Voodoo Jive

Ending the week with some shock rock. Early Shock Rock. Screamin' Jay Hawkins was one of Rock's early shock rockers. Best know for his song 'I Put A Spell On You' and his bizarre live shows, Hawkins was somewhat labeled as a one hit wonder. Originally starting out to be an opera singer, he switched to more of a standard bluesman after the opera thing fell through. He was a well rounded person, serving in the Air Force in WWII and was the middleweight boxing champ of Alaska in 49. He recorded 'Spell' in 56 and shortly there after was offered $300 by DJ Alan Freed to come out of a coffin on stage. The gimmick stuck and he became an early shock rocker. Musically nothing ever topped 'Spell' most of the songs he wrote played up to the Voodoo personality he had adopted. However while never reaching success, 'Spell' remains a song that shaped the early history of Rock 'N Roll. So we salute the early Shock Rocker with 'Voodoo Jive, The Best Of'.

Hawkins died in 2000 after surgery to treat an aneurysm. The thing I took away from him was hearing on day that he fathered over 55 kids. Let that sit in for a moment. 55 Kids, majority of course by different women. The number in fact has been reported to be as high as 75. All poor taste jokes aside, Hawkins along with Arthur Brown were the earliest shock rockers. That paved the way for many to follow, including the likes of Alice Cooper, King Diamond, and Marilyn Manson. Great deal of influence is somehow lost in all of this. Many claiming him a one hit wonder or a gimmick that worked well around Halloween. Granted some of that is true, musically he was a forced to be reckoned with. His vocal delivery was unmatched. Just listen to the album. Of course the other standout track here is 'Constipation Blues', which is pretty much what it sounds like. At one point later in his career he actually performed this on stage with a toilet. All craziness aside Hawkins was an amazing vocalist that somehow gets forgotten in a lot of discussions.

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