Me neither

right after him , or maybe simultaneously, In England, there was Screaming Lord Sutch

Hawkins was Sutch' inspiration

Saying his name in the same sentence as the legend Alice Cooper is an insult.

@@tvc380 c'mon man...Alice Cooper himself would tell you he was inspired by Hawkins

MrJeezus he’s who invented it! Arthur Brown saw him perform and placed the wheels in motion for artists like Alice Cooper

Emo Rocks!

woulda loved to have seen a show with him and Alice Cooper. That might've been fun

@@meganwynn372 watch Gentlemen Broncos he plays the antagonist and it’s one of my favorite movies

+Samantha String so am I.

One million is probably not rare enough for this.

Yes, that Emo Phillips truly was in a class by himself.

+Frank Sadat lmao

keeturbo H E L L O. I put a SPELL on you....i ain't lyin

Who would duplicate that untalented mess?

Actually he was and is exactly like every single other Hollywood celeb popstar rocker. A Satanist pushing propaganda for the elite , after the deal with the devil.

I was thinking the same thing, lol.

He was 61

Dick JonesOCP Agreed! He had such beautiful skin!

Both haha

Dick JonesOCP ...Both

even the screams are under control. he's got an astounding voice box, there's an operatic quality.

I'm with ya there..great performer

...and in them.

Wrong bud. The screams are the most fantastic part!!!!

One crazy mix

You hit the nail right on the head

This is goth as hell

Lol

Yes. In fact, one of his great granddaughters is essentially our non-official daughter. She tells us stories. He was an interesting person! The story behind this song is rather sad, though. He struggled with mental health issues, and this song is actually about himself. It wasn't written about a woman at all.

@@sarahirwin8912 He would have to be a fascinating person! That's awesome that you are so close to his great-granddaughter and she has memories of him. Having suffered with severe depression all my life, and as the mother of a disabled son due to his schizophrenia, I think maybe that's why we both are drawn to his music and his style. This man took madness to a fine art, and I love him for that! My son tells me that if he's ever healthy enough and he finds a woman as quirky as him, this song is the one to which he wants to walk down the aisle with his bride. I told him I'll find the best Screamin' Jay impersonator I can find to make that happen!👹💀

It's confirmed that he had 32 children maybe more

you're just sayin that cause they put a spell on you.

@@meganwynn372 - Clever!

John Toobad yea that's probably why it was banned in most radio stations

John Toobad And Jay would laugh all the way to the bank.

I sure hope they did. LOL!!

me too@@hornetbrown

Probably thought he was really possessed

He was an opera singer at one point

This rendition demonstrates what a masterpiece Hawkins wrote: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pN12n9J0tb7ec6c.html

Emo is still out there!

No. he was a great vocalist.

Jay was a magnificent singer.

Class.

that sounds wild I would have loved to meet him

Very cool. What an experience

Wow, you met two of my favorite performers! I love Ruth Brown and wish more people knew about her these days. She was a major star in the 1950s, but nowadays she seems almost forgotten by most, except fans of Broadway. In 1989 she won the well-deserved Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She seems like she had a great sense of humor and would be delightful to have a conversation with. My dad went to work as a radio engineer at KVET in Austin Texas after serving in WWII. KVET was completely owned and operated by veterans, and I think they're still in operation. As the engineer, he was tasked with creating sound effects for the live radio performances back before recording on tape. I wish we had thought to record Dad talking about his experiences! Some of his stories were pretty funny, like the Sunday morning that only my dad and the DJ were manning the station. The DJ would get records that had a preacher's sermon pre-recorded, put the disk on and run across the street for coffee. One Sunday morning while the DJ was getting coffee, my dad realized there was a problem with the record, but the sound booth was locked, so he ran to get the DJ, telling him he has to stop that record, NOW! The record was skipping, and broadcasting only two words to the listeners of Austin Texas that morning; "Jesus Christ!" over and over...😂 Musicians would stop by and perform live on air, and my dad became friends with a New Orleans jazz pianist who was his favorite guest at the station, "Professor Longhair". He talked about him a lot, and that he was the funniest guy he'd ever met. I always wished I could hear this "Professor" whose music my dad loved, and now I can! I was thrilled to find his music here on KZfaq. I see why he was my dad's favorite guest at the station.

gamehead91 Right? He is supposedly 60(?) there but died 10years later. Looked damn good for his age.

gamehead91 I think it's pretty clear from this performance that he possesses something. Or is possessed by something...

It's all those cigarettes

Drinking the blood of young women.

Black people for the most part age gracefully, different from other people.

He wasn't a genius. You must have low standards for intelligence if you believe this.

This is a very good entertainment motto. But I believe that an artist can decide to be more than an entertainer and not depend on the audience will.

Lance Wahl higher

And Little Richard

@@carcamangris The first time I saw a photo of Screamin' Jay, I thought it _was_ Little Richard at first! They were both very handsome men (IMO) and true pioneers of Rock and Roll who have many imitators, few equals!

I miss Arsenio not many late night folks taking chances

True. He gave the band Living color there first mainstream exposure back when the idea of a Heavy Metal band comprised of entirely black members was unheard of!

ARSENIO HALL IS THE #1 TALK SHOW EVER...

I loved his show! Arsenio was on during the same era as David Letterman. I liked and watched both, but with Arsenio it was more of a surprise who he would have on his show. I love that he gave artists like Screamin' Jay the time and freedom to perform their songs the way they wanted. Typically, music artist get 2-3 minutes to perform, max, but Arsenio wisely knew the fans are gonna want to experience this performance the way Mr. Hawkins intended!

@@judykeller7474 You're right! That's where I first saw Living Colour perform "Cult of Personality", and I was blown away by their talent and that Grammy-winning song that became an anthem for a generation. That song is even more meaningful today! "...You gave me fortune, you gave me fame You gave me power in your God's name I'm every person you need to be Oh, I'm the cult of personality..."

+Yian Pap - It's unfortunate singers like Screaming Jay Hawkins and Gene Chandler (Duke of Earl) get associated with their biggest hit, and then they play up to that hit with the mindset and costumes. When I go to a concert, I am there for the music and not the theatrics. When you saw him (Hawkins), was he like this video the entire concert?

MrGregOtis I don't know any performer who wouldn't want to give the audience some kind of show along with the music. That's what a PERFORMER is. The shit some people say.

Screaming Jay Hawkins did not really want to give the audience this kind of show. It was the audience that demanded it. He was a classically trained pianist singer and would've preferred to earn his way featuring the breadth and timbre of his gift as an opera singer. But he had to make money and the US at the time was not ready to support his career in opera. So he took the offer of $300 to crawl out of a coffin and became a novelty live act. Yet as he told Arsenio in this clip, he's "crazy for doing it, but he can go to the bank".

None of those heavy metal dudes have half his vocal power. What a voice!

What?!

@@blueyedboymrdeath Sorry bud, bud he can't sing like Rob Halford or Darby Mills of The Headpins. Check out Pain Killer by Judas Priest and then tell me he can outsing Rob Halford..in key.

@@maureenwagg5305 LOL. No comparison. I checked it out. I wouldn't even call that "singing." Whereas Mr. Hawkings actually possessed an operatic tenor.

Little Richard was doing it before this guy.

The skull's name was Henry.

The crazy sonavabitch did it!!!!!

This young lady might just help turn a new page in music history, partly with her rendition of Hawkins’ masterful song: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pN12n9J0tb7ec6c.html

And then he passes it to his cane

Beats the hell out the rest of the losers in music today

Ch Ki I love that word... bejeezus

With Annie Lennox recording and releasing (and putting out a music video for) a cover of "I've Put A Spell On You", this TV performance by Screamin' Jay Hawkins will surely get some more views. It certainly got me to view it.

nicole frod yeah I didn't get that please explain

jazz ivette Michael Jackson's hair caught fire on set while filming a Pepsi commercial in the early eighties

I busted out laughin when he said that

Cigarette*

4 years late...hope Jay made it better for you though, champ.

Hope your days getting better

he didn't need a microphone.

Gotta happen!

Tonithenightowl also an opera singer

also a brain surgeon

Also a badass witch

Faron Furplow good. Nobody likes that polka shit

TheEternalNow Also an astrophysicist

+KOD Every artist has their pain, and subsequently, their own way of dealing with the pain. Some even say: the greater the artist, the greater the pain.

+Cheesie Christ I guess you might have a point there Cheesie. I have noticed that many artists have this sense of living life to the full, without concern for tomorrow, seizing the moment.

+Langelier Fabrice 58! Wow, well he certainly looked good on it!

KOD Robin Williams would be a prime example.

I heard 70 children lol

He took himself very seriously. He hated doing this. He was an opera singer who got blackballed because he'd always show up drunk. So, he wound up doing this. It was just for the money.

Thos Robert Oh, thank you, it is nice to know. Any observant listener can figure out that he had a great baritone, and perhaps a serious classical training. It shows. Yet, it is nice that he had a lot of humor and imagination, too. He was very advances for his time. Yes, he might have hated doing this, but being talented, he "put a spell" on us for many years to come. Honestly, when I listen to this song, I have chills...If he did it only for profit, listeners would not be that much charmed. If a genius creates something, regardless his motives, the results still will be great..:)

Thos Robert "Took himself very seriously"? How and where did you learn this? "Hated doing this"? How do you know this? Any quotes of his? An "opera singer"? Where did he train? Where did he perform? Where did you learn this? Blackballed? Any sources? "Always drunk"? Any sources? How do you know this? "Just for the money"? How do you know this? We are waiting...

Thorum13 I checked out Wikipedia, and biography(dot)com, and according to those sources, he was an adopted child, a musical prodigy, self taught piano player, and he learned sheet music when he was 6. He was a prodigy. He also was a boxer and at one point a champion of Alaska. He had a reach baritone and indeed studied opera, and wanted to become a famous opera singer. But he had to stop his opera training because he was enlisted into the Army. Upon return from the military service he still did boxing and music.. The rest is history. But you can hear his powerful baritone and some classical training.

I did also AWESOME

Jimmy did get around a lot before he blew.

All I can say ,ORIGINAL , many stole his style and got more notoriety but we know the original

gagacrazy10 same, only two years later!

He's been performing all over the globe since the late 50's

@@thebassman5820 Saw him in Melbourne AU 1984

Me right now

Me too, I’m 50 and rate myself as a connoisseur of off-track, left-field, off-key,I don’t know the term but weird stuff musicly. And here I am made much richer after hearing this in 2021 ffs. Thanks 6Music

MrJimbaloid Lux was the bomb! Wasted on stage and never missed a beat! Cramps were the greatest

Damn skippy.

screaming lord sutch guy who was a total rip off and didnt come close to jay hawkins vocal power

@Mel Phillips You're fun

"oh, you're white?" all you had to do was write "doffed" and we'd get it.