THE HALLOWEEN BOOMBOX: Seasonal Music To Die For Part 1

As you get to know me and this site, you will learn that Halloween is my favorite holiday. Though Christmas and gift giving/receiving is fun, nothing equals the feeling of the Halloween season (which for me starts in early August). Whether it was dressing up as a kid to go trick or treating or dressing up as an adult to hand out candy, this season has always been the absolute highlight of the year.

Halloween is magical for me. I vividly remember the sound of the crunching leaves beneath my feet as I sauntered up a walkway in search of my next treat and the smell of candles burning in lit jack-o-lanterns. I truly believe the story that the barrier between the living and the dead is thinnest on Halloween and if you are mindful on this night, you can actually sense that the air has a different feel to it.

There are many ways to set the atmosphere for Halloween as well. You can wear a spooky costume. Decorate your house, garage and yard. Watch scary movies. All things people do to increase the feeling on the most wonderful night of the year. One of the most important things to do though is to add music and sound effects. Anything from scary movie soundtracks to Halloween novelty songs, these audio treats are sure to increase the fun factor of Halloween for you and your visitors, whether it be for trick or treating or for a party.

While pulling out and dusting off boxes of cd’s in the basement I came across one labeled “Halloween CD’s.” This collection was out of sight, out of mind for me since they had all been transferred to my iPod many years ago. Now it is time to bring them out again, wipe off the cobwebs and share my favorites with you. If cds are available for any of these, the cd cover is clickable to order!

Since there are so many cd’s in this box, this will be an ongoing series. The first three parts are going to cover Halloween novelty songs. Most people think of Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s “Monster Mash” when they think of Halloween novelty songs and though this is the biggest song of its type ever, there are literally hundreds of others available out there. Ever since the 1930’s songs about the spookiest time of year have been made almost yearly. I am going to cover as many of them as I can right here!

I became aware of the sheer quantity of Halloween novelty songs out there thanks to the Dr. Demento Show, a weekly syndicated radio show that plays only novelty songs. Each year, for the two weekends prior to Halloween, the good doctor devotes the entire shows to just Halloween and these shows quickly became the most popular shows of the year. The Dr. Demento Show, which began in 1970, is now only available streaming online on its official website (visit it HERE) but is so worth it.

What I will be covering in these first three parts are not only cd compilations where every song is a Halloween novelty song but also cd’s by bands who may have just one song on their album that is considered a Halloween novelty song. So, without further adieu, let’s see what is out there!

Since I am on the subject of Dr. Demento, let’s start with his only cd release featuring a collection of Halloween-themed novelty songs. This disc, called Dr. Demento Presents: Spooky Tunes & Scary Melodies, came out in September of 1994, just in time for Halloween, features a must-have collection of nine tracks regularly heard on his show each year in October. The collection is small but it does feature a few tracks not normally found on other collections. The tracks are as follows:

(1) WEREWOLVES OF LONDON by Warren Zevon (2) A NIGHTMARE ON MY STREET by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (3) THE HAUNTED HOUSE OF ROCK by Whodini (4) ATTACK OF THE FIFTY FOOT WOMAN by The Tubes (5) CASTIN’ MY SPELL by Johnny Otis Show (6) HALLOWEEN SPOOKS by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (7) BO MEETS THE MONSTER by Bo Diddley (8) MY SON, THE VAMPIRE by Allan Sherman (9) NATURE TRAIL TO HELL by ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic

Next up is another Rhino release from 1991, called Halloween Hits. Like the previous release, it’s pretty basic, but does have some tracks not found on other collections. If you are just starting out collecting these compilations, this disc is highly recommended!

(1) MONSTER MASH by Bobby “Boris” Pickett & the Cryptkickers (2) HAUNTED HOUSE by Jumpin’ Gene Simmons (3) THE BLOB by The Five Blobs (4) GHOSTBUSTERS by Ray Parker Jr. (5) TWILIGHT ZONE by Neil Norman & His Cosmic Orchestra (6) THE PURPLE PEOPLE EATER by Sheb Wooley (7) THE ADDAMS FAMILY (Main Title) by Vic Mizzy (8) I PUT A SPELL ON YOU by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (9) ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES by Lewis Lee (10) MARTIAN HOP by The Ran-Dells

This next starter collection is also put out by Rhino Records. This collection, titled Billboard Presents Family Scarytime Classics, came out in 1996 and once again offers a few tracks not found anywhere else.

(1) THE ADDAMS FAMILY (Main Theme) by Vic Mizzy and His Orchestra (2) ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES by Lewis Lee (3) (Theme From) THE MUNSTERS by Billy Strange, His Guitar and Orchestra (4) THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN by Kay Starr (5) THE BLOB by The Five Blobs (6) DARK SHADOWS Theme by The Robert Cobert Orchestra (7) BEWITCHED by Peggy Lee (8) CASPER, THE FRIENDLY GHOST by The Peter Pan Players and Orchestra (9) THIS IS HALLOWEEN from the Soundtrack of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (10) TWILIGHT ZONE by John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra

Elvira is synonymous with Halloween and she is no stranger to releasing her own brand of humor into song. In addition to three official cd releases and two LP releases (see below) you can also download ELVIRA’S GRAVEST HITS off of iTunes. It is pretty much a “best of” compilation of her three cd releases, featuring all of the songs that she sung herself, plus some other great musical additions to your Halloween music collection. The track listing is as follows:

(1) ELVIRA’S THEME (to my knowledge this has never been available other than on the LP ELVIRA’S VINYL MACABRE), (2) ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY by Lori Chacko, (3) 3D TV (previously only available on an EP by the same name) by Elvira, (4) FULL MOON by Elvira, (5) MONSTA’ RAP by Elvira, (6) ZOMBIE STOMP by Elvira, (7) HAUNTED HOUSE by Elvira, (8) HERE COMES THE BRIDE by Elvira, (9) HERE I AM by Elvira, (10) LE MUSIC HALL by Elvira, (11) ZOMBIE KILLER by Leslie And The Lys, (12) MISTRESS OF THE DARK by Ghoultown (13) ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY by Lori Chacko.

This compilation is interesting because it includes music from Elvira’s 1987 film ELVIRA, MISTRESS OF THE DARK, most of which include voice-over work by Elvira herself. The only thing that would’ve made this collection perfect was if it had included the song “TRICK OR TREAT” that she did in the 80’s. I have only heard this song on The Dr. Demento Show and it is one of her best!

Rhino Records released ELVIRA PRESENTS HAUNTED HITS in 1999. This cd, shorter than the LP release by a few songs, features 17 songs including one by the Mistress of the Dark herself! This collection would definitely be one of the first that I buy if just starting out.

(1) MONSTER MASH by Bobby “Boris” Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers (2) HAUNTED HOUSE by Jumpin’ Gene Simmons (3) GHOSTBUSTERS by Ray Parker Jr. (4) OUT OF LIMITS by The Marketts (5) THE BLOB by The Five Blobs (6) THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON by Dave Edmunds (7) THE PURPLE PEOPLE EATER by Sheb Wooley (8) THE ADDAMS FAMILY (Main Title) by Vic Mizzy (9) WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE by Alice Cooper (10) TWILIGHT ZONE by Neil Norman & His Cosmic Orchestra (11) DEAD MAN’S PARTY by Oingo Boingo (12) HALLOWEEN SPOOKS  by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (13) HORROR MOVIE by The Skyhooks (14) I PUT A SPELL ON YOU by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (15) I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF by The Cramps (16) VOODOO VOODOO by LaVern Baker (17) FULL MOON by Elvira

In 1994 and 1995 Rhino then released two more compilations featuring the Mistress of the Dark. Not only did they feature some fun Halloween-themed songs but they also featured some new originals by Elvira!

ELVIRA PRESENTS MONSTER HITS was the first and featured 9 tracks (7 tracks and an intro and outro by Elvira).

(1) INTRO by Elvira (2) MONSTA’ RAP by Elvira (3) LITTLE DEMON by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (4) FEED MY FRANKENSTEIN by Alice Cooper (5) MONSTER MASH by Bobby “Boris” Pickett (6) A NIGHTMARE ON MY STREET by D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (7) THE ADDAMS FAMILY by Joey Gaynor (8) HERE COMES THE BRIDE (THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN) by Elvira (9) OUTRO by Elvira

ELVIRA PRESENTS REVENGE OF THE MONSTER HITS followed the formula of the first edition and though it features more original tracks by Elvira, I just do not find that they are of the same quality as those on the first release. Unfortunately, this was the last in this series.

(1) INTRODUCTION by Elvira (2) HAUNTED HOUSE by Elvira (3) IT’S YOUR VOODOO WORKING by Charles Sheffield (4) ATTACK OF THE FIFTY FOOT WOMAN by The Tubes (5) WEREWOLVES OF LONDON by Warren Zevon (6) MONSTERS’ HOLIDAY by Bobby (Boris) Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers (7) WEIRD SCIENCE by Oingo Boingo (8) ZOMBIE STOMP by Elvira (9) OUTRO by Elvira

This next release, HAUNTED MOTEL, on Boffo Records, came out in 1989 and is next to impossible to find. None of the tracks here can be found on any other collection so consider yourself lucky if you can track a copy down!

(1) DANCING WITH COLD ETHYL by The Argyles (2) I DON’T BELIEVE IN GHOSTS by Tyri Schiek (3) MY BABY LOVES MONSTER MOVES by The R.S. Fieldtrip (4) QUEEN OF PAIN by Tokyo (5) NO MORE REACTIONS by Shock Tu (6) ZOMBIE RUMBLE by The LeRoi Brothers (7) HAUNTED MOTEL by Suzy Elkins (8) GOBLIN BALL by Ezra Charles and the Works (9) HILLBILLY HALLOWEEN by Casper and the Ghost Ropers (10) WERECOW by Flippy T. Fishead with The Mighty Ground Beeves

GHASTLY GROOVES, on the Risky Business label, came out in 1994 and is a great collection, featuring the usual offerings as well as many singles not found on any other compilation!

(1) GHOSTBUSTERS by Ray Parker Jr. (2) HAUNTED HOUSE by Jumpin’ Gene Simmons (3) I PUT A SPELL ON YOU by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (4) THE BLOB by The Five Blobs (5) SEASON OF THE WITCH by Donovan (6) NOSFERATU by Blue Oyster Cult (7) SPOOKY by Classics IV (8) BLACK MAGIC WOMAN/GYPSY QUEEN by Santana (9) NIGHT OF THE VAMPIRE by Roky Erickson (10) FEAR by The Ventures (11) THE WITCH QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS by Redbone (12) FRANKENSTEIN by The Edgar Winter Group

Another gem worth seeking out is MONSTER ROCK ‘N ROLL SHOW (1990) on DCC Compact Classics, Inc. discs. This compilation features 29 tracks, half of which are the audio of actual monster movie trailers. This is one of those discs that can be played from start to finish and you will enjoy every minute of it. Though some of the songs on here can be found on other compilations, this disc also features some nice rarities as well as the audio to some classic horror movie trailers!

(1) MONSTER MASH by Bobby “Boris” Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers (2) The Haunted Stranger (3) BO MEETS THE MONSTER by Bo Diddley (4) I Was A Teenage Frankenstein/Blood Of Dracula (5) MIDNIGHT STROLL by The Revels (6) FRANKENSTEIN OF ’59 by Buchanan & Goodman with Count Dracula (7) FRANKENSTEIN’S DEN by The Hollywood Flames (8) Horror of Dracula (9) SCREAMIN’ BALL (AT DRACULA HALL) by The Duponts (10) I Was A Teenage Werewolf (11) WEREWOLF by The Five Man Electrical Band (12) The Mummy (13) HAUNTED HOUSE by Johnny Fuller (14) Black Sunday (15) FEAST OF THE MAU MAU by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (16) The Amazing Colossal Man (17) WITCH QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS by Redbone (18) 4-D Man (19) CASTIN’ MY SPELL by The Johnny Otis Show with Marci Lee (20) The Thing That Couldn’t Die (21) THE GREEN SLIME by The Green Slime (22) The She Creature/It Conquered The World (23) LIL’ RED RIDING HOOD by Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs (24) The Astro-Zombies (25) I AIN’T SUPERSTITIOUS by Howlin’ Wolf (26) FRANKENSTEIN RETURNS (PART II) by Buchanan & Goodman (27) MORGUS THE MAGNIFICENT by Morgus and the Ghouls (28) King Kong (29) THE PURPLE PEOPLE EATER by Sheb Wooley

Next up is an interesting little CD called HALLOWEEN’S GRAVEST HITS, released in 2009 on Capital Records. This CD not only features a really cool looking cover but it also features a nice selection of Halloween party tunes AND sound effects! There are a total of 30 tracks, 12 of which are songs.

(1) THUNDERSTORM (2) MONSTER MASH by Don Hinson and the Rigamorticians (3) THE TWILIGHT ZONE by The Ventures (4) SPOOKY MOVIES by Gary Paxton (5) SQUEAKY DOOR OPEN & CLOSE (6) DRACULA’S DEUCE by The Ghouls (7) THE MUNSTERS’ THEME by Jack Marshall (8) CASTIN’ MY SPELL by Johnny Otis (9) GHOSTLY SOUND PT. 1 (10) HEARSE WITH A CURSE by Mr. Gasser & The Weirdos (11) WERWOLF by The Fanatics (12) RIBOFLAVIN-FLAVORED, NON-CARBONATED, POLYUNSATURATED BLOOD by Don Hinson and the Rigamorticians (13) CREAKING DOOR (14) THE LURCH by Ted Cassidy (15) FEAR (Main Title from “One Step Beyond”) by The Ventures (16) THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT by The Ghouls (17) HOWLING WINDS (18) THE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT (19) OPENING CASTLE DOOR (20) WROUGHT IRON GATE SQUEAK & CLOSE (21) STAIRS CREAKING (22) SQUEAK ONE (23) SQUEAK TWO (24) GHOSTLY SOUNDS PT. 2 (25) GHOSTLY SOUNDS PT. 3 (26) GHOSTLY SOUNDS PT. 4 (27) GHOSTLY SOUNDS PT. 5 (28) GHOSTLY SOUNDS PT. 6 (29) GHOSTLY SOUNDS PT. 7 (30) GHOSTLY SOUNDS PT. 8

Next up is NEW WAVE HALLOWEEN (1998) on Rhino Records. This fun CD features 15 tracks, including six titled HALLOWEEN! Rhino always seems to put out the best compilations discs…they are always cheap, offer a nice variety and they always feature original artists!

(1) THE TIME WARP by The Rocky Horror Picture Show (2) EVERYDAY IS HALLOWEEN by Ministry (3) DEVIL IN MY CAR by The B-52’s (4) DEAD MAN’S PARTY by Oingo Boingo (5) PET SEMATARY by The Ramones (6) THEME FROM HALLOWEEN by MX-80 Sound (7) THE MUNSTERS THEME by The Comateens (8) THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON by Dave Edmunds (9) HALLOWEEN by Siouxsie & The Banshees (10) HALLOWEEN by The Dream Syndicate (11) HALLOWEEN by Sonic Youth (12) HALLOWEEN by Dead Kennedys (13) HALLOWEEN by The Misfits (14) HALLOWEEN by Mudhoney (15) CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN by Roky Erickson & The Aliens

HALLOWEEN HOOTENANNY is an interesting collection put out by Zombie A Go-Go Records (Geffen Records). This 1998 release features 19 tracks, 3 of which are by legendary horror host Zacherle. It’s not often you see his songs on compilation discs! The overall appearance of the disc and the artwork are very similar to Rob Zombie’s  releases, making this a very fun package to go through (in fact all of the artwork is by Rob Zombie!).

(1) HALLOWEEN HOOTENANNY by Zacherle (2) HALLOWEEN (SHE GET SO MEAN) by Rob Zombie featuring The Ghastly Ones (3) THE HALLOWEEN DANCE by Reverand Horton Heat (4) A FISTFUL OF TERROR by The Bomboras (5) WEREWOLF by Southern Culture on the Skids (6) GRAVEWALK by Satan’s Pilgrim (7) RIBCAGE MAMBO by Frenchy (8) I DRINK BLOOD by Rocket From The Crypt (9) LITTLE DEMON by The Amazing Crowns (10) NO COSTUME, NO CANDY by Swingin’ Neckbreakers (11) “THE MUNSTERS” THEME by Los Straitjackets (12) SINISTER PURPOSE by Zacherle with Southern Culture on the Skids (13) WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS by The Born Losers (14) PSYCHIC VOODOO DOLL by Deadbolt (15) BANSHEE BEACH by The Ghastly Ones (16) THE CREATURE STOLE MY SURFBOARD by Dead Elvi (17) EXTRASENSORY DECEPTION by Davie Allan & The Phantom Surfers (18) SPOOKS NIGHT OUT by The Legendary Invisible Men (19) HAPPY HALLOWEEN by Zacherle

This 2007 Wanda Records compilation, entitled HALLOWEEN FRIGHT NITE, is another disc that I highly recommend. The cover features a picture of The Munsters, with Lily, Herman and Marilyn having other faces then the original cast (only Grampa and Eddie feature Al Lewis and Butch Patrick). This disc features 27 tracks and as far as I can tell they are all by original artists. The only track I question is “THE MUNSTER’S THEME” as the artist is listed as “unknown” though it does sound like the actual theme, and not a re-record by someone else. This collection also features songs not found on any other compilations (an added bonus). Wanda Records, as you will see, is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to Halloween novelty song compilations!

(1) THE NIGHT BEFORE HALLOWEEN by Bill Buchanan (2) TRICK OR TREAT by Little Anthony/Imperials (3) THE LITTLE SPACE GIRL by Jessie Lee Turner (4) TEACH ME HOW TO ROCK ‘N ROLL by The Creepies (5) CASTIN’ MY SPELL by The Johnny Otis Show (6) LUKE THE SPOOK  by Sheb Wooley (7) MY SON THE VAMPIRE by Allan Sherman (8) THE VOODOO MAN by The Del-Vikings (9) SPOOKY, SPOOKY, LEND ME YOUR TOMB by Spike Jones (10) THE ROCKIN’ GHOST by Archie Bleyer (11) BO MEETS THE MONSTER by Bo Diddley (12) THE PURPLE PEOPLE EATER MEETS THE WITCH DOCTOR by The Big Bopper (13) THEY’RE HERE by Boots Walker (14) TEENAGE BRAIN SURGEON by The Mad Doctor Cappy ‘O (15) MARTIAN HOP by The Ran-Dells (16) THE FACE FROM OUTER SPACE by Jeff Barry (17) WOLFMAN by The Bobby Fuller Four (18) FRANKENSTEIN TWIST by The Crystals (19) SMOKE, SMOKE, SMOKE (THAT CIGARETTE) by Bobby “Boris” Pickett (20) HALLOWEEN by Heywood Banks (21) I LIKE YOU TOO by Heathen Dan (22) SORCERER’S APPRENTICE by The Del-Vikings (23) I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU by Dracula & Vampira (24) HORROR MOVIES by Dickie Goodman (25) OMAR THE VAMPIRE by The Hamburger Brothers (26) THE MUNSTERS THEME by Unknown (27) SPOOKTACULAR FINALE by Spike Jones and Friends

A nice companion collection to HALLOWEEN FRIGHT NITE, also on Wanda Records, is the 2006 release called BOMP IN THE NIGHT. This disc features 30 tracks, again many not found anywhere else. Look for a whole bunch more releases on the Wanda Records label in the next part of this series!

(1) BOMP IN THE NIGHT by Bruce and the Heartbreaks (2) MONSTER SHINDIG by Danny Hutton (3) MONSTER HOP by Bert Convy (4) BOO WOP by Steve “The Gem” Dworkin and The Gems (5) DRACULA DRAG by Jekyll & Hyde (6) MISS FRANKENSTEIN by George Jackson (7) SPOOKY MOVIES by Ron Barrett (8) I MARRIED MS. HYDE by The Newports (9) HELLO THERE MISTER GRAVE DIGGER by The Creators (10) ZOMBIE LOU by The Johnson Brothers (11) I WANT TO BITE YOUR HAND by Gene Moss (12) MIDNIGHT MONSTERS HOP by Jack and Jim (13) SHIVERIN’ AND SHAKIN’ by Edwin and Alvin (14) IGOR’S PARTY by Tony and The Monstrosities (15) VAMPIRE’S BALL by Mann-Drake (16) THE MUMMY’S BRACELET by Lee Ross (17) THE HOUSE ON THE HAUNTED HILL by The Crosstones (18) ZOMBIE STOMP by Danny Ware (19) DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE by The Emersons (20) HALLOWEEN (THIS IS YOUR BIG SCENE) by The Mysterials (21) NIGHMARE by The Sinners (22) GHOUL DAYS by Gene Moss (23) THE MUMMY’S MONKEY by The Eastsiders (24) HOUSE OF HORRORS by Merv Griffin (25) THAT TICKLES by Jerry Collins and The Blackburn Twins (26) GHOST OF YOUR LOVE by Mike Denett (27) MY MUMMY by Mel Calvin and The Kokonuts (28) MYSTERIOUS MARTHA GAROO by The Queens Nectarine Machine (29) MOCKINGBIRD HEIGHTS by Henry J. Fregosi and The Transylvanians (30) THE HALLOWEEN SONG by The 4 Downs

Another must have compilation is a neat import cd called MOSTLY GHOSTLY: MORE HORROR FOR HALLOWEEN. This collection came out in 2010 on the Ace Records label. There are 24 tracks in all and if you can find it, the $18 retail price is well worth it! Though some of the tracks can be found on other compilations, there are enough songs here not found elsewhere to make it worthwhile!

(1) DRACULA’S THEME by The Ghouls (2) TIL’ THE FOLLOWING NIGHT by Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages (3) DO THE ZOMBIE by The Symbols (4) HAUNTED HOUSE by Jumpin’ Gene Simmons (5) DINNER WITH DRAC by Zacherley (6) THE GOO GOO MUCK by Ronnie Cook And The Gaylads (7) THE MAD SCIENTIST by Zanies (8) THE CAVE by Chuck Holden (9) SPOOKY MOVIES by Roy Clark (10) THEY’RE HERE by Boots Walker (11) BLACK AND HAIRY by Screaming Lord Sutch (12) THE HEARSE by Terry Teen (13) TERRIBLE IVAN by Art Roberts (14) NIGHT OF THE VAMPIRE by The Moon Trekkers (15) THE MUMMY by The Naturals (16) I WAS A TEENAGE CREATURE by Lord Luther (17) THE CAVE by Gary “Spider” Webb (18) THE CAT by Rod Willis (19) ZOMBI by The Monotones (20) ALLIGATOR WINE by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (21) MORGUS THE MAGNIFICENT by Morgus & The Three Ghouls (22) SLEEPY HOLLOW by The Last Word (23) ROCKIN’ ZOMBIE by The Crewnecks (24) I WANT TO BITE YOUR HAND by Gene Moss & The Monsters.

A great collection to seek out is THE ZOMBIE HORROR CD COLLECTION. At first glance you may think that this cd is made up of themes from various zombie movies but it is actually a great collection of songs with a zombie theme. There are 30 tracks in all and the $13 retail price makes this quite the deal! This cd came out in October of 2010 on the Chrome Dreams label.

(1) ZOMBIE by Harlem Wildcats (2) ABERCROMBIE HAD A ZOMBIE by Fats Waller (3) ZOMBIE LOU by Johnson Brothers (4) CASTING A SPELL  by Johnson Brothers (5) ZOMBI by The Monotones (6) VOODOO WOMEN by Smiley Smith (7) ROCKIN’ THE GRAVEYARD by Jackie Morningstar (8) MIDNIGHT MONSTERS HOP by Jack & Jim (9) WOMBIE ZOMBIE by Billy Taylor (10) ZOMBIE JAMBOREE by King Flash & The Calypso Carnival (11) VAMPIRA by Bobby Bare (12) FRANKENSTEIN’S DEN by The Hollywood Flames (13) ROCKIN’ ZOMBIE by The Crew Necks (14) ROCK N BONES by Elroy Dietzel (15) LITTLE DEMON by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (16) I DIG YOU BABY by Bob McFadden & Dor (17) SCREAMIN’ BALL (AT DRACULA HALL) by The Duponts (18) VOODOO MAN by The Del-Vikings (19) PURPLE PEOPLE EATER MEETS THE WITCH DOCTOR by The Big Bopper (20) MONSTER PARTY by Bill Doggett (21) LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW by The Monotones (23) HOODOO WOMEN by Johnnie Temple (23) HOODOO LADY BLUES by Arthur Crudup (24) HOO-DOO SAY by Sly Fox (25) VOODOO by Chaino (26) FRANKENSTEIN’S PARTY by The Swingin’ Phillies (28) THE NIGHT PROWLER by Billy Gayle (28) MONSTER HOP by Bert Convy (29) THE MONSTER by Bobby Please & The Pleasers (30) THE GRAVEYARD by Leroy Bowman

If you are just starting out with your Halloween music collection then this set is a great way to start! 100 HITS: HALLOWEEN (2009) is put out by Demon Music Group Ltd. It features 4 cd’s of music and a DVD of 20 tracks that is a “scary sing-a-long karaoke party”. Though the DVD is poorly put together and doesn’t use original tracks, the other 4 cd’s more than make up for it! You cannot go wrong with this collection, hands down! Disc 1, 2 and 3 all feature classic tunes, most by the original artists, and some not appearing on any other compilations. Disc 4 features themes from many of your favorite horror movies…though these are not original recordings they are still nicely done and recommended.

DISC 1: 1. Ray Parker Jr. Ghostbusters 2. Bobby “Boris” Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers Monster Mash 3. Lovebug Starski Amityville (The House On The Hill) 4. Steve Miller Band Abracadabra 5. Blue Oyster Cult (Don’t Fear) The Reaper 6. Edgar Winter Group Frankenstein 7. Electric Light Orchestra Evil Woman 8. Alice Cooper Feed My Frankenstein 9. Beatfreakz Somebody’s Watching Me 10. Bloc Party Hunting For Witches 11. Japan Halloween 12. A Flock Of Seagulls Nightmares 13. Santana Black Magic Woman 14. Andy Williams Spooky 15. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins I Put A Spell On You 16. Johnny Cash Ghost Riders In The Sky 17. Marty Robbins Devil Woman 18. Kris Kristofferson To Beat The Devil 19. The Guess Who Clap For The Wolfman 20. Patti Smith Group Ghost Dance

DISC 2: 1. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince A Nightmare On My Street 2. Run DMC Raising Hell 3. Bow Wow Wow I Want Candy 4. Damian The Time Warp 5. The Grid Swamp Thing 6. Steps Better The Devil You Know 7. Super Furry Animals Demons 8. Alice Cooper Poison 9. Judas Priest Deal With The Devil 10. Sweet Hellraiser 11. The Cult Lil’ Devil 12. Gun Race With The Devil 13. Redbone The Witch Queen Of New Orleans 14. Kula Shaker Grateful When You’re Dead 15. Landscape Norman Bates 16. Crash Test Dummies The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead 17. The Charlie Daniels Band The Devil Went Down To Georgia 18. Jumpin’ Gene Simmons Haunted House 19. Beth Orton Devil Song 20. Robert Johnson Me And The Devil Blues

DISC 3: 1. Halloween 2. A Nightmare On Elm Street 3. The Exorcist – Tubular Bells 4. The Shining 5. The Thing 6. The Omen – Ave Satani 7. The Fog 8. Poltergeist 9. Psycho 10. Nosferatu Overture – Omens Of Nosferatu 11. Bram Stoker’s Dracula 12. Village Of The Damned – March Of The Children 13. Sleepy Hollow 14. The Addams Family 15. The Munsters 16. The Outer Limits 17. The Twilight Zone 18. The X Files 19. Twin Peaks 20. Tales Of The Unexpected

DISC 4: 1. David Seville Witch Doctor 2. Sheb Wooley The Purple People Eater 3. Gene Vincent Race With The Devil 4. Frank Sinatra Witchcraft 5. Chet Baker Quartet Old Devil Moon 6. The Clovers Devil Or Angel 7. Howlin’ Wolf Evil (Is Going On) 8. Roy Orbison Devil Doll 9. Thelonious Monk Quartet Misteriosa 10. LaVerne Baker Voodoo, Voodoo 11. Dinah Washington Mean And Evil Blues 12. Carmen Cavallaro (Enlloro) Voodoo Moon 13. Sarah Vaughan With Hal Mooney And His Orchestra Bewitched 14. Tony Martin With George Siravo And His Orchestra It’s Magic 15. Sister Rosetta Tharpe The Devil Has Thrown Him Down 16. Pete Johnson Death Ray Boogie 17. Otis Spann I’d Rather Be The Devil 18. Louis Jordan And His Tympani Five Up Jumped The Devil In A White Nightgown 19. Frankie Laine With Carl Fischer And His Orchestra Satan Wears A Satin Gown 20. Glenn Miller And His Orchestra Featuring Marion Hutton Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead

A song of interest I found thanks to the Dr. Demento Show is called “I’M A VAMPIRE” by Future Bible Heroes on their 2002 cd ETERNAL YOUTH. I would recommend downloading the single off of either iTunes or Amazon.

Another disc worth mentioning is called WAVE GOODBYE TO THE 80’S (1995). This compilation is put out by a company called Risky Business, who also released the cd GHASTLY GROOVES covered earlier. Though this is basically just a compilation of popular pop songs from the 80’s, it does feature one rarity that stands out called “BATES MOTEL” by The Hitmen. This disc is worth buying just for this song!

This next CD, THE BEST OF EASY STREET is not a Halloween CD but it does feature one song of interest, “MONSTER RAP” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett. This song is an updated version of the MONSTER MASH and is a must have in any collection! Thankfully this CD is relatively cheap because it is the only good song on this compilation!

Lastly is another must-have in any Halloween music collection. This EP, by the Dickies, features their song “KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE”, from the 1988 cult classic film of the same name! New copies of this disc are insanely priced but used copies are very reasonable!

So that’s it for part one of this series! Let me know what you think! Part two will feature many more cd collections, emphasizing the label Wanda Records. This company has been a blessing to collectors of this kind of music! There are so many great cd’s out there to cover and I think you will be amazed at the sheer quantity of Halloween-themed novelty songs that have been released over the years!

Make sure to check out my other entries in my HALLOWEEN BOOMBOX series!

DON’T FORGET: all cd covers are clickable for easy ordering! In some cases these titles have been re-released and in those cases, I provided the link to the newer, and often cheaper, release!

~David Albaugh

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David Albaugh

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