MONSTER MASH - COVER VERSION - KARAOKE BACKING TRACK
5Monster Mash my cover version with a karaoke a backing track, as it is coming up to halloween I might as well get in the swing of things.
"Monster Mash" is a 1962 novelty song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. The song was released as a single on Gary S. Paxton's Garpax Records label in August 1962 along with a full-length LP called The Original Monster Mash, which contained several other monster-themed tunes. The "Monster Mash" single was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 20–27 of that year, just before Halloween. It has been a perennial Halloween favourite ever since. In 2021, nearly 60 years after its release, "Monster Mash" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 37.
Boris Karloff's portrayal of Frankenstein's monster inspired Pickett to write and sing the song.
Background
Pickett was an aspiring actor who sang with a band called the Cordials at night while going to auditions during the day. One night, while performing with his band, Pickett did a monologue in imitation of horror movie actor Boris Karloff while performing the Diamonds' "Little Darlin'". The audience loved it, and fellow band member Lenny Capizzi encouraged Pickett to do more with the Karloff imitation.
Pickett and Capizzi composed "Monster Mash" and recorded it with Gary S. Paxton, pianist Leon Russell, Johnny MacRae, Rickie Page, and Terry Berg, credited as "The Crypt-Kickers". (Mel Taylor, drummer for the Ventures, is sometimes credited with playing on the record as well, while Russell, who arrived late for the session, appears on the single's B-side, "Monster Mash Party".) The song was partially inspired by Paxton's earlier novelty hit "Alley Oop", as well as by the Mashed Potato dance craze of the era. A variation on the Mashed Potato was danced to "Monster Mash", in which the footwork was the same but Frankenstein-style monster gestures were made with the arms and hands.
The producers made extensive use of sound effects in the recording; the sound of a coffin opening was imitated by a rusty nail being pulled out of a board. The sound of a cauldron bubbling was simulated by water being bubbled through a straw, (The Beatles would later do the same on their hit "Yellow Submarine") and the chains rattling were simply chains being dropped on a tile floor.
Lyrics
I was working in the lab late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise
He did the Monster Mash
(The Monster Mash)
It was a graveyard smash
(He did the Mash)
It caught on in a flash
(He did the Mash)
He did the Monster Mash
From my laboratory in the castle east
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes
They did the Monster Mash
(The Monster Mash)
It was a graveyard smash
(They did the Mash)
It caught on in a flash
(They did the Mash)
They did the Monster Mash
The zombies were having fun
The party had just begun
The guests included Wolf Man
Dracula and his son
The scene was rockin', all were diggin' the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, "The Crypt-Kicker Five"
They played the Monster Mash
(The Monster Mash)
It was a graveyard smash
(They played the Mash)
It caught on in a flash
(They played the Mash)
They played the Monster Mash
Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring
Seems he was troubled by just one thing
He opened the lid and shook his fist
And said
"Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?"
It's now the Monster Mash
(The Monster Mash)
And it's a graveyard smash
(It's now the Mash)
It's caught on in a flash
(It's now the Mash)
It's now the Monster Mash
Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band
And my Monster Mash is the hit of the land
For you, the living, this Mash was meant too
When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent you
Then you can Monster Mash
(The Monster Mash)
And do my graveyard smash
(Then you can Mash)
You'll catch on in a flash
(Then you can Mash)
Then you can Monster Mash
Mm grrrr (Monster Mash)
Easy, Igor, you impetuous young boy
Mm grrrr, mash good
#monstermash, #halloween, #Bobby"Boris"Pickett&TheCryptKickers,