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I Put a Spell on You
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = I Put a Spell on You
| cover = I Put a Spell on You by Screamin' Jay Hawkins US vinyl.jpg
| alt =
| border = yes
| caption = A-side label of the 1956 U.S. 7-inch vinyl single
| type = single
| artist = Screamin' Jay Hawkins
| album = At Home with Screamin' Jay Hawkins
| B-side = Little Demon
| released =
| recorded = 12 September 1956
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = {{flatlist|
* Rhythm and blues
*
* shock rock
}}
| length =
| label = Okeh
| writer =
| producer = Arnold Maxin
| prev_title = Even Though
| prev_year = 1956
| next_title = You Made Me Love You
| next_year = 1957
}}
"'I Put a Spell on You'" is a 1956 song written and composed by Jalacy "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins, whose own recording of it was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was also included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordingspublished in 'Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies' (1981)and ranked No. 313 on 'Rolling Stone' magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The selection became a classic cult song covered by a variety of artists and was his greatest commercial success, reportedly surpassing a million copies in sales, even though it failed to make the 'Billboard' pop or R&B charts.
The original composition
Hawkins had originally intended to record "I Put a Spell on You" as "a refined love song, a blues ballad". However, the producer Arnold Maxin "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."[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lw08AQAAIAAJ&q=%22Before,+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.%22&dq=%22Before,+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.%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XObCUuG3EseohAeps4CoCA&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA Julia Rubiner, 'Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music, Volume 8', Gale, 1992, p.117]
Hawkins first recorded "I Put a Spell on You" as a ballad during his stint with Grand Records in late 1955. However, that version was not released at the time (it has since been reissued on Hawkins' UK Rev-Ola CD 'The Whamee 195355'). The following year, Hawkins re-recorded the song for Columbia's Okeh Recordsthe notorious screaming version, which was released in October 1956. However, this version was banned from most radio programming for its outrageous "cannibalistic" style. A truncated version was later released omitting the grunts and moans from the ending of the song, but the ban generally remained. Despite the restriction, the record still sold over a million copies.
The hit brought Hawkins together with Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed who promptly added him to his "Rock and Roll Revue". Up to this time, Hawkins had been a blues performer; emotional, but not wild. Freed suggested a gimmick to capitalize on 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. The act was a sensation, later bolstered by tusks worn in Hawkins' nose, on-stage snakes and fireworks, a cigarette-smoking skull named "Henry" and, ultimately, Hawkins transforming himself into "the black Vincent Price". This theatrical act was one of the first shock rock performances.Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000. Print.
The original version recurs in the film 'Stranger than Paradise'.
Personnel
* Vocals Jalacy Hawkins
* Guitar Mickey Baker
* Piano Ernie Hayes
* Tenor saxophone Sam "The Man" Taylor
* Baritone saxophone Bud Johnson
* Bass Al Lucas
* Drums David "Panama" Francis
* Arrangement Leroy Kirkland
Covers
"I Put a Spell on You" has been covered by other artists extensively; there are several hundred versions. Most of the covers treat the song seriously; few attempt to duplicate Hawkins' bravura performance. Although Hawkins' own version never charted, several later cover versions have.
*Nina Simone's version from her album of the same name reached No. 120 PopJoel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004 and No. 23 on the U.S. 'Billboard' R&B chart in 1965; it also reached No. 49 on the UK singles chart that year, and No. 28 when it was reissued in 1969.Brown, Tony, Jon Kutner & Neil Warwick, The Complete Book of the British Charts: Singles and Albums, Omnibus Press, London, 2002 p. 911
*The version by The Alan Price Set reached No. 9 in the UK in 1966Brown, Tony, Jon Kutner & Neil Warwick, The Complete Book of the British Charts: Singles and Albums, Omnibus Press, London, 2002 p. 795 and No. 80 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100.
*Creedence Clearwater Revival's version reached No. 58 on the U.S. Hot 100 in 1968. The band later performed it at the Woodstock Festival in 1969.
*In the UK, Bryan Ferry's version, covered on the album Taxi, reached No. 18 in 1993.Brown, Tony, Jon Kutner & Neil Warwick, The Complete Book of the British Charts: Singles and Albums, Omnibus Press, London, 2002 p. 371
*The version by Sonique reached No. 36 in 1998 and No. 8 on reissue in 2000.
'Other versions of note:'
*The Crazy World of Arthur Brown covered the song on their 1968 self-titled album, reaching No. 111 in the US.
* The 1993 Disney movie 'Hocus Pocus' features a performance of the song sung by Bette Midler.
*Marilyn Manson recorded a cover of the song for his 1995 album 'Smells Like Children'.
*Jeff Beck, with vocals by Joss Stone, covered the song on the album 'Emotion & Commotion' in 2010. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 53rd Grammy Awards.
Annie Lennox version
Annie Lennox recorded her own version of the song in 2013 and it was released on 15 September 2014 as the lead single from her sixth studio album 'Nostalgia'.
The original release failed to make any impact on charts until it was included on the 2015 film 'Fifty Shades of Grey', after the inclusion the song did chart in the US, UK and France.
Charts
See also
*List of Romanian Top 100 number ones of the 2000s
References
Category:1956 songs
Category:1956 singles
Category:1965 singles
Category:1966 singles
Category:1968 singles
Category:2001 singles
Category:Alan Price songs
Category:Annie Lennox songs
Category:Arthur Brown (musician) songs
Category:Bette Midler songs
Category:Creedence Clearwater Revival songs
Category:Decca Records singles
Category:Disney songs
Category:Eels (band) songs
Category:Eric Burdon songs
Category:Fantasy Records singles
Category:Halloween songs
Category:Marilyn Manson (band) songs
Category:Number-one singles in Romania
Category:Natacha Atlas songs
Category:Nina Simone songs
Category:Okeh Records singles
Category:Parrot Records singles
Category:Rhythm and blues songs
Category:Rock-and-roll songs
Category:Screamin' Jay Hawkins songs
Category:She & Him songs
Category:Sonique (musician) songs
Category:The Animals songs
Category:Fifty Shades film music
Category:Van Morrison songs
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