Seven For Halloween

Well, it's that time again, a time of scares and screams, kids in costumes going "Trick or treat," razor blades in candy and grown adults in costumes acting like drunken a--holes. Well, rock 'n' roll and Halloween seem to go together like migraines and chocolate, so like a bunch of you no doubt, I dug out some of my Halloween sides out of my collection. And now, I share them with you, so get your candy and spiked punch ready:

The Goldust Twins: Glub Glub Thing (Edit E-112)

This is one of those novelty sides where a country bumpkin meets a thing from outer space with some evil things on his mind. In this case, the thing wants to eat our hapless hero, which he does by the time the thing's over. We end with a blood-curdling scream and slurping noises.

Danny Hutton: Monster Shindig Part Two (Hanna-Barbera HBR 453)

Talk about not having enough material for a B-side! "Monster Shindig" originally graced the B of Mr. Future Three Dog Night's debut single "Roses and Rainbows" and this is virtually the same song gracing the B of his follow-up, "Big Bright Eyes." Except now, there's crowd sound effects added. Anyway, you can dance watusi, dance the jig at the monster shindig with all your monster pals once again. How swell.

Dickie Goodman: Horror Movies (Rori R-6001)

With this one, the king of cut-in novelties goes straight and sings a lament about how much his girl loves horror flicks more than him. So he decides to get a new monster face or his girl will give him the boot. What a dilemma.

The Green Slime: The Green Slime (MGM K 14052)

Basically, the theme song from a 1969 Japanese Sci-Fi fest which asks the question: "Is it something in your head?/Will you believe it when you're dead?" Over funky fuzz guitar and cheezy organ, our singer bellows, "Man has stared at the heavens/for thousands of years/wondering if there's life out there/and now, NOW IT'S HERE!" Reportedly, the movie isn't any good (never saw it), but what a memorably cheesy theme!

Gil Bateman: Daddy Walked In Darkness (Jerden 779)

Here's a Pacific Northwest scorcher in which the singer screams and growls under stinging fuzz guitar and organ that his daddy walked in darkness with momma at his side, and they never knew what contentment was until the day they died. Bateman also recorded the equally seasonal "Wicked Love" for nearby Panorama right about this time.

Jimmy Cross: I Want My Baby Back (Tollie T-9039)

A sick, twisted Dr. Demento classic from 1964 in which all those teenage death tragedy songs are given a death blow. Our hero and his girl are coming home from a Beatles concert when they ram head-on into a group of bikers. "There was the leader. And there was the pack. And there was my baby. And over there was my baby. And over there in the bushes was my baby." The pain in his loss is too much, so he just digs up her grave and takes his place alongside here. The Downliners Sect did a word-for-word cover of this, but this is still so much better.

Screaming Lord Sutch with the Savages: Till The Following Night (U.K. His Master's Voice 45-POP 953)

What would Halloween be without Screaming Lord Sutch? This early classic opens with appropriate sound effects, and then the band starts in rockin', while Mr. Sutch brags about getting out of his coffin till the following night and raising all kinds of hell before it's time to close the lid again...all to the accompaniment of stinging guitar, pounding bass and blastin' sax.

Happy Halloween, everyone! Watch out for the candy robbers!