Today is Halloween and today’s classic Halloween song of the day is that novelty classic, “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett. “Monster Mash” has become a true holiday classic; you probably can’t turn on the radio today without hearing it at least once.
“Monster Mash” was originally released in August of 1962, just in time to peak at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 during Halloween week of that year. It’s actually had several different runs on the chart, most recently hitting #37 in 2021, almost 60 years after its initial release.
Bobby Pickett was an actor who did a little singing, or maybe he was a singer who did a little acting. He was singing with his group the Cordials one night when he launched into a humorous monologue in the style of horror actor Boris Karloff while the band was playing “Little Darlin’;” it seems that Mr. Pickett was a fairly decent impersonator.
That went over pretty well, so Pickett and fellow Cordial Lenny Capizzi got together to compose a song in that vein. That was the “Monster Mash,” and the musicians backing them up on the recording (dubbed “The Crypt-Kickers”) included studio ace and future rock star Leon Russell. The track was produced by Gary S. Paxton, former member of the Hollywood Argyles and producer of their #1 somewhat-novelty hit, “Alley Oop.” (He later produced “Sweet Pea” and “Hooray for Hazel” for Tommy Roe and engineered “Along Comes Mary” and “Cherish” for the Association.)
“Monster Mash” has an infectious early-60s groove supported by a bevy of horror sound effects—a bubbling cauldron, a squeaky coffin lid, rattling chains, and the like. The song references all manner of Universal Pictures monsters, including Count Dracula, Igor, and the Wolfman. The jist of the thing is that Drac’s previous dance hit, the Transylvania Twist, has been supplanted by the latest craze, the Monster Mash. It’s just a fun little number, a real graveyard smash, the perfect song for the last day of October.
Happy Halloween, everybody!
