10/23/13

HERC's HALLOWEEN HITS [1962-1964]


Looking to scare up some new/old
music for your swanky soiree?


HERC humbly offers four suggestions:

The album above came out in 1964, two years after Bobby "Boris" Pickett's graveyard smash "Monster Mash" and The Original Monster Mash album.  In addition to the cover of "Monster Mash", there are other songs about various Monster variations of then-current dances like The Jerk and The Swim.  "Monster Jerk" was released as single (below) but neither the single nor the album could steal a single chart position from their chart dominating label mates, The Beach Boys and The Beatles.



The entire album is less than half an hour in length so if you're looking for an extra half hour of music to add to your Halloween mix, this family friendly fright fest could very well be the ticket.  Or you could go with the original (below).



You may only know the hit, the unofficial Halloween anthem, but the album The Original Monster Mash features 40 minutes of music for your Halloween hoedown including a bonus Christmas song, "Monster's Holiday" that you may want to skip at Halloween.  Or not.  Monsters are monsters, right?


This album was rush-released in 1962 after the Pickett "Monster Mash" single but before he and the Crypt-Kickers could get their own album out; that's why they called it The Original Monster Mash.  Zacherle, the Cool Ghoul, was a TV host in the late 50s/early 60s and had a #6 Hot 100 hit in 1958 with "Dinner With Drac".  His own Monster Mash album also featured his version of that hit.  A second album, Scary Tales, was released later in 1962. The playlist above features both albums and clocks in at about 67 minutes.




Frequent Beach Boys collaborator Gary Usher created The Ghouls in the laboratory (recording studio) to take advantage of two fads sweeping the US music industry in 1964 as it tried to fend off the British Invasion: monster songs and hot rod songs.  Featuring thinly veiled rewrites of songs by Jan & Dean and The Beach Boys, it makes for some kitschy fun at parties.  The original album was titled Dracula's Deuce and had a Chuck Berry rewrite that has been left off this digital reissue which has been retitled Halloween With The Ghouls.  The whole shebang lasts just 24 minutes.

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