Shock Rock Around The Clock!

When you say "Shock Rock" most people tend to think Alice Cooper or Marilyn Manson.

So, here's my shock rock history lesson.

1956 was a year when Rock N' Roll was still quite young. Many would consider Rock N' Roll to be an infant in its terrible two's during this year.

It was the year that average blues musician Jay Hawkins recorded "I Put A Spell On You" and became Screamin' Jay Hawkins!

After that his recording career would be laden with coffins, a skull named Henry, scares, shocks, thrills and chills, and horror oriented music that brought out the hoodoo and voodoo of Rock N' Roll.

Here's a link to Youtube showing Screamin' Jay performing his hit:
"I Put A Spell On You"

You see, Screamin' Jay eventually took the horror convention to comedic proportions as the old school horror schtick became more comedic over time. An example is how in the 1950s a film like "House On Haunted Hill" starring Vincent Price would've been scary, but by today's current standards it'd be silly. The shock level started to expand and evolve during the 1960s and by the 1970s most of what had been scary in the 1930s-1950s was no longer sufficient to scare modern audiences yet was sufficient in a comedic aspect. That process of downgrading traditional horror was actually jump started by Universal's 1948 classic film "Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein".

"I Put A Spell On You" has been covered numerous times, my favorite being the Creedence Clearwater Revival version.

Now many Americans don't tend to realize that there was a British Shock Rocker inspired by Screamin' Jay in the 1960s, mostly because Screamin' Lord Sutch never invaded the USA.

Screamin' Lord Sutch and the Savages had a slew of songs dealing with the macabre, a lot having been produced by famous British music producer Joe Meek.

One of my favorites is "She's Fallen In Love With A Monster Man", but "Dracula's Daughter" is alright as well, but his most famous tune from this early era was "Jack The Ripper".

Here's a Youtube video of Screamin' Lord Sutch performing "Jack The Ripper":
Here's "Jack The Ripper"

He also did a British version of Sheb Wooley's "The Purple People Eater" as well.

In the early 1970s he did an album called "Screaming Lord Sutch And Heavy Friends" which featured Led Zeppelin's guitarist Jimmy Page and drummer John Bonham, Noel Redding the bassist from the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and guitarist Jeff Beck to boot. The album was after Joe Meek's death and thus was less horror inspired as well.

Screaming Lord Sutch later on became a politician in the UK with the Raving Looney Party. Unfortunately Screaming Lord Sutch committed suicide in 1999.

The role of monster rocker had already been fulfilled in the USA during the early 1960s era of Screaming Lord Sutch, and that was because of the smash hit "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" pickett & The Crypt Kickers.

I always liked "Blood Bank Blues" by the Crypt Kickers myself.

And thus concludes the era leading up to Alice Cooper, the beginnings of Shock Rock History.

Sincerely,
Bob