With the release of “I Put a Spell On You” in 1956, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins effectively invented the concept of “shock rock”.  Rock and roll was still in its infancy and Screamin' Jay was already upsetting the status quo with a stage show steeped in occult imagery, and sexually charged vocals which ranged from guttural, inhuman growls to screams that sounded as if they were echoing from the bowels of hell.

Originally intended as a tender love ballad, legend has it that Hawkins was blackout drunk when he went into the studio and bellowed out that immortal first take of“I Put a Spell on You”. As a result, the song was transformed into a searing testimony to unrequited love gone wrong, loaded with bad intentions, and dripping with testosterone-fueled swamp magic. Jay later admitted that he had to re-learn the song from that original recording in order to perform it in concert because he literally had no recollection of doing it..

If the parents of teens in the 1950’s were concerned that rock and roll was the devil’s music, Screamin’ Jay certainly seemed to support their case. By cavorting on stage with a bone through his nose and displaying his lust through a series of animalistic grunts and groans, he subverted white America’s black stereotypes by embracing them. And in doing so, he brought their worst nightmares to life.

Although subsequent cover versions were hits, Screamin' Jay’s own version of “I Put a Spell on You” never actually made the charts. But his impact on the history of rock and roll is undeniable. His influence can be seen in the generations of countless “shock” rockers who followed in his footsteps and who valued macabre theatrics just as much (if not more) than the music they performed.

Throughout the 60’s and 70’s, Screamin’ Jay continued to tour and record new music but he never came close to matching the success of his debut single. By the time the 80’s rolled around, he was an all-but-forgotten relic of a bygone era and “I Put a Spell On You” had been relegated to the status of Halloween novelty song.

Then, in 1984, he experienced a brief renaissance after a young, indie filmmaker named Jim Jarmusch featured “I Put  A Spell On You” prominently in the soundtrack of his first major work, Stranger Than Paradise. The film briefly revived a cult interest in Hawkins which led to a string of live performances that included a stint as the opening act for Nick Cave in 1986. You can read NME’s interview with Screamin’ Jay from that tour here. It’s clear from the article that Hawkins was not afraid to speak his mind and was just as much of a character off stage as he was on.

But, the highlight of this short-lived revival was a 4-song set sitting in with New York’s garage/psych torchbearers, The Fuzztones, on December 19th, 1984 at Irving Plaza, NYC. The following year Midnight Records released a 12” EP documenting the show titled, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and The Fuzztones: Live. Long out of print, it can be found online if you’re willing to do some digging.

Reviews of the show were generally favorable, and with good reason. Amazingly, Screamin’ Jay’s voice sounds just as fearsome and earth shattering as it had thirty years earlier. And it is clear from this grainy video footage of the show that he hadn't lost a step when it came to campy stage theatrics either.  Also, I'm pretty sure he uses the term "fur burger" in this clip which includes a few minutes of stage banter before "I Put a Spell On You" that was edited out of the official release. 

The Fuzztones are firing on all cylinders here as well, obviously excited to be backing one of their heroes. They were a band eager to shake off their critics assertions that they were nothing more than a top notch bar band playing music that no longer mattered, just as Hawkins was eager to prove that he could still be relevant in this cynical, modern era. The magic combination of an underdog retro rock band, and an aging bluesman, desperate to escape obscurity, brought out the best in everyone involved. A similar pairing would prove to be just as fruitful for R.L. Burnside and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion twelve years later.

The album starts with one of the Fuzztones  introducing Screamin' Jay as an "old friend" he ran into "down in the swamp last night" who was '"gnawin' on a human leg bone". The audience welcomes him politely, but it seems that many of them are unaware of the spectacle they are about to witness. After Hawkins takes the stage they  lurch into a searing version of his 1958 single, "Alligator Wine", a plodding, shout-along, blues number in the vein of  Muddy Waters’ "Mannish Boy". The song recounts the recipe, and nefarious uses, for the eponymous beverage whose ingredients include alligator blood, fish eyes and swamp water. Hawkins also manages to slip in a reference to AIDS towards the end of the song that shows his instinct to shock was still fully intact and in touch with current events.

Next up is “I Put a Spell on You” with The Fuzztones psych-rock groove takes the song to another dimension as Screamin’ Jay furiously howls into the cosmic abyss.

By this time the crowd is eating out of Hawkins' hands. He takes a moment to acknowledge the band with whom he is obviously impressed. He explains to the audience that they "ain't even started yet” and lecherously describes their intentions to “touch parts of  you that's never been touched”. 

Hilariously, he follows this sexually charged rap with a surprisingly earnest performance of an original Christmas song, “It’s That Time Again” which he describes in the intro as “kinda a rockin', funky little thing”.

Even more hilariously, they close the set with an inspired rendition of 1969’s “Constipation Blues”, complete with some of Jay’s signature vocal improvisations that simulate the sounds of a man struggling with title’s harrowing condition. This performance gives new meaning to the concept of scat singing.

As the recording ends, the club's MC seems keenly aware that he and the crowd have just witnessed something special. He displays a genuine reverence in his voice for Screamin' Jay, repeatedly saying "What a voice" as he comes to the stage. Amusingly, the host almost seems surprised at how well The Fuzztones  played as he describes them as having done a "very capable job on the backup".

That night, the unlikely union of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and The Fuzztones tapped into that primal essence of rhythm and blues music that has the ability to stir the soul in dark and mysterious ways. And even if it was only for a few fleeting moments, they used that mojo to break through the surface of the synthesized, robotic sheen of popular music to reveal the blood and guts of rock and roll beneath . 

As Halloween draws near, I thought I would take some time over the next few weeks to delve into my collection and take a closer look at some classic horror-themed music from over the years.

Where better to start  a focus on Halloween music, than with a track from everyone’s favorite costume wearing, non sequitur spitting, horror-obsessed MC, Kool Keith? A founding member of  the seminal 80’s hip-hop crew the Ultramagnetic MC’s, Keith has become infamous for his use of horrific lyrics and his penchant for constantly reinventing himself with bizarre new personas over the years.

And although all of these personalities have their own unique traits, there is an undercurrent of  horror imagery that runs throughout his many incarnations. Whether it’s the psychedelic sci-fi horror of Dr.Octagon or the grisly lifestyle of urban mass murderer Dr. Dooom, it’s clear that Keith has an affinity for the genre.

In 1999, he released his third solo album, First Come First Served under the alias Dr. Dooom which was commonly regarded as a backlash to the unwanted attention he received from the white, indie rock crowd after the release of his first album, 1996’s Dr. Octagonecologyst under the name Dr. Octagon. 

There is a definite shift on this album away from tone and style from Octagon, which was a trippy, atmospheric work filled with dark, absurdist imagery and spaced-out scatalogical humor.

In contrast, First Come First Served was firmly grounded in gritty “reality” of the streets as typically depicted in 90’s gangsta rap, but with a twist. These were tales from the hood told from the point of view of Dr. Dooom, a trash talking “gangsta rapper” who also happened to be a cannibalistic serial killer who would not only murder, but also dismember and eat, anyone he had beef with. It is often interpreted as a satire of late 90’s hip-hop evidenced by Keith’s subversion of the standard gangsta rap structure including the album cover which parodies Pen & Pixel Graphics work for No Limit Records.

One of the albums signature tracks, "Apartment. 223", describes Dooom’s abode, a projects apartment, strewn with body parts in various states of storage and consumption as well as the various bizarre means by which he would dispatch of his victims and and prepare them as food.  Many of the details here echoed those of the Jeffrey Dahmer case which had gripped the nation less than a decade before.

To anyone familiar with the song, one of the most memorable parts is the hook, which consists of Dooom shouting “Apartment 223” followed by a eerie sample of legendary genre actor Peter Lorre saying “I’m very hungry,” repeated three times. Though by no means a “pop” song, you’d be hard pressed to not find the simplistic chorus stuck in your head after a few listens..

The song ends with another sample of Lorre saying,

“You look surprised...
You do not see anything on the table? (Chairs
Squeak against floor) Well wait until I get the box....”

NSFW:

I was always curious as to the source of these Lorre samples whenever I listened to the song, though admittedly I never put any real effort into investigating it. Then, a few years ago,  I stumbled upon the source while listening to Drop Dead!: An Exercise in Horror, a 1962 spoken-word horror album written and produced by Arch Oboler. By the early 1960’s Oboler was known primarily for his work in film, but he had pioneered horror and suspense in the theater of the mind on the old-time radio show Lights Out in the 1930’s and 40’s.

Turns out the sample is from a Psycho inspired piece on the LP called “I’m Hungry”. Performed by Lorre, it’s told from the perspective of a peculiar man who is talking to a female dinner guest. In the course of the conversation the narrator repeatedly states how hungry he is as he proceeds to take out a box, remove the head of a “pretty young girl” and cut into it with his “special saw” to get to her brains which he apparently finds delicious. Lorre’s performance is chilling. In under three minutes he is able to create a gruesome sense of dread that remains with you long after the record is over.

The first time I heard Lorre say “I’m very hungry” in it’s original context, I was immediately hit with a wave of recognition that filled me with nerdy glee as I realized that Keith and I both appeared to be fans of the same obscure 1960’s horror record. Since both works share a common theme, Lorre’s line is a perfect sample for the song and it’s clear that Keith was inspired by Oboler’s “psycho type” horror.

When you look back over his career, and his overall creative output, it’s easy to picture a young Kool Keith growing up in the Bronx taking in a steady diet of spooky records and monsters movies in addition to the real-life horrors of life on the street that were unfolding outside his window. It was the culmination of these elements that eventually led Keith to the creation of Dr. Dooom and in turn, the horrorcore classic, First Come, First Served.

For more info on Kool Keith, check out his official website: http://www.ultrakeith.net/