Mad Monster Party

Ten Songs for a Fright-Filled October, Pt. 2

Though I’ve never been into superhero comics, I can totally understand the appeal of all these Marvel and DC universe films. Because ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always had a soft spot for films featuring several of my favorite monsters.

Rankin and Bass’s Mad Monster Party was probably the first film I ever saw that brought together Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein’s monster, etc., followed closely by Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (which features Dracula and the Wolfman as well), chaotic monster shindig of Universal’s House of Frankenstein, and of course the Japanese giant monster-fest Destroy All Monsters.

Remembering how much fun it was to see these monsters interacting with each other outside of their usual story lines made me think that the next installment of the Jagged Time Lapse Halloween playlist — which I will be assembling here throughout October (Part 1 is here) — should take a similar approach. Rather than make an entire playlist devoted to my favorite vampire or lycanthrope songs, I thought I’d “invite” each monster to the party with a representative favorite song — though in order to keep it at ten tracks, I made the executive decision to leave the giant monsters out of this. (Sorry, big guys; invitations are limited to those who can actually fit through the door of my haunted castle.)

So without further ado, let’s get this mad monster party started!

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Bobby “Boris” Pickett — Monster Mash

The first 45 I ever owned — a Christmas ‘77 gift from my Aunt Geri, who had recognized just how delighted I was with this song when she pulled out her original 1962 copy and played it for me.

Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s Halloween classic (which sets the tone for this playlist by bringing together Dr. Frankenstein, his monster, Igor, the Wolfman, Dracula and others) has been reissued numerous times over the decades, and continues to cast its spell over kids who have no idea that this song was originally meant as a parody of early-’60s dance crazes.

A few years back, a friend of mine posted on Facebook that he was playing Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” while driving his little daughter to school, and she asked him, “This is the same guy who sings ‘Monster Mash,’ right?” I’ve never been able to hear either song the same way again.

Warren Zevon — Werewolves of London

The second 45 I ever owned — a 12th birthday present from my mom in the spring of 1978. I’ll never forget hearing this song for the first time on the radio, and the joy and excitement I felt knowing that someone was still writing rock and roll songs about monsters. This was the song that made me a lifelong Warren Zevon fan, though I also fell hard for the single’s flip side, “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner,” who may be appearing in a subsequent playlist.

Kay Starr — The Headless Horseman

The story of rhe Headless Horseman — as recounted in Walt Disney’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, which my kindergarten teachers somehow thought was a good idea to screen for us on several occasions — absolutely terrified me as a child. So when Kay Starr sings “Ghosts are bad, but the one that's cursed/Is the Headless Horseman, he's the worst,” I’m right there with her. But I still can’t resist her saucy and swingin’ 1948 version of the Don Raye and Gene de Paul-penned ode to the decapitated dude, which was originally sung the year before by Bing Crosby.

The Five Blobs — The Blob

An early hit from the piano of Burt Bacharach (the lyrics were penned by Mack David, brother of Burt’s longtime songwriting partner Hal) this peppy, sax-driven theme from the 1958 drive-in classic of the same name featured the vocals of singer Bernie Nee, who was overdubbed five times for the recording. Nee wasn’t credited on the single or on any of Columbia Records’ accompanying promotional materials, however, so he took his one-man vocal quintet to another label. Alas, The Five Blobs’ next release, “From the Top of Your Guggle (to the Bottom of Your Zooch)” — and no, I’m not making that up — somehow failed to ooze its way up the charts.

The Naturals — The Mummy

As a fan of practically every mummy film made between 1932's Boris Karloff vehicle The Mummy (still my favorite) and 1971’s Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb, I simply can’t have a monster party without inviting a bandage-wrapped ancient Egyptian. This pyramid-rockin’ 1959 platter was co-written and -sung by Jerry Marcellino and Mel Larson, who later went on to massive success at Motown Records, where they co-produced hits for Michael Jackson, The Jackson Five and Thelma Houston.

The Cramps — Goo Goo Muck

Okay, I’m not sure what kind of monster a Goo Goo Muck is actually supposed to be, but there’s no way I’m not gonna invite The Cramps to this party. My college band Voodoo Sex Party performed our own crazed rendition of this song, which was originally cut in 1962 by Bakersfield, CA’s Ronnie Cook and The Gaylads, and made an unexpected comeback last year when The Cramps’ 1981 studio version soundtracked a dance scene in the Netflix show Wednesday. But nothing ever beat the glorious insanity of The Cramps in concert – or Poison Ivy’s glacially cool gaze as she wielded a Gretsch with murderous intent – which is why I’m going with this 1998 live version here.

Roky Erickson — I Walked With a Zombie

You could easily construct a whole Halloween playlist out of Roky Erickson songs, both his own renditions and the many covers that have been waxed over the years. But I’ve always been especially fond of “I Walked With a Zombie”’s utter simplicity: Take a title from a (great) 1943 Val Lewton production, set it to a classic I-VI-IV-V chord progression, and go! So perfect and uncomplicated, even a zombie could groove to it.

Dave Edmunds — Creature from the Black Lagoon

I was the kind of kid who memorized the names of presidents and famous battles… as well as names like Ricou Browning, the underwater stuntman who portrayed The Creature from the Black Lagoon in all three of its 1950s films. Ricou isn’t namechecked in this great 1979 track from Dave Edmunds — which was written by Edmunds’ Rockpile guitar mate Billy Bremner — but he’s definitely there in soggy spirit as the monster plucks an unsuspecting maiden from where she lays, then takes her away down under the waters of the local bay. (Fun fact: Browning would go on to write and direct both the film and TV versions of Flipper… as well as the 1978 cult action flick Mr. No Legs, about a drug ring enforcer who has no legs.)

Edgar Winter Group — Frankenstein

When it comes to a favorite song boy Frankenstein, my choice was either the Edgar Winter Group or the New York Dolls. It was a tough call — if I invited the Dolls, at least one of them would nod out into their dinner plates; but if I invited Edgar Winter, his nattering on about L. Ron Hubbard would surely make me nod out into mine. Then again, hanging out with Dan Hartman and Rick Derringer from the EWG would probably be pretty fun — and damn, does this live version of “Frankenstein” from The Old Gray Whistle Test rock like a laboratory in a lightning storm, or what?

Hot Blood — Soul Dracula

And finally, if I’m gonna invite one vampire to the festivities, it’s gotta be Soul Dracula — even if his hands are weirdly frozen like a pre-Kung Fu Grip G.I. Joe action figure. For me, it just isn’t Halloween without busting out this 1977 Eurodisco hit, or watching the carnage unfold in this bizarre little video for it.

Well, boils and ghouls, that’s all for now. Catch you back here soon with some more Halloween jams. And by all means feel free to shout out some of your faves — especially any quality monster songs that I left out — in the comments below!

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