70s

Audio

Halloween (Mighty High)

TRACK #430:

Halloween by Mighty High

Writing a Halloween music blog for the past 14 years has taken me places I’m not sure I ever would have gone otherwise. Disco, in particular, is a candy dish I never really thought I’d stick my hand into.

But looking for songs about monsters (and more specifically, Halloween) has led me to find bands I would have otherwise never found. And I could have written this about any number of bands with “Halloween” songs that weren’t metal bands. Larry’s Rebels, Scary Thieves, and even last year’s Abstractions, are all bands to whom this could apply. Why I’m choosing to say it about Mighty High, I couldn’t say. I guess it just didn’t occur to me to say it until now.

And it’s not because I’m wearing blinders, necessarily. I mean, I definitely am, just look around here. This is some serious hyper-fixation. It’s a tunnel that itself has tunnel vision. But that’s not why I’m not just stumbling across Mighty High for no reason. No one is stumbling across Mighty High.

They were a one-album-and-done rock outfit out of Nashville form by former Dickey Betts and Allman Brother’s bassist Jerry McCoy. But like I’ve said before, even with that one musical shot at the big leagues, they managed to find room for a song called Halloween. And while they may not have gotten themselves pulled up into the majors, having a song called Halloween gives you a good shot of getting pulled up into The Shindig.

And their Halloween is the kind of Halloween Song that I think is particularly interesting. It’s from a weird one-off band that doesn’t seem like they should be singing about Halloween, at a time when no one is really asking anyone to do that. They’re similar to Number One Ensemble in that that regard. You sort of expect an 80’s metal band to have a song about Halloween. In fact, it seems kinda weird if an 80’s metal band doesn’t have a song about Halloween. But a band like Mighty High? It doesn’t just feel like it’s outta left field, it feels like a hockey puck that flew into the stadium from the other side of the fence. And I like it so much more for that.

After a point in this new century here, there either just became too many bands, or it became too easy to release music and now you have bands that have made their entire identity Halloween and it’s annoying and so are their Halloween songs. It’s not what I’m looking for. It might be what you’re looking for, but it’s not what I looking for. I’m looking for Mighty High.

As a result, I don’t know if it’s the kinda song you need to hear. It’s certainly the kind of song I needed to find and add to this list, but I don’t know if you needed to hear it. That’s up to you.

Just recently stumbled across a playlist on Spotify called The Greatest Halloween Playlist Ever. It wasn’t, of course, but I couldn’t not look through a playlist making such a bold assertion, so I figured I’d give an assessment beyond just a reflexive hand wave.

It was 15 hours long, I’ll give ’em that. That’s not the usual slouchy offering. And there was plenty of quality referential and inclusive pulls represented, a good many of which you’ll find right here on The Shindig.  But honestly, the padding was beyond the pale. Represented, of course, were the usual suspects; Maneater by Hall and Oates, Zombie by The Cranberries and dozens of other songs that seem like they’re vaguely Halloweeny but actually have no business being on a Halloween playlist. But wait, Gallows Pole by Zeppelin? Yep, for some reason that song and so many others that you might add when you don’t know there’s Denise Jannah or Run, or Bill Ervin. But wait, none of those songs are even on Spotify. I suppose that illustrates the inherent problem of making that claim on such a streaming service and why Halloween Shindig has its own specific player.

But beyond those, we get Maxwell Silver Hammer? Long Black Veil? Fuckin Bullet With Butterfly Wings? 15 hours? You only have 6 songs with the actual word “Halloween” on this list. Fuck, you don’t even have the song Halloween by the band Halloween, get the fuck outta my face with this playlist. Greatest ever. It’s not even the best one on Spotify, a place I’d argue is incapable of hosting something even approaching greatness. So the Greatest? Not even close buddy.

It’s bold claim, one I don’t even presume to make about Halloween Shindig. Most complete? Eh, more complete I might say, but even still we’re coming up short. As of this post, we got no ICP, no Type O Negative, we don’t have that shitty Muse song or anything from that Kim Petras album everyone seems to love so much. Nor do we have any of the innumerable “Halloween” songs from the last 10 to 15 years that hold no interest to me. And that’s not to mention all the stuff I still have in the bullpen that’s on the way like Tyte Stone or David Vorhaus or even songs from Japan or John Capedeville that may never even make the cut. So yeah, after 430 songs, even we still have holes that completists could point at and say “yeah, but what about this one?”

But that’s just completist hand wringing. This person’s talking Greatest. Even then, I wouldn’t call Halloween Shindig the greatest, not at all. I think that’s far too personal a distinction. I’m sure one person’s Greatest Halloween Playlist contains absolutely no Monster Raps. I don’t wanna be at their party, but I’m sure they exist. Likewise, I guarantee no one’s Greatest Halloween Playlist contains a song by Butch Patrick, much less 2 of them. But that’s kinda the point. You can come here and cherry pick from this Halloween tree for your own Halloween ends (no puns intended) and move on.

So, with all of that said, I dunno if the Greatest Halloween Playlist Ever needs to have Halloween from Mighty High. In fact, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t. But if you’re out here running around acting like you have the Greatest Halloween Playlist Ever, then you probably should have Halloween from Mighty High. Just sayin’.

 

Audio

Monster Reggae

TRACK #428:

Monster Reggae by Frank’ N’ Stein

I’m not really one to disparage an entire genre of music. I tend to think every style has its artists and releases that prove a good song is just a good song.

But man, do I not like Reggae.

It’s just not a sound I want surrounding me. At least not the Reggae I’ve been exposed to anyway. Which admittedly, while more expansive than simply Bob Marley, isn’t the widest range. I’m sure there’s songs and artists that would prove my opening statement true, but I’m not sure I’m tryin to find out.

Now, that all might seem perfectly evident to long time listeners, as The Shindig thus far contains exactly no Reggae. I’m pretty sure it’s not because there’s just a dearth of Reggae songs about Monsters, because there seems to be a bunch. Not an abundance, but they’re out there. The ones I’ve come across over the years, though, haven’t really tickled the itch. Is that even a saying? Probably not.

Except for this one, which despite its name, doesn’t sound all that much like Reggae to me. Sure, there’s nothing else you’d really call this, what with that shuffley guitar riff and it’s general tempo. And hell, it’s certainly claiming to be Reggae and who am I to argue? But hey, Boris Picket claimed The Monster Rap was Rap, so. And yeah, I mean I guess technically it is that. But it’s not exactly that. And let’s not forget Edgar Winter or Elvira, each of whom claim the same, and I can certainly envision staunch pushback from the Hip-Hop community.

What I mean to say is is that this song is not irritatingly Reggae sounding, ya know, like most Reggae.

Which helps, because this song is practically begging to be on The Shindig, an entreaty I’ve denied to more than just a handful of songs based on my own personal preferences over the years. Not sounding irritating is certainly a plus over here.

But this one? I dunno. I kinda like it. And man if it ain’t Monstery. And it’s a Mysterioso Pizzicato offender to boot? It’s like the most Mysterioso Pizzicatoy song ever! The entire bass lick is the Pizzicato for almost the entire song, c’mon now. It’s also our first Pizzacato offender of the season, I might add.

So maybe this is the one. Maybe this is the song I point to when I say, “Hey, every genre has good shit. Even Reggae.”

 

Audio

Witchfinder General (Carl Douglas)

TRACK #425:

Witchfinder General by Carl Douglas

We’re gonna bring our HalloWitch Week to a close here with this straight heater from Jamaican singer Carl Douglas.

Now, Carl is probably best (and perhaps even only) known for his 1974 mega-hit Kung Fu Fighting. In fact, he is so only known for it that it takes 2 pages of google results to find a fuckin photo of the guy where he isn’t wearing a goddamn karate headband. I get it Carl, get the bag, but this is all a bit excessive with the Kung Fu, no?

Released right as the 1970’s Chopsocky craze was taking off, I wonder how much its success was a product of that wave and how much of its success keep that wave rolling. Like some sort of spinning, self-sustaining system of mirror-encrusted cultural appropriation and ethnic stereotyping. And that’s without even considering its extensive use of the Oriental Riff. It was 1974 after all.

Unfortunately, Carl never found much success outside of that tune, despite releasing 2 other albums and having 2 other singles fare well on the UK charts. Of course one of those was also about Kung Fu, but hey, if it ain’t broke, it ain’t broke.

Over here, we’re gonna cut Carl some slack, because the very next track after Kung Fu Fighting on his album Kung Fu Fighter is Witchfinder General, and that’s got Shindig written all over it.

It’s one seriously funked out, wah-ed up slice of 70’s satanic awesomeness. I wish this was a Title Track, as anachronistic as that would have been. I can’t say for sure that Carl is directly referencing the 1968 Vincent Price movie, as there is a book of the same name on which the film was loosely based. There’s also the fact that Witchfinder General was a very real title that verified piece of shit Matthew Hopkins, a man said to be responsible for over 100 death, bestowed upon himself.

Now, while I can appreciate the convenience of the rhyme (lazy though it may be), perhaps it’s just a tad insensitive to refer to very real and falsely accused women murdered by very real and confirmed douchebag Matthew Hopkins, as “mighty fine bitches.” But hey, this is just a feel good disco swinger bud, let’s not get all woke on it, huh? Sheesh. What the fuck are we here for? Some fuckin’ scolding or some fuckin’ bangers?!

Bangers – and bang this one does. I’ve never been a big fan of Kung Fu Fighting, despite its Gold Record status and Billboard #1 peaking chart performance. However, Witchfinder General is a stone cold groove.

So, let’s say goodbye (for now) to the mighty fine bitches known as Witches, with this 70’s time capsule from Mr. Kung Fu Headband himself, Carl Douglas.

 

Audio

The Witch (The Casuals)

TRACK #424

The Witch by The Casuals

Well, there’s certainly no shortage of songs simply titled The Witch. What can I say? Despite the reputation and all the, ya know, creating, musicians don’t seem terribly creative sometimes.

All that aside, our 4th witch tune of the week is perhaps the most explicit depiction of a straight up evil witch we’ve yet heard.

A black eyed queen who’s the devil’s machine, with icy fingers flying through the night is what The Casuals describe to us. The phrase “hocus pocus” is used, there’s some cackles talked about and even a classic reference to MacBeth is tossed in for good measure. Also, she’ll bewitch anyone that’s not inside. Thanks for the heads up, gang!

Now, this is a pretty rocking song for The Casuals. Formed in the early 60’s, this British Pop band performed more mellow, dare I say casual, listening music. They saw a lot of personnel changes over the years, recorded in Italy for a bit and had a pretty bit hit in ‘68 with their song Jesamine.

By 1974 though, they’re releasing this tune, which one YouTuber described as “proto-Iron Maiden” and once I read that I couldn’t unhear it. The commenter also suggests it would have been cool if Maiden had covered it, and I agree. This tune rocks and hearing Steve Harris gallop his way through that bassline while Bruce belts out “the witch will bewitch you if you’re not inside!” would be killer.

As it stands though, we got The Casuals doing it and that’s plenty good enough for our Halloween purposes.

 

Audio

The Witch (The Rattles)

TRACK #423:

The Witch by The Rattles

While a touch less ambiguous in its witchery than The Sonic’s The Witch, tonight’s The Witch is no less…vague? I dunno. There’s an argument to be made it’s more vague than October Country’s Witch, but I still think we’re dealing with an evil entity.

There’s not much to this one. In fact, the lone entry for it on songmeanings.com is literally someone opining:

“I think this means about someone running from a witch”

which reads like Homer explaining to Bart what he thinks “Gabbo” means. Well, that’s insightful, pal. I really hope that’s just a joke.

In that astute analysts’ defense, this is about all The Rattles are offering up lyrically. But this visceral and spooky Witch song should be no stranger to any Halloween playlist, and I probably should have added it years ago.

But I should preface it by saying this version of the song is visceral and spooky. See, German psych rock band The Rattles originally released this tune in 1968 with Male singer Henner Hoier.

But I much prefer this second version from 1970, with vocals by Edna Bejarano, despite some randos on YouTube claiming the original is clearly superior. One goofball even suggested it’s better with a male singer because it makes more sense for a Witch to be chasing a male protagonist, as if it was utterly nonsensical to depict a Witch attacking a female. Insanity.

But that’s pretty generalized. A couple of commenters actually suggested the song needed Grace Slick, and that Edna Bejarano is no Grace Slick. Jeesh! The internet really is a just place for people’s unfiltered and unsolicited opinions…myself included I suppose.

But honestly, the majority of the commenters, across multiple videos, overwhelmingly praise Edna and prefer this version of the song. I do like the original, don’t get me wrong, but I find this one sounds more raw, and with its creepy strings and all that witch cackling, is clearly the more seasonal choice.

So, let’s continue HalloWitch Week with an eerie and appropriately Halloweeny installment that’s a long time coming. Here’s The Rattles, running from, The Witch!

 

Audio

Dracula’s Daughter (1974)

TRACK #416:

Dracula’s Daughter by Thunderthighs

Remember when I said that’s there’s a song every year that’s been waiting around forever to finally get on the playlist? Well, I said that about Don’t Let Go this year because, well because that’s true, but mostly because our next song was originally scheduled for next year. Now, I did include the caveat that there’s usually more than one a year, especially at this stage in the game. And I’ll admit, Don’t Let Go has been waiting for much longer than tonight’s jam, but no song has been burning a hole in the bullpen for me quite like this one.

When I first ran across this tune (whenever that was originally) I dismissed it as a Screaming Lord Sutch cover, tossed it onto the YouTube Bullpen playlist and promptly forgot about it altogether.

Then, while randomly listening to that playlist in my car (who knows how many months later) this song fired up and it immediately grabbed my attention. What the hell was this? And when the hell had I added it?

I drop a lot of boring and forgettable songs on that playlist, just to see what they got going on. Some of it never gets a 2nd listening before being summarily dumped. But this song, this was a stake straight through the heart of a listless Dracula block filled with just those kind of boring and forgettable tunes.

An awesome Dracula voice, a spooky organ, a seriously fuzzed out guitar lick and an aggressive female vocal all demanded I take notice. This was no Screaming Lord Sutch cover. No, it was much more.

What follows, amid epic 70’s strings, some assaultive brass stabs, that classic werewolf sound effect and is that a fuckin clarinet (?) is one seriously rocking Monster Song. It’s like ABBA blasted a few rails and covered Spirit in the Sky at a Halloween party but forgot how it went so they just sang whatever the fuck about Dracula, and I’m about it.

And look at this 45 sleeve! That’s one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a long time. In fact, despite the song being readily available on the internet, I shelled out to get one shipped from England just so I could get a high rez scan and throw it on a T-Shirt. It’s available here, in the Shindig Shop (or here, if you prefer Redbubble). Don’t make me the only weirdo rockin’ this thing, alright? Everyone buy one cause that’s the coolest thing ever.

Back to this song, or rather to Thunderthighs, which is awesome name for a female rock group, let’s be real. I had never heard of this band and I wondered what their story was all about.

Turns out they were a backing vocal trio from the UK consisting of Karen Friedman, Dari Lalou and Casey Synge. The were most known from providing Lou Reed with the do-do-doos for Walk On the Wild Side. They are not, in fact, “colored girls”, despite chiming in right at the moment Lou suggests they might be. Over the years, some folks have taken umbrage with this fact, and I can see why. If you’re satirizing the music industry’s proclivity for taking advantage of minority singers without providing the proper credit, proper compensation, proper royalty structures or the opportunity to step out from behind the shadow of their white counterparts, doing so with trio white women may just be undercutting that point. Perhaps it’s not though. Perhaps that’s the only responsible way to make such a critique. Or maybe it’s not that deep at all and it’s simply Digital Blackface in the analog era. I’m not sure. All I know is that regardless of what Lou sings, the girl’s were Thunderthighs.

As an act on their own, Thunderthighs never really seemed to catch on. They released a handful of singles to critical acclaim and some chart performance, but nothing viewed as an undeniable hit. They recorded a debut LP, but the label cut their losses and  shelved the effort. Years and years later the material was released as an untitled album and is currently available to listen to on the various streaming services.

Despite struggling to find solo success, these woman were still very sought after for their incredible vocal gifts. The trio can be heard on various albums from Mott the Hoople, Arthur Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis and David Verity.

But for our week of Hallo-Women, we don’t want them in the background. We want the ladies of Thunderthighs front and center singing about possibly the most monstrous woman of them all, Dracula’s Daughter.

 

Audio

Vampira (1974)

TRACK #413:

Vampira by The Majestics

Speaking of Black Face…

Holy Jesus, that doesn’t feel good to type. Doesn’t feel good that there’s even call to type such a thing, but facts is facts.

There’s also a man singing here, which while not exclusively against policy this week (there’ll be others), singing that is about a Woman rather than by a Woman is definitely a bit less than. However, this is a Title Track, and for that we can make this exception.

Because it simply wouldn’t be Halloween over here at Halloween Shindig if we didn’t add some more Title Tracks to the mix.

Actually, now that I’m reading that back, I wanna cross reference this claim of mine. One moment please.

Ok, Nevermind. Apparently it can very much be Halloween over here at Halloween Shindig without any Title Tracks at all, as both 2018 and even 2023 featured no Title Tracks on the countdown.

Still, 11 out of 13 years ain’t a bad ratio, and it suggests that Title Tracks are kinda of a thing around here. And for anyone around here who’s been around here who knows the score knows that.

Tonight’s Title Track comes from a British film called Vampira, pronounced Vam-PEER-a as opposed to Malia Nurmi’s original horror host Vam-PIE-ra. Not sure why the writers decided to call the film that but pronounce it differently, particularly since by 1974 (even in England) Vampira would have been a known quantity. Perhaps that why they pronounced it different? But who knows with them Brits.

I guess Malia took no issue with them taking her name, regardless of pronunciation, as I could find no evidence to suggest she approached production or sued the production company over the rights to the moniker.

And that might just be because, generally speaking, the film is widely known by its overseas title, Old Dracula. To capitalize on Mel Brooks’ smash hit Young Frankenstein, they released this sucker stateside as Old Dracula, get it? Har de fuckin har.

Despite that poor attempt to sideline a perfectly good Title Track, the movie was originally released in the UK as Vampira and features this definite Title Track from The Majestics, so step off, ya Yanks!

Plot wise we have the Notorious Phantom, Mr. David Niven, playing an aging and lonely Dracula attempting to resurrect his long dead love, Vampira, using the blood of young Playmates. Seems he needs a special sort of blood and he’s just gonna invite all these Playmates to his castle for a photo shoot and weird Dracula party (where he pretends to be Dracula) and gets the playmates to sleep overnight.

It’s a solid plan, except that the one the playmates (incidentally, the one with the special blood) is also Black, so Vampira is resurrected as a Black woman.

Now of course this isn’t a problem at all if you’re not a total piece of shit, but this is a guy who has literally murdered thousands of humans so he can live, what’s a little casual racism on top? It might be hard for non-murdering not-pieces-of-shit to understand how naturally one might take to simple racism while regarding an entire species as sub-vampire.

This is compounded by the that fact that Vampira is played by the stunningly gorgeous Teresa Graves, who was very famous at this exact time for playing TV cop Christie Love on Get Christine Love. Readers might remember the scene from Resevoir Dogs where the gang wonders aloud about who played Christie love – you under arrest sugar! Well, Vampira played Christie love, that’s who

In addition to Niven and Graves, it being a British production and all, there’s definitely Hammer babes afoot. Here we have the gorgeous Veronica Carlson from Dracula Has Risen from the Grave and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed anLinda Hayden from Taste the Blood of Dracula and The Blood on Satan’s Claw and that’s pretty cool. So big up there.

We also get Nicky Henson, whom you may remember from Witchfinder General and Psychomania, which is also a treat.

Thanks to the blog Denim Disco, where I’ve been lucky enough to find out about a number of different tracks, I can tell you the guy who wrote this also wrote the lyrics for Goldfinger, his name was Anthony Newley. And that singer? Despite The Majestics being a UK soul band, that’s American actor Clarke Peter’s whom you may now as Dectective Lester Freamon from The Wire.

So, let’s turn the mic over to a man, for a moment, as he does what so many men with microphones have done for as long as their have been microphones; sing the praises of a woman. In this case, the resurrected body of a bloodsucking Queen of the night named Vampira.

 

Audio

Haunted Disco (1979)

TRACK #408:

Haunted Disco by Chromium

Holy shit, more Haunted Discos? Yeah, it’s pretty crazy. It’s kinda why I kept the Disco Draculas together and held onto these for a different season.

This particular Haunted Disco, actually called Haunted Disco, comes to you from Chromium, a one-off project from British producer Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoff Downes.

Now, if those names don’t sound familiar, (and let’s face it, they probably don’t) perhaps their original band, The Buggles, will ring some bells. Still nothing? Well OK, but how bout their huge single and MTV kickstarter Video Killed the Radio Star? There it is. Now we’re cooking.

Whoa, wait, whaddya mean you still don’t know who or what the hell i’m talking about? Really? Well shit, I don’t know what else to say if you don’t know Video Killed the Radio Star. This obviously means you’re entirely too young to recognize that song, which by default means you aren’t actually reading this post right now. In which case I guess you don’t exist in this reality and I’ll stop addressing you. If you are old enough and you still somehow don’t know that song, I’m still gonna assume you’re also not reading this and move on.

Now, it seems they recorded the Chromium album Star To Star between forming The Buggles in 1977 and releasing their own first album, Age of Plastic in 1980. But the single for Video Killed the Radio Star dropped in 1979, after the Chromium album was released. So they seem to have been jumping back and forth.

However, after that song hit, both Trevor Horn and Downes we’re back at it and recording next to Prog-Rock outfit Yes, whom had recently shed their lead singer and keyboardist (Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman, respectively.) They asked Trevor and Geoff if they wanted to join Yes, and who says “No” to Yes, so they stuck around to record their 1980 album Drama. But Yes called it quits a year later, so the duo fell back on The Buggles and released their follow up album entitled Adventures in Modern Recording.

Right after that though, Downes went for the Prog-Rock mega team-up with Yes guitarist Steven Howe, King Crimson bassist John Wetton and ELP drummer Carl Palmer to form the Supergroup Asia. The Shindig maintains a deep lineage, continuing to show that anyone who’s anyone in this game has some weird Monster Song roots.

Which brings me to a strange point. Wikipedia… OK yeah yeah, that’s the old trope, but I guarantee you it has more accurate and better sourced information than whatever Facebook link you just clicked or the dumb video you just watched.

But anyway, the Geoff Downes Wikipedia page claims “Then they formed the short-lived Chromium, with Anne Dudley and Hans Zimmer and recorded an album Star to Star in 1978”

I’m sorry, did you say Hans Zimmer? Like A League of Their Own, Zero Boys, Cool Runnings Hans Zimmer? Get the fuck outta town. I had to cross reference this claim.

Discogs, as you might imagine, makes no reference to Zimmer on the Star To Star album proper, so I was like, yeah, that shit ain’t true. But, searching within Hans’ specific discography does ping a small credit on some releases of Star To Star, including an unofficial expanded CDr release, the US cassette release and the Canadian LP. OK, that’s a little weird, but technically still true it seems. He is credited as “Electronics” whatever the hell that really means. Was he programing synths? Was he soldering SSM chips into a Fairlight CMI? What kind of electronics are we talking about here, fellas?

So, I don’t know if I’d say they formed Chromium like with Hans Zimmer or if he was just like a studio tech or what, but he is actually credited in there. So chalk up another one for the Monster Song and it’s long line of decorated purveyors!

Also, apparently Hans makes an appearance in the Video Killed the Radio Star video, which is also kinda weird. Way to go bud!

Anyway, let’s get on with this song, shall we? It’s almost midnight and my Internet’s been down for hours while I’ve been trying to wrap all this shit up.

Listen, the Disco Queen wasn’t buried where she should have been, and you know that shit is a problem. And if that same shit definitely doesn’t lead to a Haunted Disco, I don’t know what does!

 

Audio

Disco Monster

TRACK #406:

Disco Monster by The Saturday Night Disco Band

We’ve already established that disco was pretty big in Japan. I don’t remember when, but i’m pretty sure we did. Maybe Sweet Sexy Dracula? That’s a guess, but I’ll link to in anyway. Let me know, yeah?

But anyway, yeah, disco was big in Japan. And as you can see below, our next track, the title track from the 1978 compilation Disco Monster, was a Japanese release.

Unfortunately, I don’t speak Japanese, so I had no idea if the song was a suitable addition outside of its title.

So, I enlisted some assistance from Shindig Radio guest Matt Mastrella, as his wife is Japanese.

What I also don’t speak, evidentially, is internet, cause fuckin Google translate can process images and I could have very easily found all the information I needed simply by translating the album cover, like so.

But indeed, they were able to help, translating this cover and hunting down the group Pink Lady and then finding the original lyrics. See, the song Disco Monster (here performed by the dubious Saturday Night Disco Band) is just a fun disco version of this duo’s #1 hit Monsutā. This song topped the Japanese Oricon Charts for 8 whole weeks in 1978, and was the 3rd best selling record of that year.

You see, Pink Lady was a big in Japan, which is entirely non-pejorative if you’re actually a Japanese artist. From 1976 to 1979 the duo released 9 different #1 hits. Their 1978 hit Chameleon Army stayed at #1 for an unprecedented 63 weeks, a feat which went unmatched for another 37 years.

They were absolutely massive. They hosted nine different television programs and were even turned into an anime. They were the spokespeople for everything from Shampoo to Oolong Tea. Just the mere mention of a product by the 2 Pink Ladies would almost guarantee an increase in that products sales, such was their influence.

They were so popular in fact, that they even enjoyed fame here in the United States, becoming one of only 2 Japanese artists to enter the Billboard Top 40 with their 1979 English language record Kiss in the Dark. They road this success to their own damn variety show produced by Sid and Marty Croft. The ill-fate Pink Lady and Jeff (or just Pink Lady) with comedian Jeff Altman, lasted only 5 episodes and was a total disaster.

It appears the Japanese duo couldn’t speak a lick of English, an apparent and egregious oversight by the shows producers. Naturally, this misunderstanding led to a whole lot of confusion and caused difficulties recording the program. See, the network execs demanded the girls only speak and sing in English while only performing English language songs. As you might imagine, that didn’t go well.

The network tried to throw money and star power at the catastrophe, enlisting the likes of Blondie, Cheap Trick, Hugh Hefner, Sherman Hemsley, Florence Henderson, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lewis, Sid Caesar, Larry Hagman and even Alice Cooper, but the resulting fiasco was canceled after just 6 weeks.

It is considered by many to be one of the worst shows in television history and is cited as almost single-handedly killing the entire variety show format in America. Snap. That’s wild.

The duo was allowed to sing 2 of their Japanese songs on the final episode however, they’re massive hit UFO and…you guessed it, Monsutā

Here’s the Pink Ladies themselves performing the tune.

So all this to say, yeah we don’t even have that song on the playlist. Weird right? Yeah, I get it. But I like this weird Disco Version better.

Here translated (however accurately) by Google translate, are the lyrics to Monsutā:

I can get you tomato juice
I can get you an emery board
Night is young
Spread your wings
And enjoy the night
Take a walk

They are not necessarily scary people
They are not necessarily bad people
In this world now people who are not accepted are crawling around everywhere and this is pitch black

There is nothing to be scared of, just scream and run away
I’m worried about your wimpy heart
You are too kind, your heart might be hardened

Monster, this is my cute person.

Monsters wake up your eyes.

Monster, it’s your turn.

Monster, it’s a full moon. Wow…

If you’re thirsty and in trouble, I’ll buy you tomato juice.

If your fangs are itchy, I’ll buy you an iron file.

There’s still a while until dawn.

Let’s enjoy it. Take a walk at night.

Even if there are seams on the face, it’s not necessarily scary.

Even if your nails are sharp, it’s not necessarily a bad person.

I can’t get it in this world

I wonder if it’s dark with all the people.

I’m going to indulge in sex on summer nights.

Everyone dodges a hot kiss and I can’t stand it.

Get out of the way, get out of the way, get out of the way, get out of the way

Hey, hey, hey, hey

Monster, come on, be brave.

Monsters are big.

Monsters shouldn’t be shaking.

Monster, raise your hand.

The monster is here. The monster is here. The monster…

I’ll follow you, so there’s nothing scary.

If something happens, scream and run away.

I’m worried about weakness.

That heart that is too gentle may be hurt.

I’m going to indulge in sex on summer nights.

Everyone dodges a hot kiss and I can’t stand it.

Get out of the way, get out of the way, get out of the way, get out of the way

Hey, hey, hey, hey

Monster, you’re too kind.

Monsters are tattered.

Monster, this is my cute person.

Monster, good night.

Monsters are here. Monsters are here.

Outstanding.

Now how much of that is accurate, I couldn’t say. Matt’s wife insisted the translation wasn’t too bad. Without speaking Japanese myself, I can certainly spots instances where, if not inaccurate, a one to one translation is probably not in order. This is why context is important, and having a command of both languages is probably preferable for translation.

But I’d rather see crazy ass lines like:

I’m going to indulge in sex on summer nights.
Everyone dodges a hot kiss and I can’t stand it.

Than anything close to an accurate translation.

Seems to me like, I dunno, they’re hot for the monster? He’s into but he’s kind of a ween? Or maybe that’s what makes him a ween? I can’t really tell. Doesn’t really matter, honestly. Firstly cause the lyrics are in Japanese, and secondly cause it’s disco and really, that ain’t what anyone is here for really.

So, lets turn on the lights to the dance floor, toss on an old Don Post mask and boogie the fuck down with The Saturday Night Disco Band and their cover of Pink Lady’s Monsutā known simply as Disco Monster.

 

Audio

Transylvania Disco Hustle

TRACKS #405:

Transylvania Disco Hustle by Monsters

Do you remember back in 2023 when we were talking about The Monsters from the UK and I said they weren’t these Monsters over here to the left, but that we’d get to them in just a bit?

Oh course you don’t. Why would you? What am I, fuckin ridiculous? I barely remember it and I wrote all this dumb shit. Nobody even read that post, much less remembers it 2 years later, let’s get real here.

At any rate, I said that and you can cross reference that if you want, but I don’t know why you would. Either way, that “just a bit” I was talking about was apparently 2 years, cause we’re about to talk about those Monsters and their “disco jammer” right now.

The Monsters (pictured above looking appropriately fiendish in this graveyard, you ask me) started life as actual monsters, dressed up and everything, but calling themselves Children of the Night. Check them out over here on this other album looking just as Monstery.

Now, they dropped that album and an accompanying single in 1976, but began life their musical life 3 years prior in New York.

For some reason, after this LP and some monster swapping, they became The Monsters proper in 1977 and released this album. Even looking through some of this great promotional material and reading the interview with The Wolfman found there as well, it seems a bit unclear why they changed the name. I would venture to say it was less of a mouthful than Children of the Night. Catchier and easier to remember as well. But who knows. They’re dressed up as monsters and their holding guitars, they can call themselves whatever the fuck they want really. We’re on board, either way, I mean, c’mon.

That album features a cover of the Monster Mash, a solid jam about The Mummy and this banger that gives the disco treatment (yet again) to that Monster Party ethos. And as we like to say, if that kinda thing can’t be here, then it can’t be anywhere. This is the place where things like this land. This is where it belongs.

I will say the narrative on this one kind feels a little bit like The Monster Club, where this square fella gets seduced by a Vampire bar and then taken to a club where a bunch of different monsters are dancing and having a great time. It’s a fun story and when the guy goes back even, the club is gone!

It makes a for a fun Disco monster tune, that’s for sure. But no one old enough to know what The Hustle is actually reading this blog. In fact, I’d say no one is, period, but you get the point. No one that would have been doing The Hustle is here right now reading this.

But if there were, they might tell you that The Hustle was a popular line-dance that became associated with Disco and then sort of turned into a catch-all for several similar dances across the scene. It originated with Puerto Rican teenagers in the South Bronx in 1973 before becoming a mainstay at clubs all throughout the mid-70’s, then becoming the subject of a song by Van McCoy in 1975, culminating in John Travolta Hustling it up in Saturday Night Fever, simultaneously exposing the entire world to the dance and shooting it in the back of the head.

Eventually, like most dance crazes, it landed in Transylvania, were monsters of prestigious report, like Dracula and The Wolfman – to lesser ghouls, like The Cyclops and The Thing, all partook in its stepping shuffle of this

Apparently, at some point in the 80’s, the band were trying to get a TV show made. What? Gimmie a break, and no one gave the green light to that thing? If that had gone through you know I’d be posting those episode to TeleWeen right now, but here we are in reality without any Children of the Night TV show.

But we do have some Children of the Night music. Or at least some musics from The Monsters, at any rate. So let’s give in and do the Transylvania Disco Hustle.

Everyone was high!

Yeah, I’ll bet.

 

Audio

Ghost Dancer

TRACK #404:

Ghost Dancer by The Addrisi Brothers

If you’re like “Man, I really dig all this Monster Rap and Halloween Heavy Metal, but I really just wish The Bee Gees had written a damn Monster Song or something.”

Well, allow me to present Ghost Dancer from The Addrisi Brothers.

A weird, supernatural romantic ballad set to a disco rhythm? Ok, I guess that’s where disco was at it 1979 and we’re here for it. We may even be the only ones that are here for it anymore. I mean, now anyway. Some people were there for it in 1979, at least I imagine they were. Like literally they were obviously there for it, but like into it too…in 1979. Right? Someone had to be feeling this bizarro, supernatural disco jammer. Like, I don’t know how well this did commercially or anything, but this thing shreds. You tellin’ me people on the dance floor weren’t feelin’ this shit Halloween ’79? No way they weren’t. We’re feelin’ it now, I’ll tell you that much, and we hope you’re feelin’ it too.

Now, I’ll admit, this is way more Ghost than it is Ghost Fever, but it’s still about a ghostly apparition and a Haunted Disco, which will be a running theme for this particular disco block, as you’ll come to see.

Basically, a guy and a girl really liked dancing, then she died suddenly, but she swore they would dance forever, so now he rolls on the discotheque solo and this chick reappears and dances with him once again in ghost form. Nice.

Now, The Addrisi Brothers, Don and Dick, were actual real life brothers from Winthrop, Massachusetts. Hey, alright. They had a pretty big hit initially penning The Associations Never My Love in 1967. 

I will say though that now, as looked them up today to verify their names, and it seems as though Dick just died, like yesterday, October 14th, 2025. It’s sad when someone passes, but it feels somewhat eerie to find out that someone has literally just passed away right as you decided to look them up randomly. Like, this song has been in the bullpen for years now. The first draft of this post was penned 2 years ago. I could have ended up placing this song anywhere in the month. I could have looked up Don and Dick Addrisi names whenever, but it was the day after he died. I dunno, maybe that’s not that weird, but it feels kinda weird.

Either way, it made me feel sad. It’s the season for it, I suppose, and there is some comfort in that. Dick Addrisi gave us song about a girl living on in ghost form through the music. Perhaps The Addrisi Brothers (Don passed in 1984 from pancreatic cancer) will do what so many singers and musicians have done for so long now, and live on through their music. They will live on here, with the hallowed halls of Halloween Shindig for as long as we can keep the lights on.

Rest in peace Dick Addrisi. This one’s for you.

 

Audio

Don’t Let Go

TRACK #403:

Don’t Let Go by Unit Eight

Every season there’s a song (well probably a number of songs really) but always at least one specific song, that finally gets it moment to shine.

A song that has been in the bullpen for years, waiting patiently for its moment. A song I have desperately wanted to squeeze in for years. A song for which getting on the playlist was never a question. A song that was always destined to show up, just a matter of when.

I think of such long suffering additions like last years Freaky Halloween from EJ Rock, or Solcyst’s Haha! I Need Your Blood from 2023, or hell, the entire 2 season spanning run from track 100 to 130. That’s a meaty part of the playlist right there.

And for 2025, that song is definitely tonight’s addition, Don’t Let Go from Unit Eight. I can’t tell you how long this one has been in the bullpen. A while, like over 10 years, if not since the beginning of the bullpen altogether.

Now, I’m not sure why I’ve left it out of our last 2 disco blocks (yeah sorry, Cerrone was the opening salvo of our Biennial Disco Block) but I’m glad I still have something this damn undeniable after 400 tracks.

And is this one ever undeniable. If you know, I definitely don’t need to convince you, but to those out there that don’t recognize this title (and aren’t immediately jogged by the album art above) this is the kind of song that makes Halloween Shindig the kinda playlist it is.

From 1982 horror opus Creepshow comes the song a young Ed Harris absolutely cuts a rug to during the Father’s Day segment. If you’re as big a Creepshow fan as me (and the many others reading) that’s all there is to say. Tonal incongruous and questionable inclusions that seem wildly out of place if you don’t understand their origin is what Halloween Shindig is all about. Plus, the song absolutely slaps. Unless you don’t like Disco, which I can understand.

Unit Eight was a band out of the UK, and this song can be found on their 1978 album Discos Like This, which features a full line up of fine disco cuts. How this one found its way in George Romero and Stephen King’s epic team-up I simply couldn’t say. But man I’m glad it did, as it gives us another example of actors (maybe even future stars) doing ridiculous dances in Horror movies. Crispin Glover in Friday 4, or Jim Carey in Once Bitten, or Tiffany Helm in Friday 5, and now, we present Ed Harris in Creepshow…

 

Now, that is some Disco dancing. Again, I know not everyone reading likes this kinda thing. I get it. But personally, and at the risk of losing all semblance of musical credibility, I enjoy the hell out of Discp. Or at least Disco about monsters and ghosts and shit. And boy we got a whole acrylic plaform’s worth of disco fish in the tank. So we’re gonna blast you with another hardcore block of coked-out, fever inducing disco demons to haunt your dance floor.

And to set it all on fire is Unit Eight…

Where’s my cake!?

 

Audio

Supernature

TRACK #402:

Supernature by Cerrone

To be completely honest, I have no idea how long I’ll keep doing this or how long the playlist will end up being when it’s all said and done.

Early on, some of my more inclusive lists had the total topping out at around 250 tracks. As such, in 2015 I claimed Track #120 (This is Halloween) was the center of the playlist. Yeah, that was 10 years ago and we’ve added almost 3 times that many songs to the playlist since. For those playing at home, we actually hit that end point 4 years later with Halloween by 220 Volt in 2019. Now, it’s 6 years from even then and we’ve put another 160 songs on top of that.

What can I say? I kept finding cool songs I thought needed adding.

That very same year (about a week prior, it seems, in the The Monster Mash post) I said I’d love to get the playlist’s total runtime to 24 hours, then your Halloween couldn’t possibly hold anymore music. I’m proud to say that, without really thinking about that goal much since writing it, we hit that marker just last year. About a minute into Track #368, Igor At Midnight by Cagé, The Shindig officially broke the 24 hour mark.

And yet here we are, 400 songs in the rear-view and we’ve got a playlist that’s entirely too long for any party and literally can not be listened to in a single instance of Halloween. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not, but it’s certainly a thing.

Should I keep going? Should I keep adding music to this playlist, because hell, isn’t October really just a perfectly structured 31 day countdown to Halloween anyway and now there’s a shuffle button and we got all the Mini-Playlists and people can cherry pick what they want and leave the rest and walk out knowing that regardless of what they came away with they were presented with a serious list of classic and obscure tunes appropriately suggested for their holiday festivities? Yeah, we’ll keep diggin’ up tunes a little while longer I suspect.

Well, at the very least there’s the rest of this year’s tracks, and whatever else I have sitting in the bullpen that can scratch its way out onto the field. Is that another 100 songs? Roughly 3 seasons worth of tunes?

I couldn’t say, but after 400 tracks, we need a little reset. We need something epic to recenter things and usher in a new phase of the playlist. We need something…supernatural.

And what better tune to fit the bill than the dystopian dance floor disco ‘digger, Supernature?

From French drummer Marc Cerrone’s 1977 album of the same name, comes a song about how scientists in the future basically use GMOs to battle starvation but unwittingly transformed creatures below the surface into hideous monsters that rise up and terrorized mankind back into the Stone Age. Ok, disco, let’s get fuckin’ serious, I guess.

Apparently this song enjoyed some popularity last summer when it was used by France during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics. I was unaware. I’m not tapped into the Olympics like that. Or at all. Like not even slightly. I kind of hate the Olympics, if I’m being honest.

My apologies if you’re an Olympic fan, an Olympic hopeful or even a former Olympian yourself (as my visitor data fully leads me imagine you probably might be) but the whole business has never sat right with me.

I have conceptual interest in the strongest and most accomplished humans from all over the globe competing in good natured feats of skill and strength. That sounds nice. Sounds nice. In practice though, it doesn’t really seem to be that and it mostly causes people to just be irritating.

And maybe this is me just living in the United States. Maybe it’s different in other parts of the world, but when my fellow countrymen, who couldn’t be arsed for the proceeding 4 years, suddenly won’t shut up about curling, are suddenly all experts in the pentathlon, or become inconceivably invested in the various athletic performances of underage girls or  – its annoying.

I don’t care. You can’t make me care. I have no appetite for some nebulous surge in pride I’m supposed to feel cause “our” guy swam .2 seconds faster than that “their” guy. Yeah, you can miss me with this nationalistic horseshit.

And that is to say nothing of the legitimate economic, political or human right issues associated with the either the games themselves or the IOC. But realistically, it’s not going anywhere. I’m not even saying it should, or needs to, go anywhere. I obviously don’t patronize it and I will continue to do just that. I’m just saying, this is why I had no idea this song was making the rounds last year.

Which is probably good. This should make the rounds, cause this song is awesome. And it’s dance-able as all get out. So c’mon!

You’re not getting tired already, are you? It’s only been 400 songs! The night is still young!

 

Audio

Hallowe’en, Hallowe’en

TRACK #400:

Hallowe’en, Hallowe’en by Oscar Brand

Well, here we are, 400 tracks. It’s wild to think that this playlist has made it to 400 songs. If you had asked me back in 2012, when I first started writing about these songs on Tumbler, if I’d still be doing this in 2025, I’d have said you were nuts. I wouldn’t have been surprised that there were 400 songs (there’s always been too many songs to talk about) but I would have been surprised I had actually kept up the practice consistently enough to make it to 400.

So, this one should probably be a special kind of addition. And though after 399 songs you might imagine we’ve exhausted the reserves, I think we have just the right creepy old tune to ring in the occasion; a tune that’s been sitting patiently in the bullpen, waiting for the right moment to arrive and I think 400 is just that moment.

The name Oscar Brand might not be immediately familiar to some readers, unless of course those readers happen to be pretty big fans of Folk music. Cause Oscar was an incredibly influential cornerstone of the folk music scene of the mid-20th century. A Canadian by birth, Oscar moved to at the United States at a fairly young age. Despite that, he played extensively in Canada throughout his career and even hosted the Canadian Television program called Let’s Sing Out in the mid 60’s. which gave the world their first views of artists like Joni Mitchell, Dave Van Ronk and Phil Ochs.

While Oscar was an accomplished musician in his own right and his television show was a big hit, his most enduring contribution is without a doubt his radio program, Oscar Brand’s Folksong Festival.

For 70 years Oscar hosted this New York AM radio program, the longest running radio program with a singular host in the history of American broadcasting. The show ran from 1945 until Oscar’s death in 2016 and was hugely responsible for ushering in the folk era of American Music. It was this show that introduced America to practically every singer/songwriter you can name. Interviews with Woody Guthrie, Dylan, Peter Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, and Peter Seeger (among countless others) were all broadcast to the country first by Oscar on WNYC-AM 820.

However, the most incredible aspect of the program was that Oscar did it as a complete labor of love. He received no payment for the entire run of the show. In an effort to keep it an uncensored bastion of free speech, safe from disingenuous attack, he ran it exclusively as a public service, even forgoing payments to the artists that appeared.

This freedom would become incredibly important as Oscar’s show grew up during McCarthyism, where many of the folks singers Oscar interviewed were being considered “Communist.” Oscar provided a platform for blacklisted artists to speak out without fear of financial repercussions because there weren’t any purse strings that could be used to pull him. That didn’t stop the House Un-American Activities Committee from branding his program “a pipeline to communism” for essentially providing Americans the ability to exercise their first amendment right.

Though he released over 60 albums since 1949, it is his 1979 release Trick Or Treat: Hallowe’en Celebrated In Story And Song that brings us here tonight. This full blown Halloween record  featuring songs and stories for children makes for great vintage holiday listening. It’s like what The Old Gray Goose’s album might sound like if Goose was an accomplished folk singer and a more disciplined storyteller that didn’t have such a thick accent. I know that sounds 100% less awesome than The Goose (and it is, to be sure) but it definitely makes for a much more, shall we say, reasonable album.

Out of all these songs and stories, our selection for the evening and our 400th track has got to be Hallowe’en, Hallowe’en. Oscar attempts to tell some visiting trick or treaters a Halloween story, but when they show absolutely zero interest and beat feet, he decides we need to hear it instead. A bit presumptuous to just assume we wanna hear this shit if the kids didn’t, you ask me. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t.

So let’s sit back this October evening and let a folk legend tell us a spooky story about the origin or our haunted Holiday.

 

Audio

The Phantom of the Opera

TRACK #394:

Phantom of the Opera by Long Tall Ernie and The Shakers

In an effort to flesh out our Classic Monster Block, we’re gonna lean on our old friends Long Tall Ernie and The Shakers.

These guys should probably already be Shindig All-Stars by now, as their 1979 album Meet the Monsters plays like ready-made, 8 track Shindig Mini-playlist. However, this is only the second time we’re pulling from that album. And the last time we did? 2019! That’s 5 seasons ago! That’s enough time for us to have added most of this album.

But who knows, maybe one day Long Tall Ernie’ll suit up with the All-Star Team, lord knows he could.

For today, we’re just gonna let them fill the Phantom of the Opera sized hole, not just in this block, but in this entire playlist. evidently. Seriously, is this really the first legit song we’re getting about the Phantom of the Opera? In 13 years? That can’t be true. Hold on.

Ok, yep. It’s true, I guess.

You get Title Track goofballs Phantom of the Mall and Phantom of the Ritz showing up in 2022 and that’s about it. You could argue Phantom of the Paradise made an appearance back in 2017, but I still don’t think that qualifies as a legit Phantom of the Opera tune.

Man, that’s crazy. The Phantom of the Opera is a a huge iconic character to have just roundly ignored like that. I mean, you have Lon Chaney, not even Jr. mind you, but Big Daddy Chain, pulling out all the stops to create one of Hollywood’s original movie-magic monster transformations. And the whole thing it’s about music! How have I seriously hit on this subject ‘til 2025? I guess there’s just not that many songs about the Phnatom? I dunno if that’s true. I’m sure it’s not. I just don’t think I was looking, for whatever reason.  But hey, what are ya gonna do? We’re here now, ain’t we?

If you’re a real big Phantom fan that’s been patiently waiting for this blog to finally drop a Phantom of the Opera mini-playlist, I don’t know what to tell you. You never spoke up, I’ll say that much. I’ve yet to get one complaint about the lack of representation for Erik, The Phantom of the Opera, on this playlsit.

But, if that was you, quietly suffering like I’m not a DM shimmy slide away, tonight is your night. So let’s let Ernie and his Shakers introduce us all to…The Phantom of the Opera!

 

Audio

Dracula (The Zane Brothers)

TRACK #393:

Dracula by The Zane Brothers

For every Shindig All-Star with multiple songs on the playlist, or even huge stars with one-off additions like Michael Jackson or Chuck Berry,
there’s probably 10 tracks from guys that never cut another record in their entire careers. Hell, some of them never even released another song.

The Zane Brothers, whomever they may be, are just such fellas.

Now, thank the maker though, because with their one musical life they choose to make a song about Dracula. It’s quite probably the very reason they only got to shoot one shot, but it’s definitely what I’m looking for, and (by extension) what you’re looking for, as a person reading these words.

It’s a humdinger of Drac Track too, one that ought to get your feet moving. At least if you’re already in a dance-friendly environment that is, like maybe a Halloween party, expecting to hear dance worthy songs about Dracula. If you’re just driving in your ‘83 Ford Fiesta on your way to a double shift at the diner, perhaps a song about Dracula just gets shut the fuck off, who knows?

Me? I’m keepin it on, rolling down the window and leaning on the volume knob just pumped that any station is broadcasting a song about Dracula through actual radio waves. And that’s not simply because I’m the kinda guy who would compile songs like that onto an unnecessarily and obnoxiously long Halloween playlist for the past 13 years. I mean, that certainly doesn’t hurt, but it’s not the only reason.

Naw, it’s cause this song is cool. Trust me! I’ve waded through a several pints of Dracula songs that aren’t even worth mentioning, much less listening to, and this is definitely not one of them. Not at all. This one grooves and it’s even, dare I say, kinda funny.

And I still have a capes worth of Dracula songs sitting in the bullpen, but I’ll leave it at just the one this year. Maybe next year I’ll drop another full on Dracula block, cause man, they are seriously piling up. 

For now, let’s let The Zane Brothers spin their unique yarn about that age old Halloween song staple, Dracula.

 

Audio

The Evils of Frankenstein

TRACK #365:

Evils of Frankenstein by Choctaw John

Look, we’re reasonable people.

And as reasonable people, we can overlook the fact that there isn’t any actual film called The Evils of Frankenstein

Cause c’mon, it was 1976, after all. Cross referenceable material, albeit available, wasn’t nearly as ubiquitous as we’ve come to expect in our cushy age of instantaneous digital information. Unwittingly adding an “S” to the title of some movie you randomly caught on Creature Features one night…a movie that scared the shit outta you so bad you had to write a song about it…isn’t nearly the worst thing you could do. Who knows, he was probably hammered anyway.

But was this dude even watching The Evil of Frankenstein?

First and foremost, he describes Frankenstein and his hunchback assistant building a creature. This does not happen in The Evil of Frankenstein. Not only does Victor not have a hunchback assistant, he doesn’t even build a creature. They discover Victor’s original creature frozen in ice, ala Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman.

And speaking of ala, of all the Hammer Frankenstein’s to write a song about, you pick Evil? Hammer’s co-opted, financed by Universal “let’s just retcon this whole thing and port the entire Universal aesthetic over to Bray Studios” travesty? Really? C’mon John. Just about every other Hammer Frankenstein is better than that mess.

And to that point, despite being called The Evil of Frankenstein, it’s probably Cushing’s least evil portrayal of the character, and thus the least likely to turn your hair white.

Part of the Universal-ization of Evil extended to the Doc’s entire demeanor, I guess. Cause gone was Hammer’s original and refreshing take, which placed Victor front and center as a villain, a man willing to straight up take life in his obsessive quest to create life.

But hey, maybe he just picked that name out of a hat. Maybe he just liked the way it sounded… after he added an “s” of course.

Cause I mean, he clearly didn’t watch it. And if he did watch it, he didn’t remember it too well. Maybe it just scared the shit so far outta him his mind blocked all the small details like, ya know, the entire goddamn plot. Who’s to say?

But then he changes the channel and lands on some idealized version of House of Frankenstein or some such thing, who knows. We’re clearly in the realm of fantasy here and that’s fine, cause I don’t wanna pick on Choctaw John too much here. I mean, outside of perhaps naming yourself Choctaw John, but that’s a matter for a different website.

For our part, John recorded a great Frankenstein tune and we’re happy to have him. This 7″ also contains the B-side World of Darkness, which is another wild-ass banger chocked to the brim with dark imagery about global nuclear holocaust. Shit, John. I guess when you weren’t sittin’ around getting scared by old monster movies, you figured you might as well just scare the fuck outta everyone else, huh? Yeesh.

Well, thanks for the dark twang, bud. Now go rewatch…or maybe even just watch…The Evil of Frankenstein, will ya? And when you’re done, pop in any other Hammer Frankenstein flick, as they’re pretty much all superior to that pile.

 

Audio

Frankenstein (Chuck Osbourne)

TRACK #364:

Frankenstein by Chuck Osbourne

Whether talking about the man himself or his godforsaken creation, lots of folks have sung about Frankenstein. I still think not as many as Dracula, but it’s a pretty hefty list either way.

However, I don’t think anyone has sung about him as enthusiastically as Chuck Osbourne does here, on his 1975 single, Frankenstein.

Like the bastard son of Louie Armstrong and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Chuck practically throws my voice out screaming the praises of the creature for doing a bunch of shit I’m not even sure he ever did. Hard to know really, cause I can’t rightly understand most of whatever the hell Chuck’s even saying in this song. But man, is it awesome.

I might even go so far as to call this the coolest song I’ve ever heard about Frankenstein, Doctor or otherwise. I’m not sure why it took me so long to find this one, but I’m sure glad I did, and I hope that you are too.

Seems there’s a little confusion over Chuck’s name, though. See, he released this song twice on a Pennsylvania label called Hittsburgh USA, which I gotta say, is a pretty outstanding name for a label from the Monongahela Valley.

Can’t tell which record was first though, as they both got released in ‘75. One of them was the B-Side of Day Dream Drifter. That one is credited to Chuck Osborne. And that guy had a couple of other singles.

The other one is a A-Sider with an instrumental version of the tune on the B-side. Now, that one is credited to a guy named Chuck Osbourne, with a U. That’s weird. Chucky U doesn’t have any other singles, just this one.

Was this just a typo? What gives? Guy hiding from the Feds? What’s the deal here?

I imagine if my name was spelt wrong on my own goddamn single, the only single Hittsburgh USA had to their name mind you, I’d be pretty pissed off. Maybe that’s why he spends the whole song just screaming.

And it’s not like they didn’t know how to spell it. One of these pressings got it right. Useless, of course, that’s not even his name at all, and it’s some kinda cover. Maybe he is hiding from the Feds. Guy sounds a little unhinged here about Frankenstein, it’s not outta the realm of possibility to think he’s done some wild shit. I better stop asking so many questions.

I’d say I’m gonna go with Osborne, cause that guy had more releases, but I don’t think so. That no U business is some B-Side bullshit.

I’m goin Osbourne, cause that’s the guy who released the full-on Frankenstein single, with the instrumental on the flip. Frankenstein by Chuck Osbourne is an goddamn A-sider, fuckin’ Hittsburgh USA. Put some respect on that name, however you spell it. Cause if this song is any indication, Chuck deserves it.

 

Audio

Hey Frankenstein

TRACK #361:

Hey Frankenstein by Ecstasy

So, what’s all the fuss about Dracula, anyway?

Guy’s kinda boring, ain’t he? Drink a little blood, flash a little cape, hiss a bit with some fangs maybe, whatever. Big deal. Why’s this dude getting so much love in the tracks?

What about ole Frankenstein?

Well, while seemingly not as referenced as The Count, Frankenstein is still no slouch when it comes to recordings. In fact, according to a title search of “Frankenstein” on Discogs, there’s 785 master recordings. That’s almost 120 more than Dracula! Maybe old nut-neck ain’t 2nd banana after all. Maybe he is the big dog at the party. Though in fairness,  a ton of those releases are just various compilation appearances and covers of the Edgar Winter classic. Without meticulously scrubbing either search for duplicates of that nature, it would hard to say for sure who emerges as the clear winner.

That’s of no real concern to us though, cause we’re gonna show Frank a little love now anyway, cause Lord knows he’s been getting the high-hat. Plus, I got a bunch of Franken-Jams clogging up the bullpen. Not as many as Dracula, but still quite a few.

I think it’s worth noting that in 9 out of 10 songs it’s the monster that’s being referenced rather than the Doctor. Sometimes that can be hard to determine with some of these songs, but it’s a safe bet it’s usually the creature.

And we can look the other way on that one, right gang? We can just accept that most people are calling the creature “Frankenstein,” accurate or not. I’m prepared to let it go for a block of Franken-Rock, aren’t you?

Yeah, of course you are, cause you don’t give a damn. Does the track groove? Yeah? Well then fire it up.

And groove this one does, cause we’re flippin’ the switch on this block with another song I had to fish outta the drink just to hear. And once again, it was definitely worth it. Some people had the A-side from the Ecstasy single What’d I Say? but no one seemed to have the B-side, Hey Frankenstein.

Ecstasy was a French disco band in the late 70’s that cut a number of 45s, but seemed to fizzle out just before the turn of the decade.

Chris Dobat, otherwise known as Mister Ecstasy, was the driving force behind that band and he seems to have pivoted to solo Funk work in the 80’s. Not bad.

Here, he lets it all hang out with some funky disco dedicated to Doctor himself. At least, I think anyway. Cause I’m not gonna lie, half the time I can’t tell what the hell Chris is actually saying. The fact that this is the B-side to What’d I Say? seems entirely appropriate.

However, I didn’t wanna leave y’all hanging. So, I decided to listen to this song on repeat, for an ungodly amount of times, until I figured out what the lyrics are.

Here is my best attempt. If anyone would like to assist me or correct any of these lines, I’ll take all the help I can get. We posted the song to YouTube last year, and you can use their playback speed to help with the translation. Though I warn you, it’s only so helpful.

Hey Frankenstein
Hey Hey, Hey Hey (x2)

Hey Frankenstein
Comes walking in
you know its him
Oh, bad Frankenstein

Hey, Frankenstein
He’s gotta prove
He’s in the groove
Oh, bad Frankenstein

He takes a drink
To make it quick
It’s all feelin fine
He can’t play fair
He doesn’t care
He’s bad Frankenstein

Hey, Frankenstein
He’s doctor
When his medicine
Oh, he’s Frankenstein

Hey, Frankenstein
He wore his dice
And they’ll look nice
He’s no valentine

So full of ice
He wore them twice
He’s no friend of mine
And if your taught
To live to start
Don’t, bad Frankenstein

Hey Frankenstein
Hey Hey, Hey Hey (x2)

He’s moving fast
He’s moving where it’s at
Looking for fun
Anyway, anywhere, anyone

When there’s no more fun
He’s back on the run
Playboy #1
Always looking for fun

On the run

?
He’s got a secret
Dice!
He wore them twice!
Louder
Sexy
Horns
He begs it

Mr. Frankenstein
Comes a-walking in
Mr. Frankenstein
Funky Valentine

Hey, Frankenstein
He’s gotta prove
He’s in the groove
Oh, bad Frankenstein

Hey, Frankenstein
When it get hot
He’s very bad
He’s bad, Frankenstein

He knows the way
To scare his prey
Oh he’s Frankenstein
He’ll never let you get away
Here comes Frankenstein

Hey Frankenstein
Comes walking in
you know its him
Oh, bad Frankenstein

Hey, Frankenstein
He’s gotta prove
He’s in the groove
Oh, bad Frankenstein

He takes a drink
To make it quick
It’s all feelin fine
He can’t play fair
He doesn’t care
He’s bad Frankenstein (x4)

So, that’s what I got anyway.

Can’t say I’m entirely convinced I got any of this right, and lots of it just sounds wrong. But some it of seems right, and after entirely too many listens, I gotta call it a wrap. But please, if you’re feeling like maybe you also gotta know what this guy is saying and my translation seems like trash, help me out. Lemme know what you think.

Oh, and hey! Speaking of letting it all hang out, that’s a full on fully up there adorning the front of this 45. Cause hey, if you jump into a tub to record your single, maybe a nipple slips out, ya know? It’s ‘78! It’s disco! What’s a nipple? C’mon, get loose, will ya?

Mary Shelley would have wanted to see her nipple.

 

 

Audio

Monster Disco Ball!

Not since the Shock! Theater revival of the late 50’s and early 60’s had so many non-acts decided it was a groovy idea to start singing about Frankenstein and Dracula. Especially Dracula, yeesh.

And why? Is there something I’m not understanding about Monster Music? Did this shit sell well? Were they making a killing tapping into this market? Who knows. Someone was making something beyond these folks just making these records, or else no one would have been having them make ’em, right?

But it’s not like this is Christmas music, where you’re almost guaranteed a stockingsworth of sales, and for years to come, so long as your record isn’t a complete pile of shit. No, this is Monster music. You’re already dealing with a pretty lean fan base to begin with and without that wholesome, doesn’t-it-just-make-ya-feel-good-by-the-fire vibe, what’s the angle? Your Grandma ain’t listening to fuckin Disco Blood, ya know? Well, I mean, unless she is, and that’s awesome. Doubt that’s most of our Grandmas, though.

Was there a large market for this shit in the late 70’s that I’m just not understanding? Pretty much all of these pre-date Thriller as well, so I’m just confused. Why were so many artists leaning into this?

I  couldn’t tell ya, but boy am I glad they did. Above you will find the finest in Monster Disco The Shindig has to offer, including a couple of Monster Disco Ball exclusives! 

So blast a rail or 2 off a mirrored ball, throw on a Don Post Mask and Boogeyman down!