Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Jalacy Hawkins, best known as Screamin' Jay Hawkins (born in Cleveland, Ohio July 18, 1929 - February 12, 2000) was an African American singer famed for his wildly theatrical performances of songs like "I Put a Spell on You" and "Constipation Blues".

"I Put A Spell On You"

His most successful recording, "I Put a Spell on You" (1956) remains one of rock and roll's singular recordings, and has been selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

Related Topics:
Rock and roll - The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The song starts out with the big-voiced Hawkins singing a ballad to a lost love. Very quickly, however, the performance becomes something unique: Hawkins seems positively demented as he sings, he threatens wildly, screams, grunts and groans, and sounds utterly demoniacal in reclaiming the lady as his own.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hawkins had originally intended to record "I Put A Spell On You" as a refined love song, a blues ballad. He reported, however, that the producer "brought in ribs and chicken and got everybody drunk, and we came out with this weird version. I don't even remember making the record. Before, I was just a normal blues singer. I was just Jay Hawkins. It all sort of just fell in place. I found out I could do more destroying a song and screaming it to death."

Related Topics:
Blues ballad - Producer - Chicken - Drunk - Blues

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some sources claim that "I Put A Spell On You" had been released earlier than 1956 in a more sedate form, but this has not been verified. The date of 1949 for an original release on the Grand label would appear unlikely since it predates both the formation of the label and the beginning of Hawkins's performing career.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I Put A Spell On You" became a quick success, despite being banned by some stores and radio stations. A softer version minus certain sounds deemed "cannibalistic" reached the Top 40 and brought Hawkins together with Alan Freed and his "Rock and Roll Review".

Related Topics:
Cannibal - Top 40 - Alan Freed

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Up to this time, Hawkins had been a blues performer, emotional, but not wild. Freed suggested a gimmick to capitalize of the "demented" sound of "I Put A Spell On You": Hawkins wore a long cape, and appeared onstage by rising out of a coffin in the midst of smoke and fog.

Related Topics:
Blues - Coffin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The act was a sensation, later bolstered by tusks worn in Hawkins' nose, on-stage snakes and fireworks, and a cigarette-smoking skull named "Henry".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The theatrical act was one of the first shock rock performances, and was the progenitor of much that came later in rock and roll, including George Clinton, Arthur Brown, Alice Cooper, Dr. John, Ted Nugent, Black Sabbath, Screaming Lord Sutch, Warren Zevon. and Marilyn Manson, among the many who vied for Hawkins' title as a rock and roll madman.

Related Topics:
Shock rock - George Clinton - Arthur Brown - Alice Cooper - Dr. John - Ted Nugent - Black Sabbath - Screaming Lord Sutch - Warren Zevon - Marilyn Manson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~