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Here's a haunting melody from Grace Jones on my Halloween Countdown.
"Libertango" is here for your Mischief Night -- or as we called it back in Paterson, NJ when I was growing up -- Goosey Night, meaning you might get "goosed;" that is, your butt might get pinched or tickled as a prank while you're on the street.
Today, Patti Page croons the title tune from the film Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) on our Halloween Countdown. The movie starred Bette Davis and Olivia DeHavilland, who is 99 this year.
Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers or Pardon Me but Your Teeth Are in My Neck is both funny and scary, kind of like Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein.
My brother and I loved this film. My Mom took us to the Totowa, NJ drive-in to see this. I remember it was very cold, so we were all bundled up in the backseat in our pjs. We also had the drive-in's heater on in the car.
The film features Jewish vampires and gay vampires to comic, though not offensive, effect, Quite progressive for the time I think. I just watched the film today and loved it all over again.
Sharon Tate is in this. She and Roman fell in love on the set. The film has a light-heartedness about it. After Sharon's untimely death, Polanski's films turned much, much darker. His next film would be the bloody MacBeth.
The film was originally entitled Dance of the Vampires but I think the more comic name suits it best. The climactic vampire ball is still chilling to me. Oh, those damned mirrors!
A British comedian and satirist parodied this song wonderfully.
Jackie Clune (imagine Karen Carpenter saying "clone") captures The Carpenters' lead singer's vocals delightfully in this dancefloor send-up. Karen's brother Richard, admitted his sister became obsessed with her diction around this time.
Yesterday, I posted the original version of Occupants on my Halloween Countdown. Here's the cheeky hiNRG dance mix.
Ms Clune is a UK dj, impersonator and comedienne. Ironically, perhaps, it was recorded for the Klone dance-music label.
Close encounters of the third kind are scary, especially since those who claim to have been abducted by aliens from another world usually tell us they were given rectal probes. Were the aliens, perhaps, searching for their brains?
The Carpenters -- Karen and Richard -- knew the aliens just want to be close to you. The song, written by Klaatu a year earlier, was covered by The Carpenters in 1977. I'm pretty sure Klaatu is of this planet, but who knows?
Enjoy this song and video as Halloween Countdown continues into its final week. Note the Phil Spector influence, especially toward the end.
Here's a dance mix for our Sunday Halloween Countdown. Glenn Rivera created a video using scenes from the Bewitched movie that starred Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell.
The singer is Polly Brown who had an international hit with "Up in a Puff of Smoke" in 1975. Well, that's the way some witches go out, isn't it?
Halloween Countdown will continue until All Hallow's Eve this Saturday.
Lon Cheney Jr as The Wolfman; Henry Hull as The Werewolf of London
Here's a catchy, Halloween-appropriate song from 1978. Warren Zevon's single, "Werewolves of London," off the album, Excitable Boy, was a major radio hit and a hit at record stores as well back in '78.
Mick Fleetwood and John McVie are featured in Zevon's band on this song.
Make Halloween your night to howl as my Halloween Countdown carries on!
Yes, Bette Davis goes twistin' the night away with this rock number from What Ever Happened to Baby Jane!
This was a rare release to promote the movie at the time.
Enjoy it on my 2015 Halloween Countdown!
You may recognize the music as the number Davis' obnoxious next-door teenaged neighbor (played by Davis' daughter) blasts on her record player in the film).
Let's see what's on the slab today on our Halloween Countdown!
"St. James Infirmary Blues" is an American folk song. It became something of a jazz standard with Louis Armstrong, though my fave rendition is Cab Calloway's.
Horror Hotel is the title for the American market of the UK's City of the Dead. Here it is in all its glory; the entire film on my Halloween Countdown this year. Perfect for your Friday night.
The late Christopher Lee, Betta St. John and an accomplished British cast portray Bostonians who, largely, happen to have veddy English accents for the most part.
A trim and economical film released in 1960, the first by Amicus Productions, it was made at under 90-minutes with double-bill status in mind. I saw this movie, as a kid, at the US Theater in Paterson, NJ (on a double-bill with Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory) and still have great affection for it. One of my favorite horror films of all-time.
The sets and characters are especially unforgettable. Mr Lee, of course, but also Patricia Jessel -- who I think bears a strong resemblance to Annie Lennox, Jonathan Dyall as Jethro Keane, Venetia Stevens as the plucky coed Nan Barlow, and Ann Beach as the sad sack mute hotel maid Lottie.
The overriding message to the film, in my estimation, is don't stand up your boyfriend on a date -- or all hell will break loose. You in danger, girl!
This song from C.J. & Co. is, perhaps, perfect for Halloween parties.
"The Devil's Gun" was a club and radio hit. It topped the Billboard charts and was a huge hit, in 1977, at Studio 54 and other venues.
There was some controversy at the time because the song was released during the Summer of Sam. Scary! Of course, that might have been a complete coincidence as the song was probably recorded beforehand.
My Halloween Countdown continues with three of my favorite ladies: The Puppini Sisters!
This jazz tune has always been hep and feelin' kind of groovy. It's been covered by many great recording artists, perhaps most notably Dusty Springfield.
The Puppini Sisters make this song their own in their '40s-styled jazz/big band style. Wonderful harmonies!
The ladies are especially cute in the music-video version of this song.
Lene Lovich was Goth before it was trendy! It was only natural she'd bring her unique voice to sing "Gothica" on her last (2005) album.
Lovich is of Serbian descent, born and raised in Detroit, but long based in England now. She and husband, Les Chappell, have long had a creative relationship together as well, starting with her first hit, "Lucky Number."
So, here it is, on this year's Halloween Countdown: "Gothica"!
Cher has certainly been revived from the dead enough times to make this song on my Halloween Countdown just perfect for the season. Stevers62 does another expert remix for Halloween time!
We've all heard it said that, after an atomic blast, there would be nothing left but cockroaches and Cher!
She is indestructible. Almost inhuman. Here she is in all her fabulousness with soundbites from George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, for your latest Halloween Countdown entertainment.
Do you believe in life after... death? You haven't seen the last of Cher!
