WORDS BY JACK WATKINS
The rock act trading in theatrical gore has a long tradition, from the pantomime of Screaming Lord Sutch and the psychedelia of Arthur Brown, to the harder rock of Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath and Kiss. But arguably none of them had an ounce of the talent of their spiritual godfather, a very strange man from Cleveland, Ohio, born Jalacy J Hawkins, who really wanted to be an opera singer.
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, as he became known, is often listed as a one-hit wonder. Technically, he wasn’t even that. I Put A Spell On You was considered so disturbing on release in 1956, with its animalistic grunts and suggestions of cannibalism, that many radio programmers denied it airtime. It may have accumulated an estimated one million in sales over the years, but it never charted for the singer, with later versions by Nina Simone, Alan Price and Creedence Clearwater Revival enjoying more success.