I'm finding it hard to get into the spirit of Halloween this year. I'm weary of the challenge of coming up with that great costume that will win the contest this year, not to mention the expense of assembling something that I will only wear once.
My apartment complex doesn't get trick-or-treaters, and I'm fine with that. I'll be hosting trivia that night anyway ... Halloween themed of course.
But the enthusiasm for my favorite part of the holiday has not dampened. I refer to the music of the season. How many Halloween songs can you name? Five? Six? If you were to play the Halloween playlist on my iTunes account, you would need almost a full work day to hear every selection.
Yes, I have the standards. "Monster Mash," by Bobby Pickett, "Thriller," by Michael Jackson, "Witch Doctor" by David Seville. But I'm extremely fond of some of the lesser known classics that have all but vanished from our musical landscape, save for a few carefully curated holiday streaming stations. Make a note of these and search for them on YouTube. I think you'll fall in love with them just as I have.
The Kingston Trio sings of the ghost of Anne Boleyn walking the halls of the Tower of London in delicious three-part harmony in "With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm."
Ted Cassidy teaches some crooners how to "Do the Lurch" in true Addams family form.
Speaking of Addams, be sure to seek out Joey Gaynor's "lounge lizard" rendition of the finger-snapping theme song. "Hey Lurch ... put Sammy down ... he's a friend of mine!"
An homage to the great B-movies of the 50s and 60s can be found in the Rose and the Attractions recording of "The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati." Or, if your culinary tastes are a bit different, there's "The Eggplant That Ate Chicago," by Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band.
Rosemary Clooney introduces us to the "Suzy Snowflake" of the holiday in "The Wobblin Goblin." And Frank Zappa croons about the "Goblin Girl."
Country music fans are well represented too. Yes, to me, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" qualifies as a Halloween song, and so does Charlie Daniels' lesser-known ditty, "The Legend of Wooley Swamp!" In addition to "Spiders and Snakes," Jim Stafford also introduces us to the "Swamp Witch." And one of my very favorites is "Monster's Holiday" by the great Buck Owens.
Also mixed in on my playlist is a slew of instrumental music. Robert Cobert's fabulous music from the television soap "Dark Shadows" co-mingles with his film scores for "Burnt Offerings," "The Night Stalker," and "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." And don't forget that Andy Williams' standard, "Shadows of the Night" began life as Cobert's "Quentin's Theme." John Carpenter's haunting theme for his "Halloween" franchise is there as well, and the scores from "Nightmare on Elm Street."
To lighten the mood, there's even a few comedy routines mixed in, like Bill Cosby's recollection of the "Chicken Heart," and Bob Newhart as the night watchman of the Empire State Building on his first night on the job, calling his supervisor about the giant ape that's climbing the building. "It's something that's ... not quite covered in the manual ..."
So whether your tastes run merry or macabre, there's something for you in the music of the Halloween season, really second only to Christmas in its diversity and downright fun. Immerse yourself in it now, because "Silver Bells" start playing on November 1st. Ugh.
