20,000 vinyl LPs 378: Screamin' Jay Hawkins ~ I Put a Spell on You

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Screamin' Jay Hawkins  ~ I Put a Spell on You

vinyl LP front cover 

 cover photographer unknown 

photo of album cover by Styrous®

Screamin' Jay Hawkins was an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer and boxer who was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and wanted to be an opera singer (Hawkins cited Paul Robeson as his musical idol in interviews), also included were Mario Lanza, Enrico Caruso, Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie and Charles Brown. When his initial ambitions failed, he began his career as a conventional blues singer and pianist.      

  

Screamin' Jay Hawkins recorded I Put a Spell on You on February 12, 1956. It was co-written with Herb Slotkin, became a classic cult song and was Hawkins' greatest commercial success, reportedly surpassing a million copies in sales, even though it failed to make the Billboard pop or R&B charts.   

 

 

Screamin' Jay Hawkins  ~ I Put a Spell on You

vinyl LP back cover 

photo by Styrous®

 

From Wikipedia:

Hawkins had originally intended to record I Put a Spell on You as "a refined love song, a blues ballad". However, the producer Arnold Maxin "brought in ribs and chicken and got everybody drunk, and we came out with this weird version ... I don't even remember making the record. Before, I was just a normal blues singer. I was just Jay Hawkins. It all sort of just fell in place. I found out I could do more destroying a song and screaming it to death."

The hit brought Hawkins together with Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed who added him to his "Rock and Roll Revue". Up to this time, Hawkins had been a blues performer; emotional, but not wild. Freed suggested a gimmick to capitalize on the "demented" sound of I Put a Spell on You: Hawkins wore a long cape, and appeared onstage by rising out of a coffin in the midst of smoke and fog. The act was a sensation, later bolstered by tusks worn in Hawkins' nose, on-stage snakes and fireworks, a cigarette-smoking skull named "Henry" and, ultimately, Hawkins transforming himself into "the black Vincent Price". This theatrical act was one of the first shock rock performances.      

dates & photographers unknown

 

I Put a Spell on You was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was also included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings—published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981)—and ranked No. 313 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.               

During his career he opened for Fats Domino, Tiny Grimes and the Rolling Stones. This exposure in turn influenced rock acts such as Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, the Cramps, Screaming Lord Sutch, Black Sabbath, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Arthur Brown, Led Zeppelin, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, and Glenn Danzig.        

 

Screamin' Jay Hawkins  ~ I Put a Spell on You

vinyl LP, side 1

photo by Styrous®

 

 

There have been some great covers of the song: Nina Simone, John Fogerty, Annie Lennox, Bryan Ferry, Haley Reinhart, Nick Cave, Tim Curry, The Animals and, of course, Marilyn Manson and Diamanda Galas to name but a few. With the exception of Manson and Galas, most of the covers treat the song seriously; few attempt to duplicate the  over-the-top performance by Hawkins.     

 

Screamin' Jay Hawkins  ~ I Put a Spell on You

vinyl LP, side 2

photo by Styrous®

   

Tracklist:
       
Side 1:

        

A1 - Orange Colored Sky, written by Delugg*, Stein*
A2 - Hong Kong, written by Nahan*, J. Hawkins*
A3 - Temptation, written by Freed*, N. H. Brown*
A4 - I Love Paris, written by Cole Porter
A5 - I Put A Spell On You, written by Slotkin*, J. Hawkins*
A6 - Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

       
Side 2:
       
B1 - Yellow Coat, written by Nahan*, J. Hawkins*
B2 - Ol' Man River, written by Kern*, Hammerstein II*
B3 - If You Are But A Dream, written by A. Rubinstein*, J. Fulton*, Jaffe*, Bronx*
B4 - Give Me My Boots And Saddle, written by Whitcup*, T. Powell*, Samuels*
B5 - Deep Purple, written by Parish*, De Rose*
B6 - You Made Me Love You, written by Monaco*, J. McCarthy*

Personnel

• Vocals – Jalacy Hawkins
• Guitar – Mickey Baker
• Piano – Ernie Hayes
• Tenor saxophone – Sam "The Man" Taylor
• Baritone saxophone – Bud Johnson
• Bass – Al Lucas
• Drums – David "Panama" Francis
• Arrangement – Leroy Kirkland

Credits:
       
    Conductor – Leroy Kirkland, O.B. Masingill*
    Photography By – Alfred Gescheidt
       
Barcode and Other Identifiers
 

    Matrix / Runout (Stamped Side A): XEM42622-1A
    Matrix / Runout (Stamped SIde B): XEM42623-1C

 

Screamin' Jay Hawkins – At Home With Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Label: Epic – LN 3448
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono
Country: US
Released: Mar 1958
Genre: Blues
Style: Rhythm & Blues

        

         

Viewfinder links:        

         

Alice Cooper        

The Animals            

Enrico Caruso              

Glenn Danzig           

Fats Domino        

Screamin' Jay Hawkins          

Mario Lanza          

Led Zeppelin               

Annie Lennox         

Vincent Price                  

Rob Zombie           

Paul Robeson         

The Rolling Stones          

Tom Waits        

        

Net links:        

         

American Blues Scene ~ Wild Operatic Bluesman Screamin' Jay Hawkins        

Grunge ~ The Crazy Real-Life Story Of Screamin' Jay Hawkins      

NPR ~ Searching For The Children Of Screamin' Jay Hawkins            

        

YouTube links:        

        

I Put a Spell on You ~              

The Animals            

Black Sabbath          

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds           

Tim Curry           

Diamanda Galas

Screamin' Jay Hawkins           

Bryan Ferry        

John Fogerty     

Annie Lennox         

Marilyn Manson        

Haley Reinhart    

Nina Simone             

        

        

        

         

        

        

        

Styrous® ~ Wednesday, February 12, 2025       
       

 

 

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20,000 vinyl LPs 257: Michael Jackson ~ A 12" Thriller

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On December 2, 1983, MTV aired the Michael Jackson Thriller video for the first time. I vivdly remember Jackson dancing with a horrific bunch of zombies and being TOTALLY blown away and maybe even a little freaked out!!!!!           

 

However, the dancing by the zombies is pretty spectacular! (link to short version below) The young girl (victim) in the video, Ola Ray, is an American model and actress who appeared in the film, 10 to Midnight (link below). She modeled for Playboy and was the Playmate of the Month for the June 1980 issue. There were royalties issues regarding her participation in Thriller.       

 

At the beginning of the video Jackson is wearing a red wool jacket with red and white knitted collar and cuffs and cream colored leather sleeves; I had one just like it in High School; actually, all the guys had them, it was the in thing.          

 

 

Michael Jackson ~ Thriller

12" vinyl single cover 

cover photo by Douglas Kirkland 

photo of cover by Styrous®

It was released as a single by Epic Records on January 23, 1984 as the seventh and final single from Jackson's sixth studio album of the same name.         

 

Michael Jackson ~ Thriller

12" vinyl single back cover 

back cover photo by Douglas Kirkland 

photo of back cover by Styrous®

 

 

Thriller is a mix of disco and funk. The song was produced by Quincy Jones and was written by Rod Temperton who wanted to write a theatrical song to suit Jackson's love of film. The music and lyrics evoke horror films, with sound effects such as thunder, footsteps and wind. It ends with a spoken-word sequence performed by horror actor Vincent Price. The scary music segments were coposed by Elmer Bernstein.      

Temperton's first version was titled Starlight. The production team, led by Quincy Jones, felt the song should be the title track, but that Starlight was not a strong album title. Instead, they wanted something "mysterious to match Michael's evolving persona". Temperton considered several possible titles, including Midnight Man, which Jones felt was "going in the right direction". Finally, he conceived Thriller, but worried that it was "a crap word to sing ... It sounded terrible! However, we got Michael to spit it into the microphone a few times and it worked."         

With the title settled, Temperton wrote lyrics within "a couple of hours". He envisioned a spoken-word sequence for the end of the song, but did not know what form it should take. It was decided to have a famous voice from the horror genre perform it, and Jones' then-wife, Peggy Lipton, suggested her friend Vincent Price. Temperton composed the words for Price's part in a taxi on the way to the studio on the day of recording.          

 

 

Michael Jackson ~ Thriller

12" vinyl single back cover detail

back cover photo by Douglas Kirkland 

detail photo of back cover by Styrous®

 

 

Thriller received positive reviews and became the album's seventh top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number four. It is certified 7x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It is one of the best-selling singles of all time, having sold over 9 million copies worldwide. In the week of Jackson's death in 2009, it was Jackson's bestselling track in the US, with sales of 167,000 copies on the Billboard Hot Digital Tracks chart. It charted on the Billboard Hot Digital Singles Chart at number two, and remained in the charts' top ten for three consecutive weeks.   

 

Thriller won a Grammy Award. It is often cited as a pop culture phenomenon and a Halloween anthem. It appears on several of Jackson's greatest hits albums and has been covered by numerous artists. The Thriller music video was directed by John Landis and premiered on MTV on December 2, 1983. In the video, Jackson becomes a zombie and performs a dance routine with a horde of the undead. Many elements of the video have had a lasting impact on popular culture, such as the zombie dance and Jackson's red jacket, and it was the first music video inducted into the National Film Registry. It has been named the greatest video of all time by various publications and readers' polls.             

       

 

 

 

Michael Jackson ~ Thriller

12" vinyl single, side 1

photo by Styrous®

 

 

 

Michael Jackson ~ Thriller

12" vinyl single, side 1

photo by Styrous®

  

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A     Thriller     5:56

Side 2:

B     Thriller (Instrumental)     5:56

Companies, etc.

    Phonographic Copyright (p) – CBS Inc.
    Copyright (c) – CBS Inc.
    Produced For – Quincy Jones Productions
    Mastered At – Allen Zentz Mastering
    Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Carrollton, GA

Credits:

    Co-producer – Michael Jackson
    Mastered By [Runout Etching ❀] – Brian Gardner
    Photography By – Douglas Kirkland
    Producer – Quincy Jones
    Written-By – R. Temperton*

Notes:

 Special 12" Dance Single

Taken from the Epic LP "Thriller" (QE 38112)
© 1982, 1984 CBS Inc./℗ 1982 CBS Inc./Manufactured by Epic Records/CBS Inc.

 
Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Barcode (Text): 0 7464-04961-1
    Barcode (Scanned): 074640496110
    Matrix / Runout (Side A, label): XSS 169545
    Matrix / Runout (Side B, label): XSS 169546
    Matrix / Runout (Side A & B, runout, etched): ❀
    Matrix / Runout (Side A & B, runout, stamped): MASTERED AT ALLEN ZENTZ L.A., CALIF.
    Matrix / Runout (Side A, runout, etched, variant 1): XSS-169545-1F B6 0G1
    Matrix / Runout (Side B, runout, etched, variant 1): XSS-169546-1E D5 0G1
    Matrix / Runout (Side A, runout, etched, variant 2): XSS-169545-1G G1
    Matrix / Runout (Side B, runout, etched, variant 2): XSS-169546-1E G1

 

Michael Jackson ‎– Thriller
Label: Epic ‎– 49-04961
Format: Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, Single, Carrollton Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Funk / Soul, Pop
Style: Rhythm & Blues, Disco

 

 

   

         

Viewfinder links:        

         

10 To Midnight & Eugene M. Davis        

Michael Jackson        

Quincy Jones        

Vincent Price        

        

YouTube links:        

       

Michael Jackson ~ Thriller (Official Video) (13mins., 32 secs.)     

Michael Jackson ~ Thriller (Official Video) (short version)     

        

 

        

        
        

        

        

Styrous® ~ Wednesday, December 2, 2020       
       

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Vincent Price articles/mentions

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mentions:

William Hopper ~ The Suave Gumshoe   

Michael Jackson ~ A 12" Thriller          

Carl Van Vechten & the Harlem Renaissance
The War of the Worlds in music    

      

     

      

     

     

     

     
      

  Vincent Price 

  date & photographer unknown

     

     

     

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Movie People 

MAIN MENU - Blog Articles
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20,000 Vinyl LPs 93: Batman, Adam West & the Whole Gang

Batman TV soundtrack
vinyl LP cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®

William West Anderson, aka Adam West, died yesterday, June 9, 2017. He was best known for his portrayal of the title role in the 1960s ABC series Batman and its theatrical feature film. I remember watching the series and even though the acting was cheesy, the sets were funky and the music was bad 60's (although Batman Blues is a great slow, mellow and sexy song), the laughs and the guest actors kept me coming back.  

 

Batman TV soundtrack
vinyl LP cover
photo of album cover by Styrous®

Burt Ward co-starred as Robin, Batman's Sidekick. When he was 19, Ward auditioned for the role of Robin. He and West were up against Lyle Waggoner and Peter Deyell for the roles of Batman and Robin, respectively. West & Ward won the roles: as bad as the acting in the finished production was, when you watch the audition, you understand why (link below). Selected for the role of Robin, Ward thought people would find Gervis (his real name with the 'G' soft, as in gentleman) hard to pronounce and adopted his mother's maiden name, Ward. He also changed the spelling of Bert to 'Burt' to add "punch".                      

123 episodes aired on the ABC network from January 12, 1966, to March 14, 1968. In theory, it was a crime series, however, it was campy and tongue-in-cheek. The situations were exaggerated and generally played for laughs. This increased as the seasons wore on, with the addition of ever greater absurdity. The characters, however, always took the absurd situations extremely seriously – which added to the comedy. West once said that he played Batman “for laughs, but in order to do [that], one had to never think it was funny. You just had to pull on that cowl and believe that no one would recognise you.”    

Great actors of the time appeared in the series, The Joker was played by Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith was The Penguin, Frank Gorshin was confusing as The Riddler, George Sanders was chilling as Mr. Freeze. Catwoman was played by Julie Newmar AND Eartha Kitt. Others in that rarefied star field were David Wayne as Mad Hatter, Vincent Price as Egghead, Carolyn Jones as Marsha the Queen of Diamonds, Cliff Robertson as Shame, Anne Baxter as Olga the Queen of the Cossacks and none other than Milton Berle as Louie the Lilac.   

Batman TV soundtrack
vinyl LP cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®

In 1966, Batman: The Exclusive Original Soundtrack Album was released on LP, featuring music by Nelson Riddle and snippets of dialogue from Adam West, Burt Ward, Burgess Meredith, Frank Gorshin, Anne Baxter (as Zelda the Great) and George Sanders (the first Mr. Freeze). The Batman Theme was included, along with titles like Batusi A Go! Go!, Batman Thaws Mr. Freeze and Batman Blues - my favorite song on the album (link below).     

Batman TV soundtrack
vinyl LP cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®

The Batman character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, In 1997, TV Guide ranked the episodes "The Purr-fect Crime" and "Better Luck Next Time" #86 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes. In 2009, "Better Luck Next Time" was ranked #72.    

Batman TV soundtrack
vinyl LP back cover
photo by Styrous®

Batman Theme, the title song of the 1966 Batman TV series, was composed by Neal Hefti. This song is built around a guitar hook reminiscent of spy film scores and surf music. It has a twelve bar blues progression, using only three chords until the coda.    

The eleven cries of "Batman!" are sung by a chorus of four tenors and four sopranos (performed by The Ron Hicklin Singers). A myth purports that the chorus is actually a group of horns. Adam West's book Back to the Batcave also fuels this rumor by claiming the chorus is instrumental, not vocal. However, Hefti stated that the chorus was made up of eight singers, one of whom jokingly wrote on his part, "word and music by Neal Hefti".       

Batman TV soundtrack
vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®

Adam West (born William West Anderson on September 19, 1928, in Walla Walla, Washington) was an American actor whose most famous role was as Batman in the 1960s ABC series Batman and its theatrical feature film. His career spanned seven decades.

He began acting in films in 1959, playing opposite Chuck Connors in Geronimo (1962) and The Three Stooges in The Outlaws Is Coming (1965). He also appeared in the science fiction film Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964), and performed voice work on The Fairly OddParents, The Simpsons, and Family Guy, playing fictional versions of himself in all three.    

Batman TV soundtrack
vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®

West participated on the speech and debate team at  Whitman College in Walla Walla. He was drafted into the United States Army where he served as an announcer on American Forces Network television. After his discharge, he moved to Hawaii to pursue television. While in Hawaii, he was picked for a role as the sidekick on a children's show called El Kini Popo Show, which featured a chimp. He later took over as star of the show; I found this very amusing. In 1959, he moved to Hollywood, where he took the stage name Adam West. In his autobiography Return to the Batcave, he explains he chose "Adam" simply because he liked the way it looked and sounded with "West", his middle name.      

Batman TV soundtrack
vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®

West made two guest appearances on Perry Mason in 1961 and 1962. His first role was in "The Case of the Barefaced Witness". His other role was as folk singer Pete Norland in "The Case of the Bogus Books". He starred in an episode of the ABC Outer Limits series titled The Invisible Enemy. He made a brief appearance in the film Soldier in the Rain with Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen. He starred as Major Dan McCready, the ill-fated mission commander of Mars Gravity Probe 1 in the 1964 film Robinson Crusoe on Mars. In 1965, he was cast in the comedy Western The Outlaws Is Coming, the last feature film starring The Three Stooges. He played Christopher Rolf in the episode Stopover of ABC's The Rifleman, which aired on April 25, 1961.    

Batman TV soundtrack
vinyl LP, side 1
photo by Styrous®

Batman TV soundtrack
vinyl LP label, side 1
photo by Styrous®

The original Batmobile from the 1960s TV series was a concept car promoted by Ford's Lincoln brand. It was designed by Ford stylists Bill Schmidt and John Najjar and hand-built by Ghia in Turin, Italy at a cost of $250,000 (equivalent to $2,200,000 in 2017). It auctioned on January 19, 2013, at the Barrett-Jackson auction house in Scottsdale, Arizona, for $4.2 million, the second highest auction price for an auto by the house.        

On June 9, 2017, Adam West died in Los Angeles, California, after a battle with leukemia. He was 88 years old.   

Adam West

photographer unknown

At 9pm on Thursday, June 16th, Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck joined special 'bat-guests' on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall to light the Bat-Signal in tribute to West's portrayal of millionaire and secret crime fighter Bruce Wayne.   

Los Angeles City Hall with the Bat-Signal

photo by Chris Pizzello

Batman TV soundtrack

vinyl LP, side 2

photo by Styrous®

Batman TV soundtrack
vinyl LP label, side 2
photo by Styrous®

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A1 - Batman Theme, written by Neal Hefti.
   
A2 - Batman Riddles The Riddler! - Or - (Hi Diddle Riddle), Voice Actor [The Riddler] – Frank Gorshin    
   
A3 - Batus! -A-Go! Go! - Or - (I Shouldn't Wish To Attract Attention)   

A4 - Two Perfectly Ordinary People - Or - (!!!)   

A5 - Holy-Hole-In-The-Doughnut - Or - (Robin, You've Done It Again!)
   
A6 - Batman Pows The Penguin - Or - (Aha, My Fine-Feathered Finks!), Voice Actor [The Penguin] – Burgess Meredith

Side 2:
   
B1 - To The Batmobile!

B2 - Batman Blues

B3 - Holy Flypaper

B4 - Batman Thaws Mr. Freeze - Or - (That's The Way The Ice-Cube Crumbles!), Voice Actor [Mr. Freeze] – George Sanders

B5 - Gotham City

B6 - Zelda Tempts Batman - Or - (Must He Go It Alone????), Voice Actor [Eivol Ekdol] – Jack Kruschen, Voice Actor [Zelda] – Anne Baxter

   
Credits:

    Conductor, Written-By, Composed By – Nelson Riddle
    Narrator [Uncredited], Liner Notes, Executive Producer – William Dozier
    Producer – Bernie Wayne
    Voice Actor [Batman] – Adam West (5) (tracks: A2 to B1,B4, B6)
    Voice Actor [Robin] – Burt Ward (tracks: A2, A4 to B1, B3)

Nelson Riddle ‎– Batman (Exclusive Original Television Soundtrack Album)
Label: 20th Century Fox Records ‎– TFS 4180
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1966
Genre: Jazz, Rock, Non-Music, Stage & Screen
Style: Surf, Soundtrack, Dialogue, Rock & Roll, Easy Listening, Lounge

           

            

        

Net links:     
           
Lyle Waggoner & Peter Deyell Batman audition
Adam West website     
USA Today interview:   
    Why Adam West will always be the true Batman Forever 
USA Today ~ LA Bat-Signal tribute to Adam West  
Variety obit            

Hollywood Reporter obit        
LA Times obit           

NPR obit           

BBC obit           

NBC obit             

The Guardian obit                         

Batman on YouTube:                
         

        Batman Theme         

        Batman Riddles The Riddler!       
        Batus! A-Go! Go!      
        Holy-Hole-In-The-Doughnut or (Robin, You've Done It Again!)
       The Batusi
        To The Batmobile!
        Batman Blues
        Holy Flypaper
        Gotham City      


       
      
Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz ranked Batman as the 82nd greatest American television show of all time.             

       

"To the Batmobile!" 

                      ~ Batman

    

            

Styrous® ~ Saturday, June 10, 2017 

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