Monster Smash

Sloths bury Bullets in a graveyard bash

SHADES CREEK - "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 #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 20–27 of that year, just before Halloween. 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, Johnny MacRae, Rickie Page and Terry Berg, credited as "The Crypt-Kickers." Mel Taylor, drummer for the Ventures, is sometimes credited playing on the record as well. Some sources incorrectly credit Leon Russell as the pianist; Pickett has clarified that Russell "was not on 'Monster Mash'", just the flip side. He had shown up to the session late, and we had already finished "Monster Mash". 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. "Monster Mash" has sustained a lasting impact in various recordings, film inclusions, and re-releases since its initial release. In 2021, nearly 60 years after its release, "Monster Mash" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #37. As of 2023, the song was generating $1 million annually in royalties. In Week 8 of the 30th season of the BDFL, the Sloth Monsters buried the Bullets (45-12) in a graveyard bash. The Slothsters always seem to peak in late October, for some reason.

"Monster Mash" by Bobby Pickett (1962)