Since it is the month so many of us indulge in fun Halloween festivities, I decided to look into one of the songs I always played for my kids while taking them trick-or-treating. Because as Fairbanks, Alaskans know, the parent usually follows their little trick-ot-treaters in the car so they can run back at any moment and warm up, as not to have to end their fun early just because of below-freezing Halloween temps. And, the "Monster Mash" is a perfect song to add to that trick-or-treating playlist, in fact it is THE song for us that makes the night feel so ghoulishly exciting!
This was a very fun deep-dive! I chose to link a live performance of Boris Pickett singing it because his facial expressions add so much to the song.
While there are many versions of The Monster Mash, the original "Monster Mash" was released in the U.S. on August of 1962 by Bobby (Boris) Pickett, an American songwriter and aspiring actor and hit #1 on Billboard Hot 100 by October of the same year. This novelty, pop song co-written by Leonard Capizzi, is what Pickett is most noted for. He recorded the song with the Crypt Kickers - producer, Gary S Paxton, pianist Leon Russell, Johnny MacRae, Rickie Page, and Terry Berg. If you have ever read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the book will immediately come to mind as the song is about a "mad scientist" who creates a monster who rises and begins to dance - doing a Frankenstein version of The Mashed Potato, a popular dance of the time.
The Mashed Potato dance was introduced by James Brown in 1959 and then later became a big hit by the time Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time" and The Contours' "Do You Love Me?" came out and incorporated the dance in their performances. Want to know more about The Mashed Potato dance that influenced the "Monster Mash"? Check out these videos!
"Monster Mash" with its conjunct melody, is a very catchy song that is hard to listen to without dancing, or at least moving, to the rhythm. It has 70 beats/minute, can also be played at 140 beats/minute, and is played in 4/4 time.
The song is 4 chords - G, Em, C, D with a consonance harmony, but the use of a variety of timbre in making the sounds of coffin opening (a rusty nail pulled from a board), a bubbling caldron (blowing bubbles through a straw), chains rattling (chains dropped on a tile floor) and the pronounced sound of the drums.
Pickett uses more of a narration of spoken lyrics against his backup vocalists. If you are like me, you know the chorus pretty well because it is very repetitive and there are five verses with the chorus coming after each verse. Before verse three there is a bridge:
The zombies were having fun
The party had just begun
The guests included Wolf Man
Dracula and his son
The storytelling verses bring different ghoulish characters into the song like Frankenstein, Igor and Count Dracula, and Pickett gives the line "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?" a special imitation of horror film actor, Bela Lugosi, as Count Dracula referring to The Mashed Potato dance in contrast to The Twist, another popular dance craze (in the Contours video).
The song has a soft spoken outro that leaves you with the creepy feeling that is the undertone of the entire song:
Igor: Mash good!
Mad Scientist: Easy, Igor, you impetuous young boy
Igor: Mash good! Grrr!
I never quite realized how popular the "Monster Mash" has been through the years and even this year, Good Housekeeping magazine listed it in their article of best Halloween songs. In 2021, it re-entered the Billboard at #37 giving it confirmation that this uniquely, spooky song is still a favorite, especially around the end of October. So, I'm in good company when I play it on Halloween night! I will enjoy it even more this year after learning all the words and the story behind the song.
Halloween is my favorite holiday so I'm glad you picked this song! I've never actually paid attention to the lyrics weirdly enough. I had a book that used to play it all the time as a kid. I love the way you went so deep into the history of it, I never knew anything about it so that's awesome!
I love Halloween so I of course love this song! I never knew the history behind the song and the famous dance thanks for sharing! I never knew it was a smash hit upon release I always kinda figured it was sort of a cult classic deal.
I love how you chose a halloween inspired song! The Monster Mash is my favorite spooky song to listen to all October long. I thought you did a good job breaking down the song and its elements. I always liked how the song tells a story in such a creepy yet very catchy way. I like how you included videos of the "Monster Mash", brings a great media element to your post.
I love this song for 1 reason only, Just dance on the Wii. Me and my sister would play that game every day after school and that was my favorite song at the time, I never knew the history surrounding the song, so thank you for sharing it with me.
Halloween is my favorite holiday so I'm glad you picked this song! I've never actually paid attention to the lyrics weirdly enough. I had a book that used to play it all the time as a kid. I love the way you went so deep into the history of it, I never knew anything about it so that's awesome!
ReplyDeleteI love Halloween so I of course love this song! I never knew the history behind the song and the famous dance thanks for sharing! I never knew it was a smash hit upon release I always kinda figured it was sort of a cult classic deal.
ReplyDeleteI love how you chose a halloween inspired song! The Monster Mash is my favorite spooky song to listen to all October long. I thought you did a good job breaking down the song and its elements. I always liked how the song tells a story in such a creepy yet very catchy way. I like how you included videos of the "Monster Mash", brings a great media element to your post.
ReplyDeleteI love this song for 1 reason only, Just dance on the Wii. Me and my sister would play that game every day after school and that was my favorite song at the time, I never knew the history surrounding the song, so thank you for sharing it with me.
ReplyDelete