Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Screamin' Jay Hawkins in concert

Screamin' Jay Hawkins was best known for his song "I Put a Spell On You, " which he recorded on the Okeh label in 1956 and which helped win him cult status in the United States, Europe and Japan. He had originally planned the tune as a ballad, but after a night of heavy drinking he tried again--screaming yelling and groaning--and never looked back. The snorting, some say "cannibalistic" delivery got "I Put A Spell On You" banned from radio stations across the country. Hawkins went on to use the same demented style again and again. An outrageous performer, he used bizarre stage props, often emerging out of coffins during shows. He would wield rubber snakes and fake tarantulas and wear a boar's tooth around his neck or a bone clipped to his nose. Jay Hawkins got his first break in 1951 as a pianist-valet to veteran jazz guitarist Tiny Grimes. His recording debut was 1952's "Why Did You Waste My Time, " backed by Grimes and his Rockin' Highlanders. In the 1960s, Ha!

July 18, 1929 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Died: February 12, 2000 (age 70) in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France

One of rock and roll's original madmen, Hawkins was as famous for his music as he was for his stage antics. He spent the first year and a half of his life in an orphanage before being adopted. His mother reportedly gave him up because she already had too many children to care for. Hawkins’ interest in music emerged at an early age. He taught himself to play piano and could read music by the age of 6.

In the early 1950s, Hawkins worked such artists as Tiny Grimes and Fats Domino before striking out on his own.

Stranger Than Paradise

The original song "I Put a Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins features prominently in the soundtrack.

Heartattack and Vine

Songs

In 1990 Hawkins appeared as an eerie and eccentric hotel manager in Mystery Train.
"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.

"I came into this world black, naked and ugly"

Why do woman wear red lipstick?.... danger wrong hole. Only Screamin jay is cool enough to get away with a line like that and not get slapped.