I am not a fan of Halloween. I haven't been in a costume since I was 10 and there are no animatronic skeletons on my front lawn. I don't try to scare the neighborhood children (other than with my looks).Accordingly, my record collection does not include any Halloween records, except for a copy of "The Monster Mash," and I don't even know where that is.
So when I decided to do a Halloween post, I had to turn to another source for records - and the collection of the Internet Archive, depleted though it may be, was the likeliest place to look. And it did come through with a varied group of 18 items, which I am introducing in this post.
There is nothing here as popular as Bobby (Boris) Pickett and His Crypt-Kicker Five, but we do have Orville Newby and His Saddle Serenaders plus Ina Rae Hutton and Her Melodears (not on the same record). Also Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, someone called Freddie Wolf - "Popular Swing Organist," several production music records from England that are supposed to be scary but are mostly bland, and "Witch Doctor" not by Ross Bagdasarian but by the Four Freshmen (well, one of them anyway).
As usual with these collections, the items are presented in chronological order.
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| The New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, with Ray Noble in the suit |
We start off in Old Blighty with a characteristically goofy record called "The Haunted House" by the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, which I believe was under the direction of Ray Noble at this time (1931). The record begins with a bonkers and nearly incomprehensible scene between an Oblivious Englishman type (probably Noble) playing the host of the haunted house warning a squeaky-voiced guest that his room has a ghost. It then proceeds to the lively tune.
We move ahead to 1934 and another big band of the time, Ina Rae Hutton and Her Melodears, who give us "Witch Doctor." I probably don't need to add that this is not the same song as the Ross Bagdasarian item of the 50s.
Ten years later, clarinetist Hank D'Amico assembled a starry sextet to record "Shy Little Witch from Greenwich." In the band were luminaries Frankie Newton (who wrote the tune), Don Byas and Cozy Cole.
Neither of these instrumentals have much to do with Halloween, but in the great tradition of my friend Ernie and his Christmas records, I cast a big net.
In 1946, the Majestic label came out with a children's album that presented familiar classical themes as kiddie songs. From this set we have Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" from Peer Gynt transformed into "On October 31," helpfully subtitled "Halloween Song" so there is no confusion. Bob Hannon is the vocalist.
In 1947 bassist Chubby Jackson assembled a band to record "The Happy Monster" for M-G-M. This particular monster must have developed an affinity for bop, 'cause that's what Chubby and crew offer us. The star soloists are Conte Candoli and Billy Bauer.
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| Luis Russell |
Veteran big band leader Luis Russell issued "Luke the Spook" that same year. The label notes that this one is "Dedicated to Luke the Spook" with no indication of who that might be. No one in the band was named Luke.
"Eerie Night" from about 1948 is the first of our production music selections, and it is appropriately eerie without overdoing it. This is from the "London Promenade Orchestra," a recording unit.
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| Wayne Raney |
Country singer/harmonica player/bandleader Wayne Raney made many recordings for the King label. His splendid "Jole Blon's Ghost" was a 1948 issue. It's a play on "Jole Blon" ("Pretty Blonde" in Cajun), a traditional tune that had been a hit for fiddler Harry Choates in 1946.
Freddie Wolf - "Popular Swing Organist" is next. I have no information on him, although there are three "Freddie Wolfs" in Discogs - a Danish drummer, another drummer (probably the same cat, er, wolf), and a heavy metal artist, if there is such a thing. No "Popular Swing Organists," so Freddie could not have been that popular. He is pretty good, though, and his "Witch Doctors Swing" (is there an apostrophe missing?) is fun. It's from 1950.
From about the same time, we have "Atomic Monster" from Major, an American production label. It's well recorded, but the monster sounds more anemic than atomic.
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| Orville Newby |
"Hallowe'en Hop" (I like the archaic spelling of the holiday) comes to us from the publishers Boosey & Hawkes and their production music label. The New Concert Orchestra and conductor Paul Hamilton are the listed artists, but those were probably pseudonyms.
The prolific writer/comic/TV host/actor/musician Steve Allen worked with Ira Lee to come up with "The Rockin' Ghost" in 1956. The title picks up on the new fad of rock 'n' roll, but with Archie Bleyer, his chorus and orchestra responsible for the recording, there is no rockin' to be heard on this Cadence release. It is nicely done, however.
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| The Four Freshmen: Ken Albers, Ross Barbour, Bob Flanigan, Don Barbour |
I was surprised to come across Ross Barbour of the Four Freshmen moonlighting for the budget Tops label. He does quite a good job with "Witch Doctor," the Ross Bagdasarian opus issued under the name of David Seville in 1958. Discogs has this as the only title Barbour did for Tops.
This may not be the best collection ever offered here, but it is fun. Hope you enjoy it.
