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Jason Croft: It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. I'm Jason Croft and it's time for our annual Halloween special. Welcome to the Atomic Age Cocktail Party featuring music from the golden age of the hi fi and beyond. The old standard witchcraft, originally written in 1957 by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Lee. Here given a cool swing and treatment by an outfit called Joe Graves and the Diggers. This is from a 1963 album called The Great New Swingers featuring Joe Graves, which seems to be his real name there on the trumpet, and the great session man Plas Johnson on sax. A spooky little something to get you in the mood for this year's annual Halloween program. A chance for us to visit the dark and cobweb-covered corners of the hi fi library to pull out all those happening and haunting tunes for you cool ghouls. Of course, songs about magic were par for the course during the atomic age, like what we started with. And of course, there's a full catalog of songs about the various monsters and other things that go bump in the night. And we've got all of that for you this time here on the program, including Judy Garland warning you about a particularly colorful menace, Neil Hefty with some sinister how-to tips, plus the interview stylings of Spike Jones and company. Right now, another Hocus Pocus lounge standard. This is from the pen of [Haroldland] and Johnny Mercer. It's that old black magic performed here by Mr. Tony Bennett. And it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.

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[MUSIC: That Old Black Magic - Tony Bennett]

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[MUSIC: Swinging at the Seance - The Moon Rays]

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Jason Croft: It's music for your haunted hi fi. It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. I'm Jason Croft. It's our annual Halloween special featuring tunes for the spooky season from artists past and present. That was Skip Manning and Devil Blues weaving a musical magical spell with that one. That's from 1960, a 1945 single of his. Now, Skip Manning was actually an alias for singer Phil Flowers, who released several R&B records from the early 1960s through the early 1970s. Before that, a band out of the Chicagoland area, the Moon Rays, who have been around since the early 2000s. What we heard was Swinging at the Seance, the title track from their 2008 release, a song that was originally from Glenn Miller and his orchestra. And we started with Tony Bennett and that Old Black Magic. Now, the backing band on this track consists of Dave Brubeck, Eugene Wright, and Joe Morello. This is from a really interesting recording. It's a live recording recorded at the Washington Monument in 1962. It was a special concert for White House summer interns and guests. It was also one of those recordings that was seemingly lost in the Sony Music Crypts for a while until it was discovered in 2012 and released on CD a year later. It's our Halloween special this time around featuring lots of musical treats just for you. And right now, here's Bob McFadden and [Door] with a frightening parody number with a cha cha beat. It's the well-known song, The Sheikh of Arabi, here retitled as the Shriek of Agony. And it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.

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[MUSIC: The Shriek of Agony - Bob McFadden and Dor]

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Jason Croft: It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party, serving up stereophonic fright for you this week for our annual Halloween special. And they're a real special something for you. That is Judy Garland. Yes, Judy Garland, and a live version of Purple People Eater. Yeah, she starts off by listing all sorts of creature feature favorites. This is from her 1959 live album, Garland at the Grove, referring to the famed Coconut Grove nightclub in Los Angeles. Really? Who knew Judy Garland was a monster kid? Before that, some movie music from Neil Hefty. It's the title track to the 1965 comedy How to Murder Your Wife, starring Jack Lemmon. And really, the movie is not as gruesome as the song makes it out to be. It's actually an oddly charming film in its own way. We also heard from Frankie Stein and his ghouls and Knives and Lovers. Of course, a play on the title of the popular tune, Wives and Lovers, but that's where the similarity ends. This is one of those rocking tunes that just screams. This comes from a 1964 release called Introducing Frankie Stein and His Ghouls. And we start that set with some cha cha fun with Bob McFadden and [Dor] and the shriek of agony, cha cha cha, based on the tune, The Sheikh of Araby. Now McFadden was a well-known cartoon voice actor of his time, also a member of the Johnny Mann Singers, and [Dor], well, he was poet and songwriter Rob McEwan. This comes from the record Songs Our Mummy Taught Us, which was released in 1959. We're all about Halloween music this time around, cool and strange and everything in between. Time now for something a little more modern. Here's a band that came out of Texas during the lounge and swing revival of the 1990s. They're called The Naughty Ones, and the song is Voodoo Kiss. And it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.

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[MUSIC: Voodoo Kiss - The Naughty Ones]

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Jason Croft: Doing that voodoo that you do so well. It's the Atomic Age Cocktail Party. I'm Jason Croft, and it's our annual Halloween program featuring hauntingly good tunes from the hi fi era and beyond. And they're a set of songs based around the popular trope of voodoo magic. It was basically a way to add a little spookiness to your exotica music. We just heard a modern-day group called Voodoo Sweet and their cover of the Robert Dresden classic Voodoo. The group [Voodoo Suites] was based out of New York and led by singer Bliss Blood, and were active in the early 2000s covering lots of classic exotica numbers. They never released a proper album, but you can still find their tracks online if you search them out. We also heard piano player Dick Hyman and his orchestra, and a wonderfully epic number titled Voodoo Moon. Lots of Latin rhythms in that one. [H] Hyman, one of the top tier musicians who were part of the Command Records stable of Stars. This was from Provocative Piano Volume 2, released in 1960, of course, on the Command Record label. Richard Hayman and his orchestra were in there as well with Midnight Ritual, a very moody and evocative track. This is from his concept album called Voodoo, which came out in 1959. And we kicked off that set with a retro lounge slash swing band out of Texas. They were called The Naughty Ones, and the song we heard was Voodoo Kiss, which is actually a cover of an older number. It was originally released by Don Sargent and the Buddies in 1959. What we heard from the Naughty Ones is from their 1994 CD I Dig Your Voodoo.

Well, you're listening to the Atomic Age Cocktail Party featuring music from the golden age of the hi fi and beyond. If you like what you're listening to, don't forget to stop by our website at atomicagecocktailparty.com for playlists, show archives, and a lot more. If you have any show ideas or comments, you can get a hold of us there as well. Atomicagecocktailparty.com. One more set of music left in this year's Halloween program, and here's another great monster movie theme song, a song written by Burt Bacharach and Mac David. It's The Blob, presented here by the band The Metro Lights. And it's right here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party.

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[MUSIC: The Blob - The Metro Lights]

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Speaker 7: Good evening. I'm Ed [Burrow], and the name of this show is Poison to Poison. Tonight we're visiting the home of a very famous motion picture and television director. Are you there Alfred? Good evening, Ed and welcome to my humble little sanctuary. Alfred. You have a very fascinating home. Thank you, Ed, and exquisitely furnished, may I add. For instance, that armchair you're sitting in is very striking and very expensive too. Why is it so expensive? It's made out of real arms. What is that music I hear? Hi fi from your phonograph? No, Ed, that's FM from mortuary. Alfred, what's in all those drawers along the wall? Well, this one here marked F is full of feet. From here it looks like it's full of hands. Excuse me, Ed, I'm so untidy. Where does that door lead to, Alfred? To my chambers, your private chambers. No, my guest chambers. Oh, I'm sorry, Selma. What happened, Alfred? I stepped on my cat's tail. That's strange, I didn't see any cat. There isn't any, just a tail. Oh, I see. And this is my library and very charming, Alfred. What's in that bottle on the top shelf? Old granddad on my father's side. Beg pardon, sir. Graves, please don't interrupt me. I'm on television. Live, sir. Perish the thought. And, before we go out into the yard, do you mind if I light up a cigarette? Not at all. I'll do the same. Incidentally, what kind of cigarette are you smoking, Alfred? My favorite brand, [Oguls]. Very funny Alfred. Alfred Why did you shoot that canary? Because he was just plain yellow. Shall we go outside, Alfred? Yes, Ed. Now this is my formal garden, Ed. I noticed your car parked in the garage. It doesn't look as if it's been used much. Only one [said]. If you look close, you can still see the lipstick marks on the exhaust pipe. Well, Alfred, our time is running short, but there is one last thing I would like to ask you. Yes. Are you going to do any other television besides your own series? Oh, I may do a ghost [shot] on the Scary Mason show, but really I'm very busy preparing my new cinema. Oh, what's the name of it? It's a musical called Death Takes a Holiday cha cha cha with an all-star cast, [Gulbbrinner], Perry [Coma], Red Skeleton. Slab hunter. And mortician Saul, thank you, Alfred, for letting us visit with you this evening on Poison to Poison. The pleasure was all mine, Ned. Good night and good luck.

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Jason Croft: Wrapping up our Halloween special here on the Atomic Age Cocktail Party with some more monster-themed musical mayhem for you. We just heard the [Beast] of Sunset Strip. That's from Teddy [Durant], and that is one very cool hot rod creature. That's from 1965. Before that, a fun and creepy bit of parody from Spike Jones. That was called Poison to Poison, based on the old TV news interview program, Person to Person. And also giving you a send-up of the famed suspense movie director Alfred Hitchcock. That track features the vocal stylings of Paul [Freeze], who did a lot of work for Jay Ward Productions, also Rankin Bass and a lot of other folks as well. This is from a 1959 release, the title of which varies on which version you bought. If you got the mono, it was called Spike Jones and Hi Fi. And if you bought the stereo version, well, it was called Spike Jones in Stereo. And we began that set with a modern version of a classic monster movie theme. That was the band The Metro Lights with The Blob. The original version of that song was the theme to the 1958 movie The Blob, starring Steve McQueen in his first leading role. The Metro [Ls] themselves were a band out of Illinois Quad Cities who put out a couple of albums in the early 2000s. What we heard was from their 2004 debut in [Syfy].

Well, that just about does it for our show this week. Make sure you're here again for more fun from the golden age of the hi fi and beyond. Gonna leave you with one more and another modern-day lounge band. Now, this band based what they do around the instrument known as the theremin, which is most associated with those ghostly and otherworld sounds. The band is Project Pimento out of California, and this is from their [203] album, Magical Moods of the Theremin. We leave you with a song that was first recorded by Fleetwood Mac and later made famous by Santana. It's Black Magic Woman. Until next time, this is Jason Croft saying keep swinging and happy Halloween.

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[MUSIC: Black Magic Woman - Project Pimento]

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[MUSIC: Black Magic Woman - Project Pimento]

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Jason Croft: The Atomic Age Cocktail Party is a production of Illinois Public Media.