contributed by Annie Sattler, October 28, 1995
I was working in the lab late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise
He did the mash
He did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
He did the mash
It caught on in a flash
He did the mash
He did the monster mash
From my laboratory in the castle east
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes
They did the mash
They did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They did the mash
It caught on in a flash
They did the mash
They did the monster mash
The zombies were having fun
The party had just begun
The guests included Wolf Man
Dracula and his son
The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, "The Crypt-Kicker Five"
They played the mash
They played the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They played the mash
It caught on in a flash
They played the mash
They played the monster mash
Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring
Seems he was troubled by just one thing
He opened the lid and shook his fist
And said, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?"
It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash
The monster mash
And it's a graveyard smash
It's now the mash
It's caught on in a flash
It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash
Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band
And my monster mash is the hit of the land
For you, the living, this mash was meant too
When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent you
Then you can mash
Then you can monster mash
The monster mash
And do my graveyard smash
Then you can mash
You'll catch on in a flash
Then you can mash
Then you can monster mash
A childhood fascination with horror movies and Boris Karloff led to this weird graveyard smash.
While Bobby Pickett was growing up in Somerville, Massachusetts, he used to go to all the movies he wanted because his father was the manager of a local theater. "I would sit there and watch horror films two or three times a day," recalled Pickett. "I was fascinated with the horror genre and I loved Boris Karloff."
Pickett eventually perfected a dead-on imitation of his favorite horror film star. "I would enter these talent contests in local bars and clubs and do this schtick about Boris Karloff," he recalled. "It lasted about four minutes and I'd always win."
In the late 1950s, Pickett, bitten by the acting bug, moved to Hollywood and landed some bit parts on TV and in film. Pickett sang with friends in a group called the Cordials. They specialized in doo-wop music and performed at local clubs. One of the songs they sang was the Diamonds' "Little Darlin'." It featured a monologue which Pickett did in his Karloff impersonation: "My darlin,' I need you to hold in mine your little hand/I know too soon that all is grand."
Recalled Pickett, "The kids in the audience would crack up. Lenny Capizzi [one of the members of the Cordials] told me, 'That's a great voice for a novelty record.'" But Pickett didn't think much of the idea at the time. He quit the group shortly thereafter because the other members were always late for rehearsals.
"But then my agent died of a heart attack and I thought, 'Gee, my acting career isn't doing so well.' So I called Lenny and said, 'Let's test out that idea you had.'
"We got together and he sat at the piano and started playing four chords-- G, E minor, C, and D. I said, 'Okay, let's call it "The Monster Twist". But Lenny said, 'No, the Twist is out and the Mashed Potato is in. It's 'The Monster Mashed Potato."
"Then I wrote, 'I was working in the lab late one night and my eyes beheld an eerie sight. . .' And in less than two hours we had the whole thing written."
They took the song to producer Gary Paxton, whom they had met a few months earlier. "When I was with the Cordials, we used to go to Will Rogers State Beach every Sunday afternoon and sing doo-wop a capella," said Pickett. "Within ten minutes, a hundred people would encircle us and listen to our music. One day, this cute red headed girl walked up and said, 'My old man is Gary Paxton. He sang "Alley Oop" and he produces now. He'd love you guys. Call him."
"Gary loved our song and decided to call it 'The Mean Monster Mashed Potato.' But after talking it over, we decided that just 'Monster Mash" was fine. Then Gary told me, 'From now on, you're Bobby 'Boris' Pickett.'
"Every major record label that Gary visited turned 'Monster Mash' down. They said it would never get on the radio and that it was stupid. Gary told me, 'Don't worry. This is a number one record and I'm going to put it out on my own label.'
"He pressed 1,000 records on his label, Garpax, put them in the back of his old Excalibur and drove up and down California, dropping off records at every radio station along the way. And by the time he returned to Los Angeles, the song was on its way to becoming a hit."
"I was a real Elvis fan," said Bobby Pickett. "One day after the song had become a hit, I bumped into this girl who used to hang around Elvis' house in Los Angeles. So I asked her, 'How's the King?'
"'Well, he hates your record, Bobby,' she said. When I asked why, she told me, 'He thinks it's the stupidest thing he's ever heard.'
"So I said, 'Well, whoever liked him anyway?' I don't think he knew who Boris Karloff was, to tell you the truth."
Although Karloff was alive when the record was released, Pickett never met him. "I heard that he was in a record store and was buying my album, which had 'Monster Mash' on it, and a friend on mine was there and said, 'Oh, Mr. Karloff, I know the young man who did the song and he's a real big fan of yours.' And Karloff said, 'I love his record.' So I was thrilled.
It was called "Monster's Holiday" and reached #30. Among other songs that he later recorded were "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette," "Star Drek" (he was Captain Jerk), "King Kong, Your Song," and "Monster Rap."