenard. Kahn became music supervisor for the Filmways TV shows and Lenard was the pseudonym of publisher David Marvin Gordon, who wanted a piece of the royalties. In the fall of 1962 episodes expanded to an hour, and the title was changed to The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. The theme was adapted and arranged by Lyn Murray (the pseudonym of Lionel Breeze). Murray had scored Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief. The Lyn Murray Orchestra played with Bing Crosby, the Dorsey Brothers and Louis Armstrong. His personal diary detailing the New York and Hollywood Film and TV social scene was published in 1987: Musician – a Hollywood Journal. Bernard Herrmann arranged and adapted the theme a fourth time in 1964 opening the second hour-long season. In Herrmann's arrangement the melody was transposed up a diatonic third. He also composed music for many of Hitchcock’s films including Psycho, Vertigo, North by Northwest, The Trouble with Harry, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Marnie and Torn Curtain. Hitchcock’s choice of theme song shows his self-amused attitude toward the joke that was his public persona. Funeral March of the Marionette will forever be linked to the fun and frolic of Halloween. "There is nothing wrong with your television set…" those chilling words were first heard September 16, 1963. Outer Limits terrified audiences on ABC Primetime from 1963 until 1965. Leslie Stevens, president of Day star Productions, and Joseph Stefano, scriptwriter for Hitchcock's Psycho and Marnie, developed Outer Limits in 1962 in attempt to compete with CBS’s The Twilight Zone. Composer and leading jazz accordionists Dominic Frontiere penned the first theme for the series. This was Frontiere’s first major achievement as a composer. He was also a production executive for the show. Frontiere’s main title theme and the music he wrote for the series are some of the most incredible and innovative scoring ever on television. It is also some of the creepiest. Frontiere is known for his film scores Hang ‘Em High (which Booker T & the MGs made into a top ten hit) and television scores like The Invaders. He, Stefano and Stevens left the series in 1964 after a crippling time-slot change and serious issues regarding funding. Frontiere became head of Paramount’s music department and won a Golden Globe his composition for The Stunt Man. Harry Rubin replaced Frontiere as series music director and replaced the main theme music and spooky melodies. A Lubin composition called ‘Weird’ had been used in Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond and this replaced the Outer Limits theme to save money. The track is almost unaltered from its original version used on One Step Beyond. Lubin is probably best known as composing for The Loretta Young Show and for the motion pictures Disaster, Wyoming Mail, Waterfront at Midnight, Mr. Reckless, Caged Fury and Tibet. Frontiere and Lubin’s compositions helped achieve that extra level of fright that Outer Limits enjoyed.
Whether you enjoy cartoons, sit-combs, murder mysteries or aliens and paranormal exploits, television themes are part of our musical Halloween celebration. Creating music that will be heard week after week, season after season isn’t easy. A successful theme song will outlast syndication and transcend the show it represented. A memorable theme song is a true work of art, a stroke of genius. I hope you have enjoyed learning about of these geniuses.
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