On this lovely All Hallows Eve-Eve, what better way to prepare for Halloween than to listen to the holiday’s unofficial anthem, the “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers.
If we really dive into the lyrics, the “Monster Mash” is practically fanfiction based on the 1818 novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley. In the novel, “Dr. Victor Frankenstein” brings to life a creature. While the story has themes of alienation, regret and revenge, it is often approached comedically. The “Monster Mash” is about Frankenstein’s creature throwing a huge dance party where everyone does the latest dance-craze, the monster mash.
The “Monster Mash” was written in 1962 and was originally written as a parody making fun of popular dance songs at the time, specifically Dee Dee Sharp’s “Mashed Potato Time.” Before it became a graveyard smash, the song was originally rejected by multiple major record labels. It was finally produced by Garpax Records and sold over a million copies in 1962, holding the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks leading up to Halloween. The song creeped its way back onto the chart twice, once in 1970 and again in 1973.
For some unexplainable reason, everybody knows the “Monster Mash.” Every year without fail, the song sees an increase in sales around the month of October. In fact, I remember purchasing it on iTunes around Halloween when I was in middle school because I thought it would be funny. Now that I think about it though, it is pretty unusual for a quirky song about monsters to have maintained relevancy for 57 years and counting.
While this novelty single may have caught on in a flash, the same can’t be said for the rest of Pickett’s album. If you didn’t know, the monstrous single comes from an entire album of equally spooky Halloween songs, “The Original Monster Mash.” The album showcases humorous and nonsensical stories about mummies, vampires, skeletons, and every other scary creature you could imagine.
While the whole album is worth a listen, there are undoubtedly a few standouts. “Rabian The Fiendage Idol” is a comedic narration of Dracula pleading Dr. Frankenstein to let a new band member, Rabian, join the Crypt-Kickers. The song takes a sharp turn when Rabian sings, shouting “WAH WAH WAH I’m a werewolf,” all the while being under pitch and off-rhythm. This disturbing performance is met with Frankenstein’s delight as he agrees to let Rabian join the band.
Another notable song is “Me & My Mummy,” a heart-warming song about falling in love with a mummy. Although we all know a mummy’s favorite genre is wrap, the track more closely resembles 1940’s doo-wop.
Many songs on the album are spoofs. The “Transylvania Twist” alludes to Chubby Checker’s “Twist” and consists solely of upbeat music with a monster-like voice ad-libbing nonsense over it. Though this song lacks a narrative and doesn’t live up to the rest of the album, I appreciate the reference to Checker.
The last song on the album is “Monster’s Holiday,” a Christmas-themed sequel to the “Monster Mash” that perfectly transitions us from the graveyard to the North Pole. It is certainly not your typical Christmas song, but it is sure to lift your spirits (both figuratively and literally.)
Overall, “The Original Monster Mash” is the album I never knew I needed and is perfect for all your Halloween needs! Next month the only thing we’ll be mashing is potatoes, but I refuse to transition into Thanksgiving mode until the clock strikes twelve on Nov. 1. After all, you know what they say: “it ain’t over ‘til the bat lady sings!” Happy Halloween everyone!
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