Season of the Witch (song)

"Season of the Witch" is one of the first "psychedelic" songs, written by Donovan^[1] and first released in September 1966 on his Epic Records (USA) album, Sunshine Superman. In the United Kingdom, a cover version by The Pandamonium was released as a single in November 1966 (CBS 202462),^[2] while Donovan's version was finally released in June 1967 on the Pye Records compilation Sunshine Superman.

The recording features Bobby Ray on bass and "Fast" Eddie Hoh on drums.^[3] The run-time for the song is 4:56, unusual for an era when the typical pop song ran perhaps 2:30.

The song played faintly during a scene in the 1998 TV series "From the Earth to the Moon"--Episode 2. The song appears in the 1978 film More American Graffiti and appears on the soundtrack album as well. The song was played over the end credits of the Gus Van Sant movie To Die For. It was featured in the House, M. D. episode "Words and Deeds" and in the witchcraft-themed Simpsons episode "Rednecks and Broomsticks". It was included in the 2010 film The Other Guys at 1:12 into the film. It was used in a 2010 ad for Microsoft's Windows Phone 7. It was also featured in the HBO documentary Reagan during a montage of footage of demonstrations in California during the late sixties. The song is also featured in the first official teaser trailer for the upcoming 2012 animated film "ParaNorman".

Cover versions

The song has been covered by many artists:

• Terry Reid released a 10 minute cover of the song.
• Julie Driscoll covered the song in 1967 along with Brian Auger on their album Open
• Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper and Stephen Stills covered the song on their album Super Session in 1968. Their version has been sampled in a number of hip-hop songs, most notably in the 1992 single Ya Mama by jazz rap group The Pharcyde.
• Sam Gopal covered the song on their album Escalator.
• The acid rock band Vanilla Fudge achieved mild success with a cover of "Season of the Witch" in the late 1960s.
• Terry Reid covered the song on his 1968 debut album, Bang Bang, You're Terry Reid.
• Pesky Gee! (pre-Black Widow psychedelic rock band) covered the song on their album Exclamation Mark in 1969.
• South-African psychedelic band Suck recorded a version of the song on their album Time to Suck in 1970.^[4]
• Stephen Stills covered the song on a solo album.
• Hole covered "Season of the Witch" during their MTV Unplugged session.
• Boston band Heretix covered the song on their EP "AD" in 1990.
• The alternative rock band Luna released it as a single (1996).
• The phony 'supergroup' The Masked Marauders performed the song on their lone LP, with vocals by Bob Dylan and Mick Jagger impersonators.
• Covered by Robert Plant several times live. The first was in the medley "That's Why I'm In The Mood" in 1993, and in 1999 when he toured with his short lived project Priory Of Brion.
• Covered By Dr. John On the Blues Brothers 2000 Soundtrack; Dr. John's version plays during the scene in which the band arrives at the swamp lands, and is featured on the soundtrack album.
• Lou Rawls recorded the song for his 1999 album Brotherman!: Lou Rawls Sings the Hits.
• Covered by the darkwave band Babylonian Tiles.
• Covered by Joan Jett on her released-in-Japan album Naked
• Covered by Richard Thompson on the Crossing Jordan soundtrack album Jordan Crossing; this version was used in opening sequence of an episode of the television series, Crossing Jordan.
• Covered by Jenny Devivo on the Hed Kandi Nu Cool 4 album in 2000.
• Covered by Vanilla Fudge on the album The Return from 2002.
• Covered by Bobby Hughes (remix from Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper, Stephen Stills Super Session album) in May 2005
• The Strangelings included a cover of "Season of the Witch" on their album of the same name in 2007.
• Covered by Karen Elson as a b-side to her first single from her 2010 debut album
• Covered by poet and musician, Alan Pizzarelli as "Boneyard, Ghoul of the Blues" on his 2010 debut album, Voices from the Grave.
• Covered by the band Tea Leaf Green many times live.

Homages

The song's title has been reused by three films: George A. Romero's Season of the Witch (1973), Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) and Dominic Sena's Season of the Witch (2010). It was also the working title for Martin Scorsese's 1973 film Mean Streets.

The song title inspired record producer Joe Boyd to call his company Witchseason Productions.

References