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Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Jalacy J. "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins[8] (July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer, and boxer. Famed chiefly for his powerful, operatic vocal delivery and wildly theatrical performances of songs such as "I Put a Spell on You", he sometimes used macabre props onstage, making him an early pioneer of shock rock.[9][10] He received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the 1989 indie film Mystery Train.

Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Hawkins in concert, 1995
Background information
Birth nameJalacy J. Hawkins
Also known asJay Hawkins
Born(1929-07-18)July 18, 1929
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DiedFebruary 12, 2000(2000-02-12) (aged 70)
Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
  • actor
  • film producer
  • boxer
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • guitar[6]
Years active1951–2000[7]
Labels

Early life edit

 
Hawkins in 1957.

Hawkins was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio.[8] At the age of 18 months, Hawkins was put up for adoption and shortly thereafter was adopted and raised by Blackfoot Confederacy.[11] Hawkins studied classical piano as a child and learned guitar in his 20s.[12] In a 1993 interview, Hawkins recounts telling his music tutor,

...to leave before I make your life miserable [...] because with the type of music I want to play. The things I want to do with music and don't want to do it the old conventional way that everybody knows. I want to come up with my own ideas. I've got all the information that I need to get from you to do what I want, now if you stick around, I'm going to make your life miserable.[13]

He attended the Ohio Conservatory of Music, where he studied opera.[14] His initial goal was to become an opera singer (Hawkins cited Paul Robeson as his musical idol in interviews),[15] but when his initial ambitions failed, he began his career as a conventional blues singer and pianist. Other influences included Mario Lanza, Enrico Caruso, Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Brown, Amos Milburn, Wynonie Harris, Nellie Lutcher, Roy Brown, Jimmy Witherspoon, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Roy Milton, Elmore James, Lightnin' Hopkins and H-Bomb Ferguson.[13]

He joined the US Army with a forged birth certificate in 1942 (aged 13), and allegedly served in a combat role, with his fellow soldiers and higher-ups around him ignoring the fact he was substantially underage.[16] During this time, he also entertained the troops as part of his service.[17] In 1944, he enlisted in the Army Air Forces, being honorably discharged in 1952. Hawkins was an avid and formidable boxer during his years in the US Army (and later Air Force) boxing circuit. In 1949, he was the middleweight boxing champion of Alaska.[18]

Many of the facts recounted above are by Hawkins's own telling and are disputed.[19]

Career edit

 
I Put A Spell On You record label.

Early career edit

In 1951, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins began his career performing vocals and keyboards for Philadelphia guitarist Tiny Grimes, and was subsequently featured on some of Grimes' recordings.[15] When Hawkins later went solo, his first single “Why Did You Waste My Time” was performed with accompaniment from Grimes’ band. In 1956, Hawkins signed with OKeh Records.[20] When Hawkins became a solo performer, he often performed in a stylish wardrobe of leopard skins, red leather, and wild hats.

"I Put a Spell on You" edit

Hawkins's 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."[21] The entire band was intoxicated during a recording session where "Hawkins screamed, grunted, and gurgled his way through the tune with utter drunken abandon."[21] 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,[22][23] although it failed to make the Billboard pop or R&B charts.[24][25]

Although Hawkins blacked out and was unable to remember the session,[23] he relearned the song from the recorded version.[23] 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.[23] Nonetheless it was banned from radio in some areas. Furthermore, the recording attracted the ire of groups such as the NAACP, "which worried that his act would reflect badly on African Americans."[26] Hawkins later credited the uproar with a boost in sales due to the perceived taboo nature of his performances.[13]

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.[22] Hawkins initially declined, reportedly saying "No black dude gets in a coffin alive – they don't expect to get out!"[27] However, he later relented 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."[22] These props were suggestive of voodoo, but also presented with comic overtones that invited comparison to "a black Vincent Price."[12][23] Despite the commercial success of the gimmick, Hawkins resented the schlock-factor that made him famous. He found it exploitative, and believed it undermined his sincerity as a vocalist and a balladeer. In a 1973 interview, he bemoaned the Screamin' epithet given to him by his label Okeh records, saying "If it were up to me, I wouldn't be Screamin’ Jay Hawkins...James Brown did an awful lot of screamin’, but never got called Screamin’ James Brown...Why can't people take me as a regular singer without making a bogeyman out of me?"[27]

 
Hawkins performing in 1979.

"I Put a Spell On You" became a classic, covered by a variety of artists such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Nina Simone, Alan Price, The Animals, Them with Van Morrison, Arthur Brown, Bryan Ferry, Buddy Guy, Carlos Santana, Tim Curry, Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, Nick Cave, Marilyn Manson, Mica Paris, David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Joss Stone, Diamanda Galas, and Annie Lennox. Hawkins' original version was featured during the show and over the credits of the 2003 The Simpsons episode "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can".

Later career edit

 
Hawkins in 1984.

Hawkins' later releases included "Constipation Blues" (which included a spoken introduction by Hawkins in which he states he wrote the song because no one had written a blues song before about "real pain"), "Orange Colored Sky", and "Feast of the Mau Mau". Nothing he released, however, had the monumental success of "I Put a Spell on You". In Paris in 1999 and at the Taste of Chicago festival, he actually performed "Constipation Blues" with a toilet onstage.[28]

He continued to tour and record through the 1960s and 1970s, particularly in Europe, where he was very popular. Hawkins released a single recording of mainstream ballads in 1969, "Too Many Teardrops" and the Hawaiian styled "Makaha Waves" on the flip-side. In February 1976, he suffered facial injuries when he was burned by one of his flaming props while performing with his guitarist Mike Armando at the Virginia Theater in Alexandria, Virginia.[29][30] 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 cast Hawkins himself as a hotel night clerk in his film Mystery Train. Hawkins also had acting roles in Álex de la Iglesia's Perdita Durango and Bill Duke's adaptation of Chester Himes' A Rage in Harlem.

In 1983, Hawkins relocated to the New York area. In 1984 and 1985, Hawkins collaborated with garage rockers the Fuzztones, resulting in the album Screamin' Jay Hawkins and the Fuzztones Live, recorded at Irving Plaza in December 1984. They performed in the 1986 movie Joey.[31]

In 1990, Hawkins performed the song "Sirens Burnin'," which was featured in the 1990 horror film Night Angel.[32]

In July 1991, Hawkins released his album Black Music for White People.[33] The record features covers of two Tom Waits compositions: "Heartattack and Vine"[34] (which, later that year, was used in a European Levi's advertisement without Waits' permission, resulting in a lawsuit),[35] and "Ice Cream Man" (a Waits original and not a cover of the John Brim classic).[36] Hawkins also covered the Waits song "Whistlin' Past the Graveyard" on his album Somethin' Funny Goin' On. In 1993, his version of "Heartattack and Vine" became his only UK hit, reaching No. 42 on the UK singles chart.[37] In 1993, Hawkins moved to France.[38]

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". He 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 premiere of Mystery Train.[citation needed]

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.[39] This song was featured in the show's Season 2 episode "Humbug".[40] It was also covered by the band Batmobile.[41]

In 2001, the Greek director and writer Nicholas Triandafyllidis made the documentary Screamin' Jay Hawkins: I Put a Spell on Me about various stages of his life and career, including a filming of his final live performance, in Athens on December 11, 1999, two months before his death, following a performance the day before in Salonica. In the documentary notable artists such as Jim Jarmusch, Bo Diddley, Eric Burdon, Frank Ash, Arthur Brown and Michael Ochs talked about Screamin' Jay Hawkins' early life, personality and career, and about his incredible talent.[42]

Personal life edit

From 1962 to 1971, Hawkins lived in Hawaii. He returned to New York after purchasing a home in Hawaii and establishing his own publishing company, sustained by the royalties from covers of "I Put a Spell On You".[13] Hawkins had six marriages; his last wife was 31 at his death.[43] Singing partner Shoutin' Pat Newborn stabbed him in jealousy when he married Virginia Sabellona.[43] He had three children with his first wife and claimed variously to have 57 or 75 children in total.[43] After his death, his friend and biographer Maral Nigolian set up a website to trace these children,[44] identifying 33, at least 12 of whom met at a 2001 reunion.[43][45]

Death edit

Hawkins died after emergency surgery from an aneurysm on February 12, 2000, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, near Paris,[46] at 70 years old.

Influence edit

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.[12] He opened for Fats Domino, Tiny Grimes and the Rolling Stones.[12] This exposure in turn influenced rock acts such as Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, the Cramps, Screaming Lord Sutch, Black Sabbath, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Arthur Brown, Led Zeppelin, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, and Glenn Danzig.[12] Vox.com described Hawkins as a "goth icon".[47]

In the 2020 retrospective documentary mini series Red Dwarf: The First Three Million Years, Hawkins is identified as a key influence on Danny John-Jules' character Cat.[48]

Discography edit

Studio albums edit

  • 1958 At Home with Screamin' Jay Hawkins (Okeh/Epic) – other editions entitled Screamin' Jay Hawkins and I Put a Spell on You
  • 1965 The Night and Day of Screamin' Jay Hawkins (Planet/52e Rue Est) – also entitled In the Night and Day of Screamin' Jay Hawkins
  • 1969 ...What That Is! (Philips)
  • 1970 Because Is in Your Mind (Armpitrubber) (Philips)
  • 1972 A Portrait of a Man and His Woman (Hotline) – reissued as I Put a Spell on You and Blues Shouter
  • 1977 I Put a Spell on You (Versatile – recordings from 1966 to 1976)
  • 1979 Screamin' the Blues (Red Lightnin' – recordings from 1953 to 1970)
  • 1979 Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Koala)
  • 1983 Real Life (Zeta)
  • 1990 The Art of Screamin' Jay Hawkins (Spivey)
  • 1991 Black Music for White People (Bizarre/Straight Records/Planet Records)
  • 1991 I Shake My Stick at You (Aim)
  • 1993 Stone Crazy (Bizarre/Straight/Planet)
  • 1994 Somethin' Funny Goin' On (Bizarre/Straight/Planet)
  • 1998 At Last (Last Call)

Live albums edit

  • 1984 Screamin' Jay Hawkins and the Fuzztones Live (Midnight Records)
  • 1988 At Home with Jay in the Wee Wee Hours (Midnight Records)
  • 1988 Live & Crazy (Blue Phoenix)
  • 1991 Screamin' Jay Hawkins and the Chikenhawks: Dr. Macabre (Trade Service)
  • 1993 Rated X (Sting S) — recorded in 1970
  • 1999 Live at the Olympia, Paris (Last Call) — live with one new studio recording

Singles edit

  • 1953 "Not Anymore" / "Baptize Me in Wine" [Timely 1004]
  • 1954 "I Found My Way to Wine" / "Please Try to Understand Me" [Timely 1005]
  • 1955 "You're All of Life to Me" / "Well I Tried" [Wing 90005]
  • 1955 "This Is All" / "(She Put The) Whammee (On Me)" [Mercury 70549]
  • 1956 "Even Though" / "Talk About Me" [Wing 90055]
  • 1956 "I Put a Spell on You" / "Little Demon" [OKeh 7072]
  • 1957 "You Made Me Love You" / "Darling, Please Forgive Me" [OKeh 7084]
  • 1957 "Frenzy" / "Person to Person" [OKeh 7087]
  • 1958 "Alligator Wine" / "There's Something Wrong with You" [OKeh 7101]
  • 1960 "I'm So Glad (To Be Back)" / "The Pass" [Red Top 126]
  • 1962 "I Hear Voices" / "Just Don't Care" [Enrica 1010]
  • 1962 "Ashes" / "Nitty Gritty" w/ Shoutin' Pat (Newborn) [Chancellor 1117]
  • 1966 "Poor Folks" / "Your Kind of Love" [Providence 411]
  • 1970 "Do You Really Love Me" / "Constipation Blues" [Philips 40645]
  • 1973 "Monkberry Moon Delight" / "Sweet Ginny" [Queen Bee 1313][49]
  • 1993 "Heartattack and Vine" / "I Put a Spell on You" / "On the Job" [Columbia 6591092]

Multi-artist samplers and budget compilations edit

  • 1962 Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Lillian Briggs (Coronet)
  • 1963 A Night at Forbidden City (Sounds of Hawaii)
  • 1988 "I Put A Spell on You" (Elvira Presents: Haunted Hits LP)
  • 1990 "I Put A Spell On You" (Elvira Presents: Haunted Hits CD re-release)
  • 1994 "Little Demon" (Elvira Presents: Monster Hits CD)
  • 1996 "Frenzy" (Songs in the Key of X – The X Files)

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Notes
1957 Mister Rock and Roll Himself
1966 Day Tripper Composer; short film
1978 American Hot Wax Himself
1986 Joey Himself
1988 Two Moon Junction Blues Club Singer
1989 Mystery Train Night Clerk
1991 A Rage in Harlem Himself
1994 De Serge Gainsbourg à Gainsbarre de 1958 – 1991 Himself Documentary; direct-to-video
1997 Perdita Durango Adolfo
1999 Peut-être Chanteur Bouge
2001 Screamin' Jay Hawkins: I Put a Spell on Me[42] Himself Documentary

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes
1957 Alan Freed's Rock 'N' Roll Revue Himself TV special
1965 Gadzooks! It's All Happening Himself Episode: #1.3
1965 Thank Your Lucky Stars Himself Episode: #7.23
1966 The Merv Griffin Show Himself Episode: "Tom Ewell, Jacqueline Susann, Aliza Kashi, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Mitzi McCall, Charlie Brill"
1978 Thank You, Rock 'N' Roll: A Tribute to Alan Freed Himself TV special
1989 The Arsenio Hall Show Himself Unknown episode
1990 Sunday Night Himself Episode: #2.15
1993 Dorothee Rock'n'roll Show Himself TV miniseries
2001 Cutting Edge Himself (archive footage) Episode: "57 Screaming Kids"

References edit

  1. ^ Screamin' Jay Hawkins: NPR National Public Radio. January 1, 2001
  2. ^ "Screamin' Jay Still Crazy After All These Years". The Los Angeles Times. May 29, 1990.
  3. ^ Naughton, Michael P. (July 25, 2014). Deathryde: Rebel Without a Corpse. Gilded Hearse Press. p. 36. GGKEY:1FBQJDJPWS2.
  4. ^ Stegall, Tim (December 9, 2018). "Book Review: Rock & Roll Books – Screamin' Jay Hawkins' All-Time Greatest Hits: A Novel". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved July 2, 2019. Rock & roll pioneer Screamin' Jay Hawkins had only one hit, the voodoo blues funeral march "I Put a Spell on You".
  5. ^ McPadden, Mike (May 1, 2012). If You Like Metallica ... : Here Are Over 200 Bands, CDs, Movies, and Other Oddities That You Will Love. New York City: Backbeat Books. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-4768-1357-8. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  6. ^ "Screamin' Jay Hawkins Biography". Oldies.com.
  7. ^ Bergsman, Steve (July 2, 2019). I Put a Spell on You: The Bizarre Life of Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Vancouver, Washington: Feral House. p. 197. ISBN 9781627310918 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ a b Thurber, Jon (February 13, 2000). "Screamin' Jay Hawkins; Rhythm and Blues Singer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  9. ^ Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000. Print.
  10. ^ Hoops, Jessica (November 2, 2015). "The Evolution Of Shock Rock". Worcester, Massachusetts: Clark University. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  11. ^ Sweeney, Phillip (January 2, 1999). "Arts: Here comes the crazy man". Independent. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  12. ^ a b c d e Simmonds, Jeremy (2008). The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press. pp. 427–428. ISBN 9781556527548. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  13. ^ a b c d Jade, Celadon (October 1991). "Screamin' Jay Hawkins". Mute on the Floor. 1 (2). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Jaded Productions – via Online Archive of California; University of California, Los Angeles Library Special Collections.
  14. ^ Pareles, Jon (February 14, 2000). "Screamin' Jay Hawkins, 70, Rock's Wild Man". The New York Times. pp. 10 (Section B). Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  15. ^ a b Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2003). All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues. New York City: Backbeat Books. p. 226. ISBN 9780415972468. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  16. ^ "SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS BIOGRAPHY". The Great Rock Bible. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  17. ^ "Screamin' Jay Hawkins". Biography.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  18. ^ Tosches, Nick (1991). Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll: The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll in the Wild Years Before Elvis. New York City: Harmony Books. p. 158. ISBN 0517580527.
  19. ^ "The Crazy Real-Life Story of Screamin Jay Hawkins Music's First Shock Rocker". February 11, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  20. ^ Jones, Kevin (November 15, 2020), "HAWKINS, JALACY "SCREAMIN JAY"", Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, retrieved October 22, 2022
  21. ^ a b Bill Dahl (2001). "Screamin' Jay Hawkins". In Vladimir Bogdanov; Chris Woodstra; Stephen Thomas Erlewine (eds.). All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music. Hal Leonard. p. 156. ISBN 9780879306274.
  22. ^ a b c Edward M. Komara (2006). Encyclopedia of the Blues: A-J. Routledge. p. 415. ISBN 9780415926997. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  23. ^ a b c d e Ed Sikov (1996). Laughing Hysterically: American Screen Comedy of the 1950s. Columbia University Press. p. 17. ISBN 9780231079839. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  24. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955–2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
  25. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. ISBN 0-89820-115-2.
  26. ^ "The Lasting Echo of Screamin' Jay Hawkins". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  27. ^ a b "I Put a Spell on You brought bliss to all who touched it – except its composer". Financial Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022.
  28. ^ Patricia Romanowski Bashe, Holly George-Warren, and Jon Pareles, The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll: Revised and Updated for the 21st Century (Fireside, 2001), 419.
  29. ^ Mike Armando, "About Me", AllAboutJazz. Retrieved November 5, 2018
  30. ^ Steve Bergsman (July 2, 2019). "Chapter 7". I Put a Spell on You: The Bizarre Life of Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Feral House. pp. 147–150. ISBN 978-1-62731-091-8.
  31. ^ Maslin, Janet (January 31, 1986). "Screen: 'Joey,' Rock Tale". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012.
  32. ^ "Night Angel. Credits". AFI Catalog. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  33. ^ Edward M. Komara, "Hawkins, Screamin' Jay", Encyclopedia of the Blues (Routledge, 2006), pp. 415–416.
  34. ^ Peter Buckley, The Rough Guide to Rock (Rough Guides, 2003), 207.
  35. ^ Copyright: Waits v. Levi Strauss November 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine at Tom Waits Library.
  36. ^ Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, and Stephen Thomas Erlewine. All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul. Hal Leonard Corporation, 2002, p. 513. ISBN 978-0-87930-653-3
  37. ^ Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952–2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 346. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
  38. ^ "Hunt for Screamin's offspring". BBC News. April 28, 2000. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  39. ^ Cesare Rizzi, Enciclopedia della musica rock (Giunti, 1996), 249.
  40. ^ ""The X-Files" Humbug (TV Episode 1995)". IMDb.com. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  41. ^ "Batmobile. Songs". AllMusic. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  42. ^ a b "Screamin' Jay Hawkins: I Put a Spell on Me (2001)". IMDb.com. November 2, 2001. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
  43. ^ a b c d Wolf, Buck (February 4, 2001). "Screamin' Jay's Illegitimate Family Reunion". ABC News. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  44. ^ . Archived from the original on February 2, 2001. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  45. ^ Feature: Screamin' Jay Hawkins, All Things Considered, January 1, 2001.
  46. ^ Henderson, Ashyia N. (2001). Contemporary Black Biography. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale Group. p. 83. ISBN 9780787646189.
  47. ^ Nittle, Nadra (October 23, 2017). "Meet the Black Girls of Goth". Vox. Goth icon Screamin' Jay Hawkins was a black man from Cleveland known for his theatrical rendition of the 1956 hit "I Put a Spell on a You," which a sultry Nina Simone covered in 1965. Hawkins took his style cues from Dracula and voodoo stereotypes, with a trademark cape, slick hair, and stage props that included coffins, rubber snakes, and a skull on a stick.
  48. ^ "Red Dwarf: The First Three Million Years (TV Mini Series 2020) – IMDb". IMDb.
  49. ^ Benitez Jr., Vincent P. (2010). The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-313-34969-0. Hawkins even released 'Monkberry Moon Delight' as a single in 1973 (Queen Bee 1313).

External links edit

  •   Media related to Screamin' Jay Hawkins at Wikimedia Commons
  • Screamin' Jay Hawkins at IMDb

screamin, hawkins, jalacy, screamin, hawkins, july, 1929, february, 2000, american, singer, songwriter, musician, actor, film, producer, boxer, famed, chiefly, powerful, operatic, vocal, delivery, wildly, theatrical, performances, songs, such, spell, sometimes. Jalacy J Screamin Jay Hawkins 8 July 18 1929 February 12 2000 was an American singer songwriter musician actor film producer and boxer Famed chiefly for his powerful operatic vocal delivery and wildly theatrical performances of songs such as I Put a Spell on You he sometimes used macabre props onstage making him an early pioneer of shock rock 9 10 He received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the 1989 indie film Mystery Train Screamin Jay HawkinsHawkins in concert 1995Background informationBirth nameJalacy J HawkinsAlso known asJay HawkinsBorn 1929 07 18 July 18 1929Cleveland Ohio U S DiedFebruary 12 2000 2000 02 12 aged 70 Neuilly sur Seine FranceGenresBlues 1 rhythm and blues 2 soul 3 rock and roll 4 shock rock 5 Occupation s Singersongwritermusicianactorfilm producerboxerInstrument s Vocalspianoguitar 6 Years active1951 2000 7 LabelsOkehEpicPhilips Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2 1 Early career 2 2 I Put a Spell on You 2 3 Later career 3 Personal life 3 1 Death 4 Influence 5 Discography 5 1 Studio albums 5 2 Live albums 5 3 Singles 5 4 Multi artist samplers and budget compilations 6 Filmography 6 1 Film 6 2 Television 7 References 8 External linksEarly life edit nbsp Hawkins in 1957 Hawkins was born and raised in Cleveland Ohio 8 At the age of 18 months Hawkins was put up for adoption and shortly thereafter was adopted and raised by Blackfoot Confederacy 11 Hawkins studied classical piano as a child and learned guitar in his 20s 12 In a 1993 interview Hawkins recounts telling his music tutor to leave before I make your life miserable because with the type of music I want to play The things I want to do with music and don t want to do it the old conventional way that everybody knows I want to come up with my own ideas I ve got all the information that I need to get from you to do what I want now if you stick around I m going to make your life miserable 13 He attended the Ohio Conservatory of Music where he studied opera 14 His initial goal was to become an opera singer Hawkins cited Paul Robeson as his musical idol in interviews 15 but when his initial ambitions failed he began his career as a conventional blues singer and pianist Other influences included Mario Lanza Enrico Caruso Lionel Hampton Dizzy Gillespie Charles Brown Amos Milburn Wynonie Harris Nellie Lutcher Roy Brown Jimmy Witherspoon Eddie Cleanhead Vinson Roy Milton Elmore James Lightnin Hopkins and H Bomb Ferguson 13 He joined the US Army with a forged birth certificate in 1942 aged 13 and allegedly served in a combat role with his fellow soldiers and higher ups around him ignoring the fact he was substantially underage 16 During this time he also entertained the troops as part of his service 17 In 1944 he enlisted in the Army Air Forces being honorably discharged in 1952 Hawkins was an avid and formidable boxer during his years in the US Army and later Air Force boxing circuit In 1949 he was the middleweight boxing champion of Alaska 18 Many of the facts recounted above are by Hawkins s own telling and are disputed 19 Career edit nbsp I Put A Spell On You record label Early career edit In 1951 Screamin Jay Hawkins began his career performing vocals and keyboards for Philadelphia guitarist Tiny Grimes and was subsequently featured on some of Grimes recordings 15 When Hawkins later went solo his first single Why Did You Waste My Time was performed with accompaniment from Grimes band In 1956 Hawkins signed with OKeh Records 20 When Hawkins became a solo performer he often performed in a stylish wardrobe of leopard skins red leather and wild hats I Put a Spell on You edit Hawkins s 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 21 The entire band was intoxicated during a recording session where Hawkins screamed grunted and gurgled his way through the tune with utter drunken abandon 21 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 22 23 although it failed to make the Billboard pop or R amp B charts 24 25 Although Hawkins blacked out and was unable to remember the session 23 he relearned the song from the recorded version 23 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 23 Nonetheless it was banned from radio in some areas Furthermore the recording attracted the ire of groups such as the NAACP which worried that his act would reflect badly on African Americans 26 Hawkins later credited the uproar with a boost in sales due to the perceived taboo nature of his performances 13 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 22 Hawkins initially declined reportedly saying No black dude gets in a coffin alive they don t expect to get out 27 However he later relented 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 22 These props were suggestive of voodoo but also presented with comic overtones that invited comparison to a black Vincent Price 12 23 Despite the commercial success of the gimmick Hawkins resented the schlock factor that made him famous He found it exploitative and believed it undermined his sincerity as a vocalist and a balladeer In a 1973 interview he bemoaned the Screamin epithet given to him by his label Okeh records saying If it were up to me I wouldn t be Screamin Jay Hawkins James Brown did an awful lot of screamin but never got called Screamin James Brown Why can t people take me as a regular singer without making a bogeyman out of me 27 nbsp Hawkins performing in 1979 I Put a Spell On You became a classic covered by a variety of artists such as Creedence Clearwater Revival Nina Simone Alan Price The Animals Them with Van Morrison Arthur Brown Bryan Ferry Buddy Guy Carlos Santana Tim Curry Leon Russell Joe Cocker Nick Cave Marilyn Manson Mica Paris David Gilmour Jeff Beck Joss Stone Diamanda Galas and Annie Lennox Hawkins original version was featured during the show and over the credits of the 2003 The Simpsons episode I m Spelling as Fast as I Can Later career edit nbsp Hawkins in 1984 Hawkins later releases included Constipation Blues which included a spoken introduction by Hawkins in which he states he wrote the song because no one had written a blues song before about real pain Orange Colored Sky and Feast of the Mau Mau Nothing he released however had the monumental success of I Put a Spell on You In Paris in 1999 and at the Taste of Chicago festival he actually performed Constipation Blues with a toilet onstage 28 He continued to tour and record through the 1960s and 1970s particularly in Europe where he was very popular Hawkins released a single recording of mainstream ballads in 1969 Too Many Teardrops and the Hawaiian styled Makaha Waves on the flip side In February 1976 he suffered facial injuries when he was burned by one of his flaming props while performing with his guitarist Mike Armando at the Virginia Theater in Alexandria Virginia 29 30 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 cast Hawkins himself as a hotel night clerk in his film Mystery Train Hawkins also had acting roles in Alex de la Iglesia s Perdita Durango and Bill Duke s adaptation of Chester Himes A Rage in Harlem In 1983 Hawkins relocated to the New York area In 1984 and 1985 Hawkins collaborated with garage rockers the Fuzztones resulting in the album Screamin Jay Hawkins and the Fuzztones Live recorded at Irving Plaza in December 1984 They performed in the 1986 movie Joey 31 In 1990 Hawkins performed the song Sirens Burnin which was featured in the 1990 horror film Night Angel 32 In July 1991 Hawkins released his album Black Music for White People 33 The record features covers of two Tom Waits compositions Heartattack and Vine 34 which later that year was used in a European Levi s advertisement without Waits permission resulting in a lawsuit 35 and Ice Cream Man a Waits original and not a cover of the John Brim classic 36 Hawkins also covered the Waits song Whistlin Past the Graveyard on his album Somethin Funny Goin On In 1993 his version of Heartattack and Vine became his only UK hit reaching No 42 on the UK singles chart 37 In 1993 Hawkins moved to France 38 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 He 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 premiere of Mystery Train citation needed 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 39 This song was featured in the show s Season 2 episode Humbug 40 It was also covered by the band Batmobile 41 In 2001 the Greek director and writer Nicholas Triandafyllidis made the documentary Screamin Jay Hawkins I Put a Spell on Me about various stages of his life and career including a filming of his final live performance in Athens on December 11 1999 two months before his death following a performance the day before in Salonica In the documentary notable artists such as Jim Jarmusch Bo Diddley Eric Burdon Frank Ash Arthur Brown and Michael Ochs talked about Screamin Jay Hawkins early life personality and career and about his incredible talent 42 Personal life editFrom 1962 to 1971 Hawkins lived in Hawaii He returned to New York after purchasing a home in Hawaii and establishing his own publishing company sustained by the royalties from covers of I Put a Spell On You 13 Hawkins had six marriages his last wife was 31 at his death 43 Singing partner Shoutin Pat Newborn stabbed him in jealousy when he married Virginia Sabellona 43 He had three children with his first wife and claimed variously to have 57 or 75 children in total 43 After his death his friend and biographer Maral Nigolian set up a website to trace these children 44 identifying 33 at least 12 of whom met at a 2001 reunion 43 45 Death edit Hawkins died after emergency surgery from an aneurysm on February 12 2000 in Neuilly sur Seine France near Paris 46 at 70 years old Influence editAlthough 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 12 He opened for Fats Domino Tiny Grimes and the Rolling Stones 12 This exposure in turn influenced rock acts such as Alice Cooper Tom Waits the Cramps Screaming Lord Sutch Black Sabbath Creedence Clearwater Revival Arthur Brown Led Zeppelin Marilyn Manson Rob Zombie and Glenn Danzig 12 Vox com described Hawkins as a goth icon 47 In the 2020 retrospective documentary mini series Red Dwarf The First Three Million Years Hawkins is identified as a key influence on Danny John Jules character Cat 48 Discography editStudio albums edit 1958 At Home with Screamin Jay Hawkins Okeh Epic other editions entitled Screamin Jay Hawkins and I Put a Spell on You 1965 The Night and Day of Screamin Jay Hawkins Planet 52e Rue Est also entitled In the Night and Day of Screamin Jay Hawkins 1969 What That Is Philips 1970 Because Is in Your Mind Armpitrubber Philips 1972 A Portrait of a Man and His Woman Hotline reissued as I Put a Spell on You and Blues Shouter 1977 I Put a Spell on You Versatile recordings from 1966 to 1976 1979 Screamin the Blues Red Lightnin recordings from 1953 to 1970 1979 Lawdy Miss Clawdy Koala 1983 Real Life Zeta 1990 The Art of Screamin Jay Hawkins Spivey 1991 Black Music for White People Bizarre Straight Records Planet Records 1991 I Shake My Stick at You Aim 1993 Stone Crazy Bizarre Straight Planet 1994 Somethin Funny Goin On Bizarre Straight Planet 1998 At Last Last Call Live albums edit 1984 Screamin Jay Hawkins and the Fuzztones Live Midnight Records 1988 At Home with Jay in the Wee Wee Hours Midnight Records 1988 Live amp Crazy Blue Phoenix 1991 Screamin Jay Hawkins and the Chikenhawks Dr Macabre Trade Service 1993 Rated X Sting S recorded in 1970 1999 Live at the Olympia Paris Last Call live with one new studio recording Singles edit 1953 Not Anymore Baptize Me in Wine Timely 1004 1954 I Found My Way to Wine Please Try to Understand Me Timely 1005 1955 You re All of Life to Me Well I Tried Wing 90005 1955 This Is All She Put The Whammee On Me Mercury 70549 1956 Even Though Talk About Me Wing 90055 1956 I Put a Spell on You Little Demon OKeh 7072 1957 You Made Me Love You Darling Please Forgive Me OKeh 7084 1957 Frenzy Person to Person OKeh 7087 1958 Alligator Wine There s Something Wrong with You OKeh 7101 1960 I m So Glad To Be Back The Pass Red Top 126 1962 I Hear Voices Just Don t Care Enrica 1010 1962 Ashes Nitty Gritty w Shoutin Pat Newborn Chancellor 1117 1966 Poor Folks Your Kind of Love Providence 411 1970 Do You Really Love Me Constipation Blues Philips 40645 1973 Monkberry Moon Delight Sweet Ginny Queen Bee 1313 49 1993 Heartattack and Vine I Put a Spell on You On the Job Columbia 6591092 Multi artist samplers and budget compilations edit 1962 Screamin Jay Hawkins and Lillian Briggs Coronet 1963 A Night at Forbidden City Sounds of Hawaii 1988 I Put A Spell on You Elvira Presents Haunted Hits LP 1990 I Put A Spell On You Elvira Presents Haunted Hits CD re release 1994 Little Demon Elvira Presents Monster Hits CD 1996 Frenzy Songs in the Key of X The X Files Filmography editFilm edit Year Title Role Notes 1957 Mister Rock and Roll Himself 1966 Day Tripper Composer short film 1978 American Hot Wax Himself 1986 Joey Himself 1988 Two Moon Junction Blues Club Singer 1989 Mystery Train Night Clerk 1991 A Rage in Harlem Himself 1994 De Serge Gainsbourg a Gainsbarre de 1958 1991 Himself Documentary direct to video 1997 Perdita Durango Adolfo 1999 Peut etre Chanteur Bouge 2001 Screamin Jay Hawkins I Put a Spell on Me 42 Himself Documentary Television edit Year Title Role Notes 1957 Alan Freed s Rock N Roll Revue Himself TV special 1965 Gadzooks It s All Happening Himself Episode 1 3 1965 Thank Your Lucky Stars Himself Episode 7 23 1966 The Merv Griffin Show Himself Episode Tom Ewell Jacqueline Susann Aliza Kashi Screamin Jay Hawkins Mitzi McCall Charlie Brill 1978 Thank You Rock N Roll A Tribute to Alan Freed Himself TV special 1989 The Arsenio Hall Show Himself Unknown episode 1990 Sunday Night Himself Episode 2 15 1993 Dorothee Rock n roll Show Himself TV miniseries 2001 Cutting Edge Himself archive footage Episode 57 Screaming Kids References edit Screamin Jay Hawkins NPR National Public Radio January 1 2001 Screamin Jay Still Crazy After All These Years The Los Angeles Times May 29 1990 Naughton Michael P July 25 2014 Deathryde Rebel Without a Corpse Gilded Hearse Press p 36 GGKEY 1FBQJDJPWS2 Stegall Tim December 9 2018 Book Review Rock amp Roll Books Screamin Jay Hawkins All Time Greatest Hits A Novel The Austin Chronicle Retrieved July 2 2019 Rock amp roll pioneer Screamin Jay Hawkins had only one hit the voodoo blues funeral march I Put a Spell on You McPadden Mike May 1 2012 If You Like Metallica Here Are Over 200 Bands CDs Movies and Other Oddities That You Will Love New York City Backbeat Books p 37 ISBN 978 1 4768 1357 8 Retrieved July 2 2019 Screamin Jay Hawkins Biography Oldies com Bergsman Steve July 2 2019 I Put a Spell on You The Bizarre Life of Screamin Jay Hawkins Vancouver Washington Feral House p 197 ISBN 9781627310918 via Google Books a b Thurber Jon February 13 2000 Screamin Jay Hawkins Rhythm and Blues Singer Los Angeles Times Retrieved July 6 2022 Gillespie Paula and Neal Lerner The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring Boston Allyn 2000 Print Hoops Jessica November 2 2015 The Evolution Of Shock Rock Worcester Massachusetts Clark University Retrieved July 2 2019 Sweeney Phillip January 2 1999 Arts Here comes the crazy man Independent Retrieved August 8 2019 a b c d e Simmonds Jeremy 2008 The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars Heroin Handguns and Ham Sandwiches Chicago Illinois Chicago Review Press pp 427 428 ISBN 9781556527548 Retrieved December 4 2008 a b c d Jade Celadon October 1991 Screamin Jay Hawkins Mute on the Floor 1 2 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Jaded Productions via Online Archive of California University of California Los Angeles Library Special Collections Pareles Jon February 14 2000 Screamin Jay Hawkins 70 Rock s Wild Man The New York Times pp 10 Section B Retrieved October 17 2023 a b Bogdanov Vladimir Woodstra Chris Erlewine Stephen Thomas 2003 All Music Guide to the Blues The Definitive Guide to the Blues New York City Backbeat Books p 226 ISBN 9780415972468 Retrieved December 4 2008 SCREAMIN JAY HAWKINS BIOGRAPHY The Great Rock Bible Retrieved June 27 2019 Screamin Jay Hawkins Biography com Retrieved October 3 2018 Tosches Nick 1991 Unsung Heroes of Rock n Roll The Birth of Rock n Roll in the Wild Years Before Elvis New York City Harmony Books p 158 ISBN 0517580527 The Crazy Real Life Story of Screamin Jay Hawkins Music s First Shock Rocker February 11 2021 Retrieved December 1 2023 Jones Kevin November 15 2020 HAWKINS JALACY SCREAMIN JAY Encyclopedia of Cleveland History retrieved October 22 2022 a b Bill Dahl 2001 Screamin Jay Hawkins In Vladimir Bogdanov Chris Woodstra Stephen Thomas Erlewine eds All Music Guide The Definitive Guide to Popular Music Hal Leonard p 156 ISBN 9780879306274 a b c Edward M Komara 2006 Encyclopedia of the Blues A J Routledge p 415 ISBN 9780415926997 Retrieved December 4 2008 a b c d e Ed Sikov 1996 Laughing Hysterically American Screen Comedy of the 1950s Columbia University Press p 17 ISBN 9780231079839 Retrieved December 4 2008 Whitburn Joel 2003 Top Pop Singles 1955 2002 1st ed Menomonee Falls Wisconsin Record Research Inc ISBN 0 89820 155 1 Whitburn Joel 1996 Top R amp B Hip Hop Singles 1942 2004 Menomonee Falls Wisconsin Record Research ISBN 0 89820 115 2 The Lasting Echo of Screamin Jay Hawkins Washingtonpost com Retrieved November 1 2019 a b I Put a Spell on You brought bliss to all who touched it except its composer Financial Times Archived from the original on December 10 2022 Patricia Romanowski Bashe Holly George Warren and Jon Pareles The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock amp Roll Revised and Updated for the 21st Century Fireside 2001 419 Mike Armando About Me AllAboutJazz Retrieved November 5 2018 Steve Bergsman July 2 2019 Chapter 7 I Put a Spell on You The Bizarre Life of Screamin Jay Hawkins Feral House pp 147 150 ISBN 978 1 62731 091 8 Maslin Janet January 31 1986 Screen Joey Rock Tale The New York Times Archived from the original on July 10 2012 Night Angel Credits AFI Catalog Retrieved September 21 2020 Edward M Komara Hawkins Screamin Jay Encyclopedia of the Blues Routledge 2006 pp 415 416 Peter Buckley The Rough Guide to Rock Rough Guides 2003 207 Copyright Waits v Levi Strauss Archived November 16 2007 at the Wayback Machine at Tom Waits Library Vladimir Bogdanov Chris Woodstra and Stephen Thomas Erlewine All Music Guide to Rock The Definitive Guide to Rock Pop and Soul Hal Leonard Corporation 2002 p 513 ISBN 978 0 87930 653 3 Betts Graham 2004 Complete UK Hit Singles 1952 2004 1st ed London Collins p 346 ISBN 0 00 717931 6 Hunt for Screamin s offspring BBC News April 28 2000 Retrieved July 21 2019 Cesare Rizzi Enciclopedia della musica rock Giunti 1996 249 The X Files Humbug TV Episode 1995 IMDb com Retrieved September 10 2021 Batmobile Songs AllMusic Retrieved September 21 2020 a b Screamin Jay Hawkins I Put a Spell on Me 2001 IMDb com November 2 2001 Retrieved December 25 2012 a b c d Wolf Buck February 4 2001 Screamin Jay s Illegitimate Family Reunion ABC News Retrieved November 23 2014 Jayskids com Archived from the original on February 2 2001 Retrieved November 23 2014 Feature Screamin Jay Hawkins All Things Considered January 1 2001 Henderson Ashyia N 2001 Contemporary Black Biography Farmington Hills Michigan Gale Group p 83 ISBN 9780787646189 Nittle Nadra October 23 2017 Meet the Black Girls of Goth Vox Goth icon Screamin Jay Hawkins was a black man from Cleveland known for his theatrical rendition of the 1956 hit I Put a Spell on a You which a sultry Nina Simone covered in 1965 Hawkins took his style cues from Dracula and voodoo stereotypes with a trademark cape slick hair and stage props that included coffins rubber snakes and a skull on a stick Red Dwarf The First Three Million Years TV Mini Series 2020 IMDb IMDb Benitez Jr Vincent P 2010 The Words and Music of Paul McCartney The Solo Years Greenwood Publishing Group p 32 ISBN 978 0 313 34969 0 Hawkins even released Monkberry Moon Delight as a single in 1973 Queen Bee 1313 External links edit nbsp Media related to Screamin Jay Hawkins at Wikimedia Commons Screamin Jay Hawkins at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Screamin 27 Jay Hawkins amp oldid 1218583435, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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