Black Music For White People - Album
Black Music For White People (Album) by Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Screamin' Jay Hawkins>
Artist Biography For Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Screamin' Jay Hawkins Jalacy Hawkins July 18 1929 – February 12 2000 Was An American Musician Singer And Actor Famed For His Powerful Operatic Vocal Delivery And Wildly Theatrical Performances Of Songs Such As "I Put A Spell On You" And "Frenzy". Born And Raised In Cleveland Ohio Hawkins Studied Classical Piano As A Child And Learned Guitar In His Twenties. His Initial Goal Was To Become An Opera Singer Hawkins Has Cited Paul Robeson As His Musical Idol In Interviews But When His Initial Ambitions Failed He Began His Career As A Conventional Blues Singer And Pianist.
Hawkins Was An Avid And Formidable Boxer. In 1949 He Was The Middleweight Boxing Champion Of Alaska.
In 1951 Hawkins Joined Guitarist Tiny Grimes's Band And Was Subsequently Featured On Some Of Grimes's Recordings. When Hawkins Became A Solo Performer He Often Performed In A Stylish Wardrobe Of Leopard Skins Red Leather And Wild Hats. His Most Successful Recording "I Put A Spell On You" 1956 Was Selected As One Of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock And Roll. According To The AllMusic Guide To The Blues "Hawkins Originally Envisioned The Tune As A Refined Ballad." The Entire Band Was Intoxicated During A Recording Session Where "Hawkins Screamed Grunted And Gurgled His Way Through The Tune With Utter Drunken Abandon." The Resulting Performance Was No Ballad But Instead A "raw Guttural Track" That Became His Greatest Commercial Success And Reportedly Surpassed A Million Copies In Sales Although It Failed To Make The Billboard Pop Or R&B Charts.
The Performance Was Mesmerizing Although Hawkins Himself Blacked Out And Was Unable To Remember The Session. Afterward He Had To Relearn The Song From The Recorded Version. Meanwhile The Record Label Released A Second Version Of The Single Removing Most Of The Grunts That Had Embellished The Original Performance This Was In Response To Complaints About The Recording's Overt Sexuality. Nonetheless It Was Banned From Radio In Some Areas.
Soon After The Release Of "I Put A Spell On You" Radio Disc Jockey Alan Freed Offered Hawkins $300 To Emerge From A Coffin Onstage. Hawkins Accepted And Soon Created An Outlandish Stage Persona In Which Performances Began With The Coffin And Included "gold And Leopard Skin Costumes And Notable Voodoo Stage Props Such As His Smoking Skull On A Stick – Named Henry – And Rubber Snakes." These Props Were Suggestive Of Voodoo But Also Presented With Comic Overtones That Invited Comparison To "a Black Vincent Price." He Continued To Tour And Record Through The 1960s And 1970s Particularly In Europe Where He Was Very Popular. He Appeared In Performance As Himself In The Alan Freed Bio-Pic American Hot Wax In 1978. Subsequently Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch Featured "I Put A Spell On You" On The Soundtrack – And Deep In The Plot – Of His Film Stranger Than Paradise 1983 And Then Hawkins Himself As A Hotel Night Clerk In His Mystery Train And In Roles In Álex De La Iglesia's Perdita Durango And Bill Duke's Adaptation Of Chester Himes' A Rage In Harlem.
His 1957 Single "Frenzy" Found On The Early 1980s Compilation Of The Same Name Was Included In The Compilation CD Songs In The Key Of X Music From And Inspired By The X-Files In 1996. This Song Was Featured In The Show's Season 2 Episode "Humbug". It Was Also Covered By The Band Batmobile. "I Put A Spell On You" Was Featured During The Show And Over The Credits Of Episode 303 Of The Simpsons.
In 1983 Hawkins Relocated To The New York Area. In 1984 And 1985 Hawkins Collaborated With Garage Rockers The Fuzztones Resulting In "Screamin' Jay Hawkins And The Fuzztones Live" Album Recorded At Irving Plaza In December 1984. They Perform In The 1986 Movie Joey.
In July 1991 Hawkins Released His Album Black Music For White People. The Record Features Covers Of Two Tom Waits Compositions "Heart Attack And Vine" Which Later That Year Was Used In A European Levi's Advertisement Without Waits' Permission Resulting In A Lawsuit And "Ice Cream Man" Which Contrary To Popular Belief Is A Waits Original And Not A Cover Of The John Brim Classic . Hawkins Also Covered The Waits Song "Whistlin' Past The Graveyard" For His Album Somethin' Funny Goin' On. In 1993 His Version Of "Heart Attack And Vine" Became His Only UK Hit Reaching #42 On The UK Singles Chart.
When Dread Zeppelin Recorded Their "disco" Album It's Not Unusual In 1992 Producer Jah Paul Jo Asked Hawkins To Guest. He Performed The Songs "Jungle Boogie" And "Disco Inferno".
Hawkins Also Toured With The Clash And Nick Cave During This Period And Not Only Became A Fixture Of Blues Festivals But Appeared At Many Film Festivals As Well Including The Telluride Film Festival Premier Of Mystery Train.
Hawkins Died On February 12 2000 After Surgery To Treat An Aneurysm. He Left Behind Many Children By Many Women An Estimated 55 At The Time Of His Death And Upon Investigation That Number "soon Became Perhaps 75 Offspring". Although Hawkins Was Not A Major Success As A Recording Artist His Highly Theatrical Performances From "I Put A Spell On You" Onward Earned Him A Steady Career As A Live Performer For Decades Afterward And Influenced Subsequent Acts. He Opened For Fats Domino Tiny Grimes And The Rolling Stones. This Exposure In Turn Influenced Rock Groups Such As The Cramps Screaming Lord Sutch Black Sabbath Arthur Brown Dread Zeppelin The Horrors Marilyn Manson Tom Waits Alice Cooper And Glenn Danzig.
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Biography - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Screamin' Jay Hawkins Jalacy Hawkins July 18 1929 – February 12 2000 Was An American Musician Singer And Actor Famed For His Powerful Operatic Vocal Delivery And Wildly Theatrical Performances Of Songs Such As "I Put A Spell On You" And "Frenzy". Born And Raised In Cleveland Ohio Hawkins Studied Classical Piano As A Child And Learned Guitar In His Twenties. His Initial Goal Was To Become An Opera Singer Hawkins Has Cited Paul Robeson As His Musical Idol In Interviews But When His Initial Ambitions Failed He Began His Career As A Conventional Blues Singer And Pianist.
Hawkins Was An Avid And Formidable Boxer. In 1949 He Was The Middleweight Boxing Champion Of Alaska.
In 1951 Hawkins Joined Guitarist Tiny Grimes's Band And Was Subsequently Featured On Some Of Grimes's Recordings. When Hawkins Became A Solo Performer He Often Performed In A Stylish Wardrobe Of Leopard Skins Red Leather And Wild Hats. His Most Successful Recording "I Put A Spell On You" 1956 Was Selected As One Of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock And Roll. According To The AllMusic Guide To The Blues "Hawkins Originally Envisioned The Tune As A Refined Ballad." The Entire Band Was Intoxicated During A Recording Session Where "Hawkins Screamed Grunted And Gurgled His Way Through The Tune With Utter Drunken Abandon." The Resulting Performance Was No Ballad But Instead A "raw Guttural Track" That Became His Greatest Commercial Success And Reportedly Surpassed A Million Copies In Sales Although It Failed To Make The Billboard Pop Or R&B Charts.
The Performance Was Mesmerizing Although Hawkins Himself Blacked Out And Was Unable To Remember The Session. Afterward He Had To Relearn The Song From The Recorded Version. Meanwhile The Record Label Released A Second Version Of The Single Removing Most Of The Grunts That Had Embellished The Original Performance This Was In Response To Complaints About The Recording's Overt Sexuality. Nonetheless It Was Banned From Radio In Some Areas.
Soon After The Release Of "I Put A Spell On You" Radio Disc Jockey Alan Freed Offered Hawkins $300 To Emerge From A Coffin Onstage. Hawkins Accepted And Soon Created An Outlandish Stage Persona In Which Performances Began With The Coffin And Included "gold And Leopard Skin Costumes And Notable Voodoo Stage Props Such As His Smoking Skull On A Stick – Named Henry – And Rubber Snakes." These Props Were Suggestive Of Voodoo But Also Presented With Comic Overtones That Invited Comparison To "a Black Vincent Price." He Continued To Tour And Record Through The 1960s And 1970s Particularly In Europe Where He Was Very Popular. He Appeared In Performance As Himself In The Alan Freed Bio-Pic American Hot Wax In 1978. Subsequently Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch Featured "I Put A Spell On You" On The Soundtrack – And Deep In The Plot – Of His Film Stranger Than Paradise 1983 And Then Hawkins Himself As A Hotel Night Clerk In His Mystery Train And In Roles In Álex De La Iglesia's Perdita Durango And Bill Duke's Adaptation Of Chester Himes' A Rage In Harlem.
His 1957 Single "Frenzy" Found On The Early 1980s Compilation Of The Same Name Was Included In The Compilation CD Songs In The Key Of X Music From And Inspired By The X-Files In 1996. This Song Was Featured In The Show's Season 2 Episode "Humbug". It Was Also Covered By The Band Batmobile. "I Put A Spell On You" Was Featured During The Show And Over The Credits Of Episode 303 Of The Simpsons.
In 1983 Hawkins Relocated To The New York Area. In 1984 And 1985 Hawkins Collaborated With Garage Rockers The Fuzztones Resulting In "Screamin' Jay Hawkins And The Fuzztones Live" Album Recorded At Irving Plaza In December 1984. They Perform In The 1986 Movie Joey.
In July 1991 Hawkins Released His Album Black Music For White People. The Record Features Covers Of Two Tom Waits Compositions "Heart Attack And Vine" Which Later That Year Was Used In A European Levi's Advertisement Without Waits' Permission Resulting In A Lawsuit And "Ice Cream Man" Which Contrary To Popular Belief Is A Waits Original And Not A Cover Of The John Brim Classic . Hawkins Also Covered The Waits Song "Whistlin' Past The Graveyard" For His Album Somethin' Funny Goin' On. In 1993 His Version Of "Heart Attack And Vine" Became His Only UK Hit Reaching #42 On The UK Singles Chart.
When Dread Zeppelin Recorded Their "disco" Album It's Not Unusual In 1992 Producer Jah Paul Jo Asked Hawkins To Guest. He Performed The Songs "Jungle Boogie" And "Disco Inferno".
Hawkins Also Toured With The Clash And Nick Cave During This Period And Not Only Became A Fixture Of Blues Festivals But Appeared At Many Film Festivals As Well Including The Telluride Film Festival Premier Of Mystery Train.
Hawkins Died On February 12 2000 After Surgery To Treat An Aneurysm. He Left Behind Many Children By Many Women An Estimated 55 At The Time Of His Death And Upon Investigation That Number "soon Became Perhaps 75 Offspring". Although Hawkins Was Not A Major Success As A Recording Artist His Highly Theatrical Performances From "I Put A Spell On You" Onward Earned Him A Steady Career As A Live Performer For Decades Afterward And Influenced Subsequent Acts. He Opened For Fats Domino Tiny Grimes And The Rolling Stones. This Exposure In Turn Influenced Rock Groups Such As The Cramps Screaming Lord Sutch Black Sabbath Arthur Brown Dread Zeppelin The Horrors Marilyn Manson Tom Waits Alice Cooper And Glenn Danzig. read less
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Hawkins Was An Avid And Formidable Boxer. In 1949 He Was The Middleweight Boxing Champion Of Alaska.
In 1951 Hawkins Joined Guitarist Tiny Grimes's Band And Was Subsequently Featured On Some Of Grimes's Recordings. When Hawkins Became A Solo Performer He Often Performed In A Stylish Wardrobe Of Leopard Skins Red Leather And Wild Hats. His Most Successful Recording "I Put A Spell On You" 1956 Was Selected As One Of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock And Roll. According To The AllMusic Guide To The Blues "Hawkins Originally Envisioned The Tune As A Refined Ballad." The Entire Band Was Intoxicated During A Recording Session Where "Hawkins Screamed Grunted And Gurgled His Way Through The Tune With Utter Drunken Abandon." The Resulting Performance Was No Ballad But Instead A "raw Guttural Track" That Became His Greatest Commercial Success And Reportedly Surpassed A Million Copies In Sales Although It Failed To Make The Billboard Pop Or R&B Charts.
The Performance Was Mesmerizing Although Hawkins Himself Blacked Out And Was Unable To Remember The Session. Afterward He Had To Relearn The Song From The Recorded Version. Meanwhile The Record Label Released A Second Version Of The Single Removing Most Of The Grunts That Had Embellished The Original Performance This Was In Response To Complaints About The Recording's Overt Sexuality. Nonetheless It Was Banned From Radio In Some Areas.
Soon After The Release Of "I Put A Spell On You" Radio Disc Jockey Alan Freed Offered Hawkins $300 To Emerge From A Coffin Onstage. Hawkins Accepted And Soon Created An Outlandish Stage Persona In Which Performances Began With The Coffin And Included "gold And Leopard Skin Costumes And Notable Voodoo Stage Props Such As His Smoking Skull On A Stick – Named Henry – And Rubber Snakes." These Props Were Suggestive Of Voodoo But Also Presented With Comic Overtones That Invited Comparison To "a Black Vincent Price." He Continued To Tour And Record Through The 1960s And 1970s Particularly In Europe Where He Was Very Popular. He Appeared In Performance As Himself In The Alan Freed Bio-Pic American Hot Wax In 1978. Subsequently Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch Featured "I Put A Spell On You" On The Soundtrack – And Deep In The Plot – Of His Film Stranger Than Paradise 1983 And Then Hawkins Himself As A Hotel Night Clerk In His Mystery Train And In Roles In Álex De La Iglesia's Perdita Durango And Bill Duke's Adaptation Of Chester Himes' A Rage In Harlem.
His 1957 Single "Frenzy" Found On The Early 1980s Compilation Of The Same Name Was Included In The Compilation CD Songs In The Key Of X Music From And Inspired By The X-Files In 1996. This Song Was Featured In The Show's Season 2 Episode "Humbug". It Was Also Covered By The Band Batmobile. "I Put A Spell On You" Was Featured During The Show And Over The Credits Of Episode 303 Of The Simpsons.
In 1983 Hawkins Relocated To The New York Area. In 1984 And 1985 Hawkins Collaborated With Garage Rockers The Fuzztones Resulting In "Screamin' Jay Hawkins And The Fuzztones Live" Album Recorded At Irving Plaza In December 1984. They Perform In The 1986 Movie Joey.
In July 1991 Hawkins Released His Album Black Music For White People. The Record Features Covers Of Two Tom Waits Compositions "Heart Attack And Vine" Which Later That Year Was Used In A European Levi's Advertisement Without Waits' Permission Resulting In A Lawsuit And "Ice Cream Man" Which Contrary To Popular Belief Is A Waits Original And Not A Cover Of The John Brim Classic . Hawkins Also Covered The Waits Song "Whistlin' Past The Graveyard" For His Album Somethin' Funny Goin' On. In 1993 His Version Of "Heart Attack And Vine" Became His Only UK Hit Reaching #42 On The UK Singles Chart.
When Dread Zeppelin Recorded Their "disco" Album It's Not Unusual In 1992 Producer Jah Paul Jo Asked Hawkins To Guest. He Performed The Songs "Jungle Boogie" And "Disco Inferno".
Hawkins Also Toured With The Clash And Nick Cave During This Period And Not Only Became A Fixture Of Blues Festivals But Appeared At Many Film Festivals As Well Including The Telluride Film Festival Premier Of Mystery Train.
Hawkins Died On February 12 2000 After Surgery To Treat An Aneurysm. He Left Behind Many Children By Many Women An Estimated 55 At The Time Of His Death And Upon Investigation That Number "soon Became Perhaps 75 Offspring". Although Hawkins Was Not A Major Success As A Recording Artist His Highly Theatrical Performances From "I Put A Spell On You" Onward Earned Him A Steady Career As A Live Performer For Decades Afterward And Influenced Subsequent Acts. He Opened For Fats Domino Tiny Grimes And The Rolling Stones. This Exposure In Turn Influenced Rock Groups Such As The Cramps Screaming Lord Sutch Black Sabbath Arthur Brown Dread Zeppelin The Horrors Marilyn Manson Tom Waits Alice Cooper And Glenn Danzig. read less
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"Black Music For White People" Is Not His Best Work But Is Still Pretty Good. If Everything Else On It Was Junk I Would Still Have It Just For "Old Man River". There's Also The Sidesplittingly Funny "Ignant And Sh_T". What More Can I Say About That Title? Just Buy It And Enjoy. Also Included Here Are Covers Of Of Two Tom Waits Classics. "Heart Attack And Vine" And "Ice Cream Man". That's Right. Van Halen Didn't Write It!
If You Really Want A Good Overview Of His Career Try One Of Of The Compilations Available Here. Just Be Sure That It's One With The Legendary "Constipation Blues". No Screamin Jay Compilation Is Complete Without It.
Hawkins Shuffled Off This Motal Coil In 2000. I Hope He's Keeping My Late Friends And Relatives Entertained Leaping Out Of Coffins Wearing A Bone In His Nose And Grunting Like A Demonic Wild Boar. In The Stupid Era Of Political Correctness We Live In Hawkins Is An American Treasure Who Is Sorely Missed.
Scott McNally - Orlando FL
Published: 05 May 2010, 22:53
Hawkins Was A True Early Rock & Roll Pioneer. He Wrote And Recorded "I Put A Spell On You" Way Back In 1957 The Same Year I Was Born. He Was The First Theatrical Shock Rocker So Far Ahead Of His Time That Many Radio Stations Didn't Play Him And Many Early Rock Venues Didn't Give Him A Shot Figuring He'd Scare The White Folks To Death With His Voodoo Stage Act. An Act Is All It Really Was. He Played It For Laughs And Lord Was He Funny! I Got My First Taste Of Him In 1970 On An Detroit FM Station With A Totally Open Format. They Played "Feast Of The Mau Mau" And "Constipation Blues" The Latter Of Which Has To Be Heard To Be Believed. I Never Owned Anything By Him Until This Came Along Right About The Time I Saw Him On David Sanborn's Night Music Program. He Performed "I Put A Spell On You" And An Outrageous Version Of "Old Man River" Both Of Which Are Performed On This Disc."Black Music For White People" Is Not His Best Work But Is Still Pretty Good. If Everything Else On It Was Junk I Would Still Have It Just For "Old Man River". There's Also The Sidesplittingly Funny "Ignant And Sh_T". What More Can I Say About That Title? Just Buy It And Enjoy. Also Included Here Are Covers Of Of Two Tom Waits Classics. "Heart Attack And Vine" And "Ice Cream Man". That's Right. Van Halen Didn't Write It!
If You Really Want A Good Overview Of His Career Try One Of Of The Compilations Available Here. Just Be Sure That It's One With The Legendary "Constipation Blues". No Screamin Jay Compilation Is Complete Without It.
Hawkins Shuffled Off This Motal Coil In 2000. I Hope He's Keeping My Late Friends And Relatives Entertained Leaping Out Of Coffins Wearing A Bone In His Nose And Grunting Like A Demonic Wild Boar. In The Stupid Era Of Political Correctness We Live In Hawkins Is An American Treasure Who Is Sorely Missed.
Scott McNally - Orlando FL