Alakazam!

The Mayors mesmerize the mangy Mutts

MAGIC CITY - Back in the mid-70s as a young teenager, I joined the mail-order Columbia Record Club who used to advertise on Sundays in the Parade magazine inside The Birmingham News. It was a deal that seemed too good to be true (12 albums for 1 cent), but I joined nonetheless. I can't remember all 12 of the original albums, but I do remember ordering greatest hits albums from The Rolling Stones and Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR). The catch was having to agree to buy another 12 albums over the course of the year at the regular prices, but it still seemed like a better deal than shopping at the Oz record store, or at the mall. I built most of my original album collection through the Columbia Record Club and have no regrets. One of the songs on the CCR album was "I Put a Spell on You". It was actually a cover from Jalacy "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins' 1956 song which was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. CCR's version reached #58 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart in 1968. The band would later perform the song at Woodstock in 1969. In Week 5 of the BDFL, with two "sis boom bahs" and an "alakazam", the Mayors put a virtual stranglehold on the Dogs before they knew what hit them. Magic City's spell could have a long-term economic effect on Brookside, but we'll just have to wait and see about that.

I Put a Spell on You by Creedence Clearwater Revival (1968)