Bobby Christian with the Allen Sisters: The Spider and the Fly/Cha Cha Hop (Mercury/Wing W-2102x45)

Now if this doesn't make the list of one of the strangest records ever made, I don't know what will. No, I'm not talking about the B-side in which the Allen chicks sing about being tired of rocking and rolling and how the cha-cha is so neat. Well, we all know what happened there, don't we? I mean the out-of-the-ballpark A-side which was no doubt inspired by the then-current sci-fi flick "The Fly" and dishes out the terror in just a little over two minutes. Over a backdrop of jazzy bass fiddle, conga drums and cryptic piano, our narrator intones: "SPIDERS!!......CREEPY!!!....CRAWLY!!!!.....THE FLY!!! (with echo).....THE FLY!!!(with even more echo)....THE FLY IS IN THE SPIDER'S WEB!!!!......" Then, a sped-up voice screams "Help me! Help me!" A few more seconds of this and then a normal woman's voice says "Doctor, you're having a nightmare!....WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARM?!?!?" And she joins with the spider in yelling "Help me! Help me! Help me!" as the record fades. The label lists a warning above the title: "Do not listen to this record in the dark or alone!" Taking that advice wouldn't be too bad an idea as this thing's bound to give you a few shakes up the spine. Shall we call it a demented classic? I agree.