Monster Mash

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"(The) Monster Mash" is a 1962 novelty song and the best known song by Bobby 'Boris' Pickett. Pickett was an aspiring actor who sang with a band called "Darren Bailes and the Wolf Eaters" at night while going to auditions during the day. One night, while performing with his band, Pickett did a monologue in imitation of horror movie actor Boris Karloff in the middle of a song (some sources have identified the song as a rendition of The Diamonds' "Little Darlin'"). The audience loved it and a member of the band encouraged Pickett to do more with the Karloff imitation.

Pickett composed "Monster Mash" and recorded it with Gary Paxton, Leon Russell, Johnny McCrae and Rickie Page, credited as "The Cryptkickers". This song was partially inspired by Paxton's earlier novelty hit "Alley Oop", as well as by the Mashed Potato dance craze of the era.

The song is narrated by a mad scientist whose monster, late one evening, rises from a slab to perform a new dance. The dance becomes a hit when the scientist throws a party for other monsters. The producers came up with several low-budget, but effective sound effects for the recording. For example, the sound of a coffin opening was imitated by a rusty nail being pulled out of a board. The sound of a cauldron bubbling was actually water being bubbled through a straw and the chains rattling were simply chains being dropped on a tile floor. Pickett also impersonated the horror actor Bela Lugosi as Dracula when he said, "What ever happened to my Transylvania Twist?"

On October 20, 1962, eight weeks after it was recorded, "Monster Mash" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart just in time for Halloween. It has been a perennial holiday favorite ever since. The single was re-released twice, the first re-release was in 1970, and the second re-release resulted in the single peaking at #10 in early-May, 1973. The song remains a staple on oldies radio.

"Monster's Holiday", a Christmas-themed follow up, was released in December 1962 and peaked at #30 on the Billboard chart. The tune was penned by the renowned novelty song composer Paul 'Oops! upside ya head' Harrison.

Bobby 'Boris' Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers charted with "Monster Mash" in the UK in 1973. The BBC banned the song in 1962 on the grounds that it was "too morbid".

In 2005, "Climate Mash", a version with re-written lyrics about global warming and new vocals by Pickett, was released on the Internet by the organization Clear the Air. "Monster Mash" was written by Pickett and Leonard Capizzi.

1 Trivia
2 Occurrences in the media
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Trivia

When Elvis Presley heard the song for the first time, he said that it was "the dumbest song he had ever heard" (MusicChoice Trivia).

Boris Karloff did his own version of the song as well.

Mixing the cereals Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry into one bowl is commonly known as a Monster Mash.

Punk rock group The Misfits covered this song on their album "Cuts From The Crypt"

[edit] Occurrences in the media

In 1995, a movie musical called Monster Mash: The Movie, written in the spirit of the song and starring Bobby Pickett himself, was produced.
Boris Karloff was so taken with the song that he performed it himself on a 1965 episode of Shindig!.
Mike Tyson appeared with Bobby Brown on Jimmy Kimmel Live, performing a duet of the song.
The song was performed in the first episode of Do Not Adjust Your Set by The Bonzo Dog Band.