1 of 1- aflem
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The Story Behind "The Monster Mash"
This was the first record I ever owned, given to me as a young kid for my birthday. Still one of my favorites!
Happy Halloween!
“It was an amazing time to be cutting records,” Pickett said in ‘95. “The day we cut ‘Monster Mash,’ Herb Alpert was in the same studio cutting ‘Brave Bull,’ and Jimmie Rodgers was recording his hit, ‘Honeycomb,’ at the studio, too. My attitude toward this project was, ‘Yeah, sure it’s a hit—just give me a check and some copies for my friends and family, and I’ll be happy.’
"Gary Paxton did all the audio effects, like the straw in a glass of water to get that bubbling lab sound. Gary pulled the rusty nail out of a board to get the coffin creaking sound; he dragged chains across the linoleum floor to get the chain effects. My part of the record was done in a half hour.”
Behind The Song: “Monster Mash,” Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers
- Lorne
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Re: The Story Behind "The Monster Mash"
Interesting article, but there are a lot of problems with the first part of the quote from Pickett. First, I think that he's referring to The Lonely Bull -- I did a search and couldn't find any record by Alpert called Brave Bull. Second, Rodgers released Honeycomb in 1957, not 1962. Third, all three artists were on different labels, so I wouldn't expect that they would all be using the same studio that day. It's very strange all the way around ... even if Pickett was a bit forgetful or was inclined to embellish things a bit, I find it surprising that he would say so much that makes so little sense and all in one sentence.
- Roman
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Re: The Story Behind "The Monster Mash"
Lorne wrote:
Interesting article, but there are a lot of problems with the first part of the quote from Pickett. First, I think that he's referring to The Lonely Bull -- I did a search and couldn't find any record by Alpert called Brave Bull. Second, Rodgers released Honeycomb in 1957, not 1962. Third, all three artists were on different labels, so I wouldn't expect that they would all be using the same studio that day. It's very strange all the way around ... even if Pickett was a bit forgetful or was inclined to embellish things a bit, I find it surprising that he would say so much that makes so little sense and all in one sentence.
The writer has to wear some of this as perhaps he was the one who ID'd the wrong bull. (Maybe he was subconsciously thinking about Randy Bachman's post Guess Who band). Even if Bobby got the Alpert title wrong in '95, the writer should have corrected it for this article. A little surfing on the internet reveals that it's quite possible Pickett and Alpert were at the Conway Recording studio in L.A. at around the same time in '62. Rodgers may have been there as well, not to record Honeycomb but rather his latest record. He was on the Dot label based in Hollywood, so it's a possibility. Maybe the writer didn't get Bobby's quote right about that either.
- Little Rich
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Re: The Story Behind "The Monster Mash"
Interesting article, but there are a lot of problems with the first part of the quote from Pickett. First, I think that he's referring to The Lonely Bull -- I did a search and couldn't find any record by Alpert called Brave Bull. Second, Rodgers released Honeycomb in 1957, not 1962. Third, all three artists were on different labels, so I wouldn't expect that they would all be using the same studio that day. It's very strange all the way around ... even if Pickett was a bit forgetful or was inclined to embellish things a bit, I find it surprising that he would say so much that makes so little sense and all in one sentence.
Fourth, the amount of rent the reporters claimed Pickett was paid by his hit is, at the very least, disputable. After researching several resources and Googling, I've concluded that a "straw poll" would likely prove/disprove that he he collected rent amounting to anything from 33, 34, 36, 43, 44 years, even his entire life. The most common answer from the samples I found was 43 years. So either Pickett was saying anything that came to him, or, more likely, the people quoting him were misquoting and not concerned about the accuracy.
- StereoTom
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Re: The Story Behind "The Monster Mash"
Jimmie re-recorded Honeycomb for Dot records in July 1963.
The Lonely Bull was released in September 1962...and was recorded in Herb's garage, supposedly.
Tom Diehl
- StereoTom
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Re: The Story Behind "The Monster Mash"
Fourth, the amount of rent the reporters claimed Pickett was paid by his hit is, at the very least, disputable. After researching several resources and Googling, I've concluded that a "straw poll" would likely prove/disprove that he he collected rent amounting to anything from 33, 34, 36, 43, 44 years, even his entire life. The most common answer from the samples I found was 43 years. So either Pickett was saying anything that came to him, or, more likely, the people quoting him were misquoting and not concerned about the accuracy.
It's quoting a 1995 interview with Pickett. 33 years earlier would have been the original 1962 release, and it was a big enough hit, seasonally, that it probably sold well every year for Halloween, and the rest of the year, and was on countless compilations he would have gotten royalties for, so I have no doubt the one hit paid his rent for decades.
Though the article says 500 copies were pressed of the original Garpax release (the P-1 issue, I presume), but it was actually 8,000 copies Gary had pressed up.
Tom Diehl
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Re: The Story Behind "The Monster Mash"
Fourth, the amount of rent the reporters claimed Pickett was paid by his hit is, at the very least, disputable. After researching several resources and Googling, I've concluded that a "straw poll" would likely prove/disprove that he he collected rent amounting to anything from 33, 34, 36, 43, 44 years, even his entire life. The most common answer from the samples I found was 43 years. So either Pickett was saying anything that came to him, or, more likely, the people quoting him were misquoting and not concerned about the accuracy.
It's quoting a 1995 interview with Pickett. 33 years earlier would have been the original 1962 release, and it was a big enough hit, seasonally, that it probably sold well every year for Halloween, and the rest of the year, and was on countless compilations he would have gotten royalties for, so I have no doubt the one hit paid his rent for decades.
Though the article says 500 copies were pressed of the original Garpax release (the P-1 issue, I presume), but it was actually 8,000 copies Gary had pressed up.
I was wondering about that because I saw a couple of the original Garpax singles on EBay for under 10 bucks. I know it's no Stormy Weather, but I figured it should be worth more than a sawbuck.
- StereoTom
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Re: The Story Behind "The Monster Mash"
The only copies of the Garpax single worth any money would be the orange label copies with P-1 at the bottom of the label. These are pressed on vinyl instead of the common styrene copies. I found my VG copy of that pressing on Discogs last year for $3 in VG condition... sadly, many records aren't worth what they used to be...
Last edited by StereoTom (November 2, 2021 11:11 pm)
Tom Diehl