Bobby Pickett Legends Of Halloween

{| border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="name-overview-widget-layout" =Bobby Pickett (1938–2007) Soundtrack | Actor | Writer Monster Mash= Robert George Pickett (February 11, 1938 – April 25, 2007) was an American singer who found fame under the name Bobby "Boris" Pickett. He was known for co-writing and performing the 1962 hit novelty song, "Monster Mash".[1]
 * id="overview-top"|

Contents
[hide] *1 Biography
 * 1.1 Early life
 * 1.2 Music career
 * 1.3 Further parodies
 * 1.4 Film and writing
 * 1.5 Death
 * 2 References
 * 3 External links

Early life[edit]
Pickett was born in Somerville, Massachusetts.[2] His father was a theater manager, and as a nine-year-old he watched many horror films. He would later incorporate impressions of them in his Hollywood nightclub act in 1959. Pickett was a United States Army veteran, who served in Korea.

Music career[edit]
Pickett co-wrote "Monster Mash" with Leonard Capizzi in May 1962. The song was a spoof on the dance crazes popular at the time, including the Twist and the Mashed Potato, which inspired the title. The song featured Pickett's impersonations of veteran horror stars Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi (the latter with the line "Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?"). It was passed on by every major record label, but after hearing the song, Gary S. Paxton agreed to produce and engineer it; among the musicians who played on it was pianist Leon Russell. Issued on Paxton's Garpax Records, the single became a million seller, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks before Halloween in 1962.[3] It was styled as being by "Bobby 'Boris' Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers". The track re-entered the U.S. charts twice, in August 1970, and again in May 1973, when it reached the #10 spot. In Britain it took until October 1973 for the tune to become popular, peaking at #3 in the UK Singles Chart.[4] For the second time, the record sold over one million copies.[5] The tune remains a Halloween perennial on radio and on iTunes. A Christmas-themed follow-up, "Monster's Holiday", (b/w "Monster Motion") was also released in 1962 and reached #30 in December that year. "Blood Bank Blues" (b/w "Me And My Mummy") did not chart. This was followed by further monster-themed recordings such as the album The Original Monster Mash and such singles as "Werewolf Watusi" and "The Monster Swim". In 1973, Pickett rerecorded "Me And My Mummy" for a Metromedia 45 (it did not chart). Another of Pickett's songs, "Graduation Day", made #80 in June 1963.

Further parodies[edit]
In 1975 Pickett recorded a novelty spoof on Star Trek called "Star Drek" with Peter Ferrara, again performing some of the various voices, which was played on Dr. Demento's radio show for many years. He also performed a duet with Ferrara in 1976 titled "King Kong (Your Song)" spoofing the movie by the same name that was released that year.

In the early 1980s a musical "sequel" to "The Monster Mash" called "The Monster Rap", which featured Bobby teaching the creature to speak through "rapping". Though not nearly as popular as the original "Monster Mash" it once again found a reasonable following with the Dr. Demento fanbase.

In 1993 Pickett wrote and performed "It's Alive", another sequel of sorts to the original "Mash" song. It did not chart but was played occasionally on the Demento show.

In October 2005, Pickett protested inaction on the United States government's part towards global warming by releasing "Climate Mash", a new version of his hit single.

Film and writing[edit]
In 1967, Pickett and television author Sheldon Allman wrote the musical I'm Sorry the Bridge Is Out, You'll Have to Spend the Night. It has been produced by local theatres around the U.S. They followed it up later with another musical, Frankenstein Unbound. In 1995 the co-writers of Disney's Toy Story, Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, produced a movie of it, originally entitled Frankenstein Sings, but later released in the US under Monster Mash: The Movie. Pickett starred in it with Candace Cameron, Jimmie Walker, Mink Stole, John Kassir, Sarah Douglas, Anthony Crivello, Adam Shankman and Carrie Ann Inaba. On ABC-TV, he appeared on the guest segment of "The Long Hot Summer", with Roy Thinnes and Nancy Malone, in August 1967.

In 2005 Pickett published his autobiography through Trafford Publishing. It was called Monster Mash: Half Dead in Hollywood.

Pickett appeared in several classic film genres: beach movie, It's a Bikini World (1967); biker, Chrome and Hot Leather (1971); horror, Deathmaster (1972), Sci-Fil Comedy, Lobster Man From Mars (1989).

Death[edit]
Pickett died at the age of 69 on April 25, 2007, in Los Angeles, due to complications from leukemia. His daughter Nancy Huus was at his side when he died. He left two grandchildren, Jordan Huus and Olivia Huus.[6] [7] The May 13, 2007, episode of the Dr. Demento show, featured a documentary retrospective of Pickett's work.

References[edit]

 * 1) Jump up ^ Associated Press (April 27, 2007). "Bobby Pickett, 69; Scored 'Monster' Hit". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-07-21. "Bobby (Boris) Pickett, whose Boris Karloff impression propelled the Halloween novelty song Monster Mash to the top of the charts in 1962, making him one of pop music's most enduring one-hit wonders, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 69. His longtime manager, Stuart Hersh, said the cause was leukemia."
 * 2) Jump up ^ Classicbands.com
 * 3) Jump up ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 150. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
 * 4) Jump up ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 426. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
 * 5) Jump up ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 333. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
 * 6) Jump up ^ Fox News: 'Monster Mash' Singer Bobby 'Boris' Pickett Dies at 69
 * 7) Jump up ^ CNN.com: 'Monster Mash' singer dead at 69

External links[edit]

 * Official site
 * Official MySpace site
 * Biographical obituary discussing in-depth the life, career and importance of Pickett and his hit song from NewYorkNightTrain.com
 * "Bobby Pickett". Find a Grave. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
 * Bobby Pickett at the Internet Movie Database
 * Classicbands.com entry on Bobby "Boris" Pickett
 * Bobby "Boris Pickett" performing Monster Mash - Halloween 2005 on YouTube
 * Interview with Bobby Pickett, June 18, 2003; author: Linda Alexander

&lt;img src="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" title="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;" /&gt;Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bobby_Pickett&oldid=631355868"Categories:
 * 1938 births
 * 2007 deaths
 * American male singers
 * Musicians from Massachusetts
 * RCA Victor artists
 * People from Somerville, Massachusetts
 * United States Army soldiers
 * Deaths from leukemia
 * Cancer deaths in California

Known For Monsters vs Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space (2009)Show allHide all  |Show by...JobYear »Ratings »Votes »Genre »Keyword »|Edit==2010Halloween Season[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2396566/?ref_=_4 (Short) (writer: "Monster Mash") ]Hewy's Animated Movie Reviews[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045658/?ref_=_6 (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode, 2010) (writer - 1 episode, 2010) ]== -[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2192343/?ref_=_14 Scary Godmother 1 & 2 (2010) ... (performer: "Monster Mash") / (writer: "Monster Mash") ]2009Monsters vs Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045658/?ref_=_6 (TV Short) (performer: "Monster Mash") / (writer: "Monster Mash") ]1994Alvin and the Chipmunks: Trick or Treason[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0308353/?ref_=_18 (TV Movie) (writer: "Monster Mash") ]1988Return of the Living Dead II[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417001/?ref_=_19 (writer: "Monster Mash") ]1987DTV Monster Hits[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478824/?ref_=_20 (TV Movie) (performer: "Monster Mash") / (writer: "Monster Mash") ]1972Deathmaster[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1321808/?ref_=_22 (lyrics: "A Man without a Vision" - as Bob Pickett) ]Actor (22 credits)  2008 The Boneyard Collection[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0832284/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1 ]2003Boogie with the Undead[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0349157/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_2 (Video) The Manager ]1995Monster Mash: The Movie[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113105/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_3 ]Dr. Victor Frankenstein1989Lobster Man from Mars[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097768/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_4 The Astrologer / King of Mars ]1988Frankenstein General Hospital[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095173/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_5 Man in Elevator (as Bobby "Boris" Pickett) ]1983Strange Invaders[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086374/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_8 Editor ]1972Deathmaster[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068459/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_11 Kirkwood (as Bob Pickett) ]-Writer (1 credit)  1995 Monster Mash: The Movie(musical play "I'm Sorry the Bridge Is Out, You'll Have to Spend the Night")Composer (1 credit)  1995 Monster Mash: The Movie[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113105/?ref_=nm_flmg_com_1 ]Hide  ShowMusic department (1 credit)  2000 Monster Mash[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0263759/?ref_=nm_flmg_msdp_1 (Video) (composer: song "Monster Mash") ]Hide  ShowSelf (3 credits)  2006 The Witch's Dungeon: 40 Years of Chills[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0929808/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_1 (Video documentary) Himself ]1992The Horror Hall of Fame III[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1443798/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_2 (TV Movie) Himself (as Bobby 'Boris' Pickett) ]Original Monster Mash Bobby Pickett (Artist) Format: Audio CD/* * Fix for UDP-1061. Average customer reviews has a small extra line on hover * https://omni-grok.amazon.com/xref/src/appgroup/websiteTemplates/retail/SoftlinesDetailPageAssets/udp-intl-lock/src/legacy.css?indexName=WebsiteTemplates#40 */   .noUnderline a:hover { text-decoration: none; }   22 customer reviews Available from these sellers. 4 new from $99.83 8 used from $24.95 1 collectible from $9.89{| class="a-normal a-spacing-none title"
 * id="overview-middle"|
 * }
 * }
 * class="dp-title-col"|
 * class="a-color-secondary a-text-center dp-price-col"|Amazon Price
 * class="a-color-secondary a-text-right dp-new-col"|New from
 * class="a-color-secondary a-text-right dp-used-col"|Used from
 * }

See all buying optionsOriginal Monster Mash Available from these sellers.

Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.
 * align="right" width="7"|
 * }
 * }
 * }