Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Jalacy "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins (July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer, and boxer. Famed chiefly for his powerful, operatic vocal delivery and wildly theatrical performances of songs such as "I Put a Spell on You", he sometimes used macabre props onstage, making him an early pioneer of shock rock. He received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the 1989 indie film Mystery Train.
Hawkins' most successful recording, "I Put a Spell on You" (1956), was selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
(Read more at Wikipedia.)
== Links to Peel ==
"I remember hearing that on the radio when I was a kid myself. Frankly, life was never the same after that."(Peel recalls the impact of 'I Put A Spell On You' by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, 03 December 1979)
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John Peel continued to play vintage Screamin' Jay Hawkins tracks down the decades of his radio shows, occasionally recounting on air how he had first heard the performer's best-known song, 'I Put A Spell On You', on Radio Luxembourg back in the 1950s.
As reflected in Peel show tracklistings, Hawkins enjoyed something of a career revival in the 1980s, featuring in the films of cult film director Jim Jarmusch, with 'I Put A Spell On You' playing a central role in "Stranger Than Paradise" and Hawkins acting alongside former Clash frontman Joe Strummer in "Mystery Train". Nick Cave also recorded a cover version of 'I Put A Spell On You', following in the footsteps of fellow Peel session artists the Animals and Arthur Brown.
After Peel's death, a copy of the 1966 Alan Price Set single "I Put A Spell On You / Iechyd-Da" was found among the DJ's most treasured singles in John Peel's Record Box (2005). Former Peel show producer John Walters was a member of band and wrote the b-side, while the Screamin' Jay Hawkins cover a-side was likely played by Peel on release in May/June 1966, when it featured in his KMEN British Pop Top Ten chart in California.
== Festive Fifty Entries ==
*None
== Sessions ==
*None
== Other Shows Played ==
;1960s
*23 April 1969: Hong Kong (album - Screamin' Jay Hawkins) Direction
;1970s
*25 April 1972: I Love Paris (LP - ) unknown release
*27 November 1979: I Love Paris (LP - At Home With) Epic
*03 December 1979: I Put A Spell On You (LP - At Home With) Epic (JP: "I remember hearing that on the radio when I was a kid myself. Frankly, life was never the same after that.")
*05 December 1979 (Virgin In-Store): I Put A Spell On You (Single) Epic
;1980s
*03 March 1980: I Hear Voices (LP - Screamin' The Blues) Red Lightning
*04 March 1980: Monkberry Moon Delight (LP - Screamin' The Blues) Red Lightning
*13 March 1980: She Put The Wammee On Me (LP - Screaming The Blues) Red Lightning
*12 October 1982: Little Demon (LP - Frenzy) Edsel
*03 February 1985 (BFBS): I Put A Spell On You 
*26 November 1986: I Put A Spell On You
*15 May 1987 (Radio Bremen): I Put A Spell On You (shared album with John Lurie - Stranger Than Paradise (From The Original Soundtrack Of The Film)) Crammed Discs (Peel mentions hearing Screamin' Jay Hawkins I Put A Spell On You for the first time on Radio Luxembourg when he was a young lad.)
*24 November 1987 (& The Chicken Hawks With Teddy McRae Orchestra): I Hear Voices (7" - I Hear Voices / Just Don't Care) Enrica (Peel mentions getting a copy of a Screamin' Jay Hawkins single recently in a record shop in Duisburg, Germany.)
*29 March 1988: What That Is (album - Feast Of The Mau Mau) Edsel (Peel reveals there will be another track from Screamin' Jay Hawkins on tomorrow night's show.)
*30 March 1988: Feast Of The Mau Mau (2xLP - Feast Of The Mau Mau) Edsel
;1990s
*13 October 1990: I Put A Spell On You (LP - At Home With Screamin' Jay Hawkins) Epic
;2000s
*15 February 2001: Little Demon (7" - I Put A Spell On You) Okeh
== Covered ==
(The list below was compiled only from the Cover Versions page of this site. Please add more information if known.)
Artist | Track | First Known Play
*Arthur Brown: I Put A Spell On You 12 June 1968
*Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: I Put A Spell On You (session) 09 April 1984
== See Also ==
*Twitch: (“Because I was signed to Matador - the same label as Solex, they wangled it so that I played records before and after the band. After everyone left and as I was packing up, Mr. Peel wandered over to thank me for playing Captain Beefheart and Screaming Jay Hawkins!”)
*Film Soundtracks
== External Links ==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
* Other
Category:Artists
Category:Covered