Favorite Halloween Music..

[Spawn67]

What is some of your favorite music to listen to this time of year?

[LonnieFisher]

Monster Mash is always a favorite.

[LonnieFisher]

Here's a sequel to Monster Mash. It's Alive!

[Hedji]

Oh geez, I could write a Doctoral Thesis on this topic.

As a kid, it began with Peter Pan. I had the Dinner With Drac single and the Monster Mash cover that they did. Great stuff.

In the 90s, I picked up Bobby Boris Pickett's Original Monster Mash ALBUM on CD.

It exploded my mind. Had no idea the guy who did Monster Mash did a whole album! (And with a Christmas Track too!) So I made it my mission to hunt down as much of this stuff as I could. Early blogs like Scar Stuff were very helpful.

If you like Bobby Boris Pickett, you should hunt down Monster Mash Dance Party by Don Hinson and the Rigamorticians. It has the same sound as the Monster Mash album because it shares the same producer, just a different vocalist. Very good stuff. I think it's on iTunes.

It was in the Napster age that I discovered the recordings of John Zacherley, my personal favorite of all monster/Halloween music. The Horror TV host who originally recorded Dinner With Drac is gleeful, and sinister... like a Horror comic host who sings. His stuff is just the best. His albums are Spook Along With Zacherle, Monster Mash and Scary Tales, and the much later Dead Man's Ball and Interment for Two. I can't recommend Zacherle (Sometimes spelled Zacherley) enough. Here is his discography: https://www.discogs.com/artist/759128-John-Zacherle

There are several GREAT compilation CDs... if you're the kind of person who is tired of hearing Drew's compilation discs that they sell at the Halloween stores. (How many times can you listen to Ghostbusters or Love Potion No. 9?)

Halloween's GRAVEST HITS
Mostly Ghostly
These Ghoulish Things
Monster Bop
Horror Hop
Monster Sounds and Boppin' Tracks (Vol 1 and 2)

Then there are a series of homegrown, almost bootleg compilations from Wanda Records. There are too many to list, but wow, there are a lot of gems on these.

I know I'm probably forgetting a bunch of one offs like

Dracula's Greatest Hits
Monster Surfing Time
Dracula's Deuce
Dickie Goodman's Monster Album


Then there are what I call Pumpkin Carols... More focus on Halloween for kids, trick or treating... Less monsters, more witches and jack-o-lanterns. These are just innocent FUN! The two essential ones are:

HALLOWEEN by Wade Denning and Kay Lande

Spooky Halloween (aka Halloween Songs that Tickle Your Funny Bone) by Ruth Roberts

This CD combines the best of both of those albums: Golden Records Halloween

I'll finish with the wonderful absurdity that defies classification. Frankie Stein and His Ghouls. These surf garage rock instrumentals mix that 60s rock sound with horror sound effects. They were produced by Peter Pan records, and some of their tracks ended up as B sides to old Peter Pan Monster Mash singles. Bizarre, truly wonderful stuff. Expensive and hard to find. There are a few CDs that are long out of print, and some vinyl rips out there if you know where to look.

Well, that should get anyone who is interested started. There are lots of little singles and such, but yeah... I'm obsessed. If anyone wants me to post more youtube samples I can do that later.

[Hedji]

[Hedji]

[Hedji]

[Earth 2 Chris]

"At the House of Frankenstein" by Big Bee Kornegay became an obsession for me a few years back when someone posted it here (Werwolf, maybe?):

Chris

[Earth 2 Chris]

I just discovered this gem by The Diamonds (pun) this year, and I used both it and the above song on our House of Franklin-Stein podcasts. Perfect!

Chris

[HardyGirl]

I have Dinner With Drac on my K-Tel Looney Tunes album.

[HardyGirl]

Of course, being the Michael Jackson fan that I am, I couldn't have Halloween without:

[HardyGirl]

And continuing with Michael, here's his song Threatened (w/ narration by Rod Serling) using footage from his short film Ghosts:

[HardyGirl]

I loved it when Radio Disney used to play this one:

[Hedji]

That Bob McFadden one is a howl! It cracks up my whole family. It comes from his album, Songs Our Mummy Taught Us.

[Hedji]

I just discovered this gem by The Diamonds (pun) this year, and I used both it and the above song on our House of Franklin-Stein podcasts. Perfect!

Chris

I remember hearing this one about 15 years ago in a Spencer Gift store, and rushing home to search and find it. It's full of win because instead of Dracula, you have Batman as a stand-in.