...drink some elbow soup and have a ball! That's right! The father of Horror Rock'n'Roll knows best how to have a ball! And he wasn't just wise, he had a way with words, too and created some of the maddest rhymes in mankind's history. Stuff like 'Take the fleas from the knees of a demon.' or 'Brush your teeth with a piece of a goose toenail. After death steal a breath from a drunk in jail.' Wowee, doesn't that sound just like Beat poetry gone mad or what?!
It is out of the question that Screamin' Jay Hawkins is an icon of American popular culture. His most famous song has been covered numerous times by all kind of artists and bands. Also many established acts such as Tom Waits, CCR, Nick Cave, Marilyn Manson, Bryan Ferry and the Animals recorded their versions of the song. Jim Jarmush used it as single soundtrack song in his really annoying 1985 movie 'Stranger Than Paradise' and it even has an own Wikipedia site with much more info about it: I Put A Spell On You.
That he was capable of more then being a great singer and entertainer he proved with the few acting jobs he did. He's mad and maybe even a bit scary in 'Perdita Durango' but he is awesome in 'Mystery Train'. His other movies I still have to see. There should be a few more: 'American Hot Wax', 'Two Moon Junction', 'A Rage In Harlem' and 'Peut-Etre'.
Personally I don't like his later recordings too much. I mean yes, his voice is still great but the sound is not my thing. That's too modern and doesn't work for me most of the times, but 'Whistling Past The Graveyard' is very cool. I would have enjoyed an authentic 50s(or 80s) sound much more.
I was lucky to see him perform 2 times. Once in the late 80s when he made a club tour of Germany and then in the 90s when he headlined a Blues Festival. He was one hell of an entertainer.
Screamin' Jay Hawkins died 10 years ago in Paris, France where he had lived for the last years of his life, aged 71.
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