Throwback Thursday: 10 Unbelievable Facts About ‘Put a Spell on You’ and ‘Monster Mash’
What's Halloween without Screamin' Jay Hawkins' huge hit "I Put a Spell on You" and Bobby Pickett's "Monster Mash"? But do you know the stories BEHIND the songs? I dare you to believe these true facts!
- 1
Screamin' Jay Hawkins doesn't even remember recording "I Put a Spell on You"
He recorded the song once and it didn't attract any attention. In 1956 he tried re-recording it with Columbia Records. He and the studio musicians got so drunk during the session he couldn't even recall it afterward, but the new version was a huge hit.
- 2
Screamin' Jay Hawkins is believed to have fathered 57 children
Married six times, Hawkins is believed to have fathered at least 57 children -- those are the ones he knows about. Towards the end of his life he organized a family reunion and encouraged as many of his children to be there as possible to meet one another.
- 3
"I Put a Spell on You" influenced KISS and Alice Cooper
Disc Jockey Alan Freed convinced Hawkins to perform his big hit with a macabre stage presence. He often entered the stage from within a coffin and carried a skull around on a stick he named "Henry." He was known to wear "witch doctor" outfits complete with a bone through the nose. His performances heavily influenced KISS and Alice Cooper.
- 4
Hawkins could read music by age 6
He lived in an orphanage his first 18 months of life and taught himself to play the piano at a young age. He later studied opera.
- 5
Hawkins was a successful boxer
Before joining the Army in 1944 Hawkins was a successful boxer winning a Golden Gloves championship in 1943.
- 6
All the major record labels turned down "Monster Mash"
After multiple rejections the song was recorded by Garpax Records in 1962.
- 7
"Monster Mash" sold a million records -- TWICE!
It was No. 1 in 1962... and again in 1973. Likely because the song was introduced to the UK in 1973.
- 8
Bobby Pickett perfected his impersonations doing standup
The impersonations of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in "Monster Mash" are from his standup comedy act Bobby Pickett perfected at a Hollywood night club in 1959.
- 9
Bobby Pickett watched A LOT of horror movies as a kid
His dad was a manager at a movie theater in Massachusetts.
- 10
"Monster Mash" was a satire
"Monster Mash" was a satire on the "Twist" and the "Mashed Potato" -- dance crazes inspired by a hit song. Bobby Pickett went on to write several more satires (including one of Star Trek and a 2005 satire on climate change deniers) for Dr. Demento.