W.O.C.K On Vinyl - Bobby (Boris) Pickett and The Crypt-Kickers - Monster's Holidays (1962)

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Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song / album at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.
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Bobby (Boris) 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.

"Monsters' Holiday", a Christmas-themed follow up, was recorded by Pickett and released in December 1962, peaking at #30 on the Billboard chart. The tune was penned by the renowned novelty song composer Paul Harrison. 

In the spirit of the Christmas season, this month's WOCK On Vinyl Post pays tribute to one of the more serious releases produced by Boris Pickett and his monster crew for the festive season.

The A-Side track "Monster's Holiday" is a nice little catchy tune with the usual ghoulish 'creatures of the night' references backed by Decks of Holly & Sleigh Bells, while the B-Side "Monster Motion" cashes in on yet another Monster Mash sound alike tune. 

So once again in December, the C in WOCK is for Christmas with a little bit of Creepy and Weird thrown in for good measure, making this another well deserved candidate for this month's WOCK on Vinyl post.  Ripped to MP3 (320kps) including artwork and label scans, this post should fit nicely into your Christmas stocking this year.  Merry Christmas everyone and have a safe & Happy New Year.

Monster's Holidays Link (5Mb) New Link 17/11/2024