TRACK #60:
Happy Halloween by Zacherley
Perhaps the granddaddy of all Horror Hosts, John Zacherle donned the guise of Roland (later Zarcherley in New York) as Philadelphia’s host of Shock Theater in 1957.
In addition to being one of the most iconic personalities of the genre and one of its earliest originators, Zarcherley also released tons of spooky music during his career as a Horror Host.
Just in time for #60, here’s the Cool Ghoul himself wishing us all a very Happy Halloween.
This crazy skeleton’s from a pretty weird Hallmark Halloween commercial
TRACK #59:
8 More Days Till Halloween (Commercial Bumper)
Ok, well, that was a little intense. Unfortunately, this blog rolls backwards if you aren’t following along, so you have no idea what I’m talking about.
Either way, we’re gonna lighten the mood up a bit with some novelty frivolity, in the form of a quick commercial break to feed our Frankenstein with some delicious Halloween treats.
But we’ll be right back with more Halloweeniness and audio atrocities soon.
Samples Featured in this Bumper from:
and of course
Some Ernest buffoonery, in the midst of a Halloween explosion.
TRACK #40:
Halloween by Kay Lande and Wade Denning
Divisible by 20? That must mean it’s time for another Halloween song.
When it comes to straight up Halloween music, few songs pack as much adolescent cheer and Halloweeniness than this track from spookster Wade Denning and children’s performer Kay Lande.
It’s catchier than all get out and set to the tune of Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre, which itself used to be on the Shindig, until I came across this little ditty some years back.
Go ahead, try not humming this song to yourself for the next 72 hours.
H-A-DOUBLE L – O – W – DOUBLE E – N spells Halloween!
Sam Heinous by Mikey Rotella
TRACK #20:
Halloween by Betty Grable
There are so many songs on the Shindig simply titled Halloween, that one appears roughly every 20 songs.
So, up at #20 is this vintage Betty Grable ditty from the 1950 film entitled My Blue Heaven.
The film, while not itself about Halloween, does feature this rather bizarre song and dance number. Stranger still, the movie is actually about a married couple (Dan Dailey and Grable) both radio personalities, that are expecting their first child. After a car accident, Grable miscarries and the couple look in adoption. Yeah, that sounds pretty light, let’s turn that into a musical. Shit, and while we’re at it, let’s throw in this completely unrelated song about Halloween!
Hey, if you’re singing about the Eve of All Hallo’s, the Shindig don’t judge, particularly when you have lines like “Hot jack-o-lantern it’s Halloween!”
TRACK #3:
Halloween by King Diamond
With the first 2 tracks simply serving as atmosphere, the the unofficial start to Halloween Shindig is here. And what better herald is there than King Diamond to usher in our festivities? Halloween (or our Shindig) doesn’t truly begin until King Diamond fucking says so.
But to King Diamond, every night is Halloween, and he looks damn prepared for it…always. Check it out.
Anything anyone who looks anything like this 90% of the time has to say about Halloween is probably true, so we should just listen.
But, I’m not sure how that works exactly. If Halloween is just constantly occurring, what’s all the fuss about? What are any of us doing here? Why is there a party, and why do you need music for it?
That’s because, in deference to whether King gets his sack out and goes trick-or-treating every night, Halloween is still Oct. 31st, and you’ve got a party to host. A party King Diamond will most likely not be attending…at least not physically anyway.
So, in the true spirit of Halloween, the eve of the dead…..crank it up, and let the spirit of King Diamond make an appearance at your Shindig.