Screamin’ Jay Hawkins is best known for his witchy and voodoo songs, the most popular of which was “I put a spell on you.” The story of it’s birth is the stuff of Blues legend, it tells us that he recorded the track in 1956 when he was completely drunk. In the post Remembering Wild Operatic Voodoo Bluesman Screamin Jay Hawkins writer Matt Marshall says “His searing undertone demanded attention and was paired with a catchy beat of a percussive brass section and drum, creating, all at once, a crazed drunken tirade, swirling three-ring circus, and a mysterious voodoo ritual. ‘Because you’re mine’. Released on OKeh Records that same year, ‘I Put A Spell on You’ almost instantly became a hit for Hawkins. Then he had to listen to the song and relearn it, because he was blacked out drunk when he recorded it.”
The song came through like a message from the spirits and by the spirits. Voodoo and Blues walk hand in hand, and this song is a beautiful example of this. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins went on to write more songs about Voodoo and expand upon the persona he had created.
Voodoo! (Whoo-ooo!)
Gimme a boo-boo! (Whoo-hooo!)
Now I’m someone you can see through.
Who do you think you are?
Now, sticks and stones will break my bones,
but nails would never harm me,
but when she starts sticking in pins in me
I said “Meh!” – that alarm me.
Now I ain’t that old fashioned
that I won’t go for something new,
but baby, please, I ain’t no cheese,
I’d like to [???] – Voodoo from the album Voodoo Spell (2009)
Hawkins uses entertainment to bring about some powerful Voodoo truths. We can see in the lyrics of the Voodoo song above how he mocks the religion, but also reveals an inherent fear of it. The eerie screams of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins call out to us from another time, revealing both pain and passion. His stage act was extreme, he was known to come out in a coffin and also performed with a toilet on stage for his “Constipation Blues.” I’d love to hear from anyone who knew him personally as to discover his real connection to voodoo, as his biographical information is limited.
Can you hear the screams?
Born in 1929 in Cleveland, Ohio, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was actually trained as an opera singer and classical pianist. He was also an accomplished boxer, and held the title of middleweight boxing champion of Alaska in 1949. Advancement in these areas were not afforded to him however, and his life took a very different turn. The song “I put A Spell On You” was ranked as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll. He passed away in 2000 leaving over 70 children. Here is the earliest known footage of him performing his popular hit in 1966 on the Merv Griffin Show.
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