I remember dancing to
Monster Mash in my early twenties with total joyful abandon! I LOVED this song!
Monster Mash is narrated by a
mad scientist whose monster rises from his lab to perform a new dance, inspired by the
Mashed Potato.
The dance becomes "the hit of the land" when the scientist throws a
party for other monsters, among them classic 1940s horror film icons
such as
the Wolfman,
Igor,
Count Dracula and
his son. In addition to narrating the song in a
Boris Karloff voice, Pickett also impersonated horror film actor
Bela Lugosi as
Count Dracula with the line, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania
Twist?" The mad scientist explains that the twist has been
replaced by the Monster Mash, which Dracula embraces by joining the
house band, the Crypt-Kicker Five. The story closes with the mad
scientist inviting "you, the living" to the party at his castle.
In 1985, with a growing awareness of
rap music,
Pickett released
Monster Rap, which describes the mad scientist's
frustration at being unable to teach the dancing monster from
Monster Mash how to talk. The problem is solved when he teaches the monster to
rap.
Pickett co-wrote
Monster Mash with Leonard Capizzi in May 1962. The song was a spoof on the dance crazes popular at the time, including the
Twist and the
Mashed Potato, which inspired the title. The song featured Pickett's impersonations of veteran horror stars
Boris Karloff and
Bela Lugosi (the latter with the line "Whatever happened to my
Transylvanian Twist?"). Every major record label declined the song, but after hearing it,
Gary S. Paxton agreed to produce and engineer it; among the musicians who played on it were pianist
Leon Russell and
The Ventures drummer
Mel Taylor. Issued on Paxton's
Garpax Records, the single became a million seller. It was styled as being by "Bobby 'Boris' Pickett And The
Crypt-Kickers".
The song took no time at all to create. "The song wrote itself in a half hour and it took less than a half hour to record it," Pickett told
The Washington Post.
Monster Mash reached number 1 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks before
Halloween in 1962. The track re-entered the U.S. charts twice, in August
1970, and again in May 1973, when it reached the #10 spot. In
Britain it took until October 1973 for the tune to become popular, peaking at number 3 in the
UK Singles Chart. For the second time, the record sold over one million copies. The tune remains a Halloween perennial on
radio and on
iTunes. A
Christmas-themed
follow-up,
Monster's Holiday, (b/w
Monster Motion) was also
released in 1962 and reached number 30 in December that year.
Blood
Bank Blues (b/w
Me and My Mummy) did not chart. This was followed by
further monster-themed recordings such as the album
The Original Monster Mash
and such singles as
Werewolf Watusi and
The Monster Swim. In 1973,
Pickett rerecorded
Me and My Mummy for a Metromedia 45 (it did not
chart). Another of Pickett's songs,
Graduation Day, made number 80 in
June 1963.
Pickett was born in
Somerville, Massachusetts, on February 11, 1938. His father was a theater manager and as a nine-year-old, he watched
many horror films. He would later incorporate impressions of them in his
Hollywood nightclub
act in 1959. An aspiring actor, Pickett began his musical career as a
vocalist for a local swing band, Darren Bailes and the Wolf Eaters. Pickett went to
Hollywood, where he performed in a band called The Cordials and would, from time to time, break into impersonations of famous movie actors. His impersonation of
Frankenstein actor
Boris Karloff was reportedly a major hit with audiences—and a turning point for Pickett's career. That audience response set the events that would lead to
Monster Mash in motion during the summer of 1962. Cheesy monster movies were all the rage, and bandmate Lenny Capizzi encouraged Pickett to use his Karloff voice to mock them in a new novelty song.
Originally, Pickett wasn’t keen – the goofy idea didn’t align with his ambitions to become a serious actor. A fortnight later, he reconsidered after the death of his acting agent.
Pickett had small acting roles in television shows, including
The Beverly Hillbillies (as a lieutenant) in 1967,
Bonanza in 1969, and in a little-seen film called
Deathmaster—about a vampire who lures in a devout following of hippies—in 1972.
movie poster
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A Monster Mash, written by B. Pickett*, L. Capizzi* - 2:57
Side 2:
B Monsters' Mash Party, written by B. Pickett*, G. Paxton* - 2:45
Companies, etc.
Published By – Garpax Music Co.
Published By – Capizzi Music
Published By – Underwood Music Co.
Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Bridgeport
Credits:
Arranged By, Producer – Gary Paxton
Notes:
Label variation: Garpax is printed smaller than the other version.
This pressing shows no plant stamp in runouts.
Side A: Pub: Garpax Music Co. - Capizzi Music - BMI
Side B: Pub: Garpax Music Co. - Underwood Music Co. - BMI
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Pressing Plant ID (Etched in runout area): .
Rights Society: BMI
Matrix / Runout (Side A Label): GP 44167-A
Matrix / Runout (Side B Label): GP 44167-B
Matrix / Runout (Side A Runout, Etched (Variant 1)): GP44167A-1B
Matrix / Runout (Side B Runout, Etched (Variant 1)): GP44167B-1A
Matrix / Runout (A-Side Runout Etching (Variant 2)): GP44167A-1A
Matrix / Runout (B-Side Runout Etching (Variant 2)): . GP-44167-B . '
Bobby (Boris) Pickett And The Crypt-Kickers – Monster Mash
Label: Garpax Records – 45-44167
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, Styrene, Bridgeport Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1962
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Rock & Roll, Pop Rock, Novelty
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