TRACK #347:

Scary Movies by Monica Kirby

So, all the guys wanted to take the gals to the movie house on a Friday night and see a monster picture. It’s the age old trope, right? And why not? It was dark, close quarters together, away from prying eyes of parents or teachers. And the movie was sure to scare her, right? Right into your arms anyway, was the hope, I’m sure.

And we’ve heard some here from the guys about the practice, but what of the ladies? Surely they went on record about this time honored ritual of patriarchal heteronormativity, right?

Indeed, but probably not in the way that last sentence might suggest. It was, after all, 1963.

No, this just kinda plays out like one of the girls from the previous songs is singing that story from her perspective. He takes her to the scary movie, she gets scared, they “cuddle” and she seems to enjoy that.

However, this one kicks you down a cool Dracula singing alongside her. He’s basically saying, “hey, if you don’t know about this move, here’s this move and let’s let her confirm that move works.” And she does. Not sure why we need this Dracula, but I appreciate his appearance, as always.

As for Monica Kirby, the girl in question, she didn’t release too many other singles. According to Secondhandsongs, she sang for Coral Records (the company that released her singles) in the early 60’s. By the mid 60’s she was in nightclubs in New York City, where (according to them anyway) she was recruited into the New Christy Minstrels in ‘67.

They were a folk ensemble famous for spring-boarding many famous singers to prominence, most notably Kenny Rogers and Kim Carnes. Interestingly, Karen Black was a singer with the Minstrels for a spell. Yep, Karen Black. Like Trilogy of Terror and Burnt Offerings Karen Black. Weird.

What’s more weird is that I can’t really corroborate Monica’s membership. Some sites, like Secondhandsongs and AllMusic mention her, whereas the Wikipedia roster doesn’t feature her at all, nor is it included on her Discogs or Rateyourmusic resumes.

So who knows?

What we do know is, she loved those scary movies, and God bless her for that.