Monster Mash 1973

[chrislc]

Three questions...

1. Why was it released? Maybe because Frankenstein had hit #1?

2. Why did the label think it would be a hit?

3. Why WAS it a hit? The kids who went out and bought it were already hearing it every Halloween. It wasn't a new song to them.

[vto66]

Dec 28, 2011 14:03:10 GMT -5 chrislc said:

Three questions...

1. Why was it released? Maybe because Frankenstein had hit #1?

2. Why did the label think it would be a hit?

3. Why WAS it a hit? The kids who went out and bought it were already hearing it every Halloween. It wasn't a new song to them.

I wondered about that myself. I don't know if it was used in any then-current movie/TV show/commercial, and that's what sparked its resurgence. Maybe it did have something to do with "Frankenstein" hitting No. 1.

[donwa001]

There is a full page ad on pg 11 in the May 12th issue of Billboard with this statement "We've just re-serviced a monster. A brand new 10-year old monster. 'Monster Mash' by Bobby (Boris) Pickett. Already top phone requests wherever programmed."

Then these industry reports are mentioned:

Bob Hamilton Radio Report, 4/30/73
The Friday Morning Quarterback, 4/27/73
The Gavin Report #945, 4/27/73

At the bottom of the ad, it says "Monster Mash" is happening. Again!

Finally, on page 58 under Top Single Picks, it says this "Two Milwaukee stations, WZUU-AM and WOKY-AM are credited with breaking it and making it a regional release. London has now moved mationally and our research department is picking up good sales in markets around the country."

[chrislc]

Dec 28, 2011 22:23:06 GMT -5 donwa001 said:

There is a full page ad on pg 11 in the May 12th issue of Billboard with this statement "We've just re-serviced a monster. A brand new 10-year old monster. 'Monster Mash' by Bobby (Boris) Pickett. Already top phone requests wherever programmed."

Then these industry reports are mentioned:

Bob Hamilton Radio Report, 4/30/73
The Friday Morning Quarterback, 4/27/73
The Gavin Report #945, 4/27/73

At the bottom of the ad, it says "Monster Mash" is happening. Again!

Finally, on page 58 under Top Single Picks, it says this "Two Milwaukee stations, WZUU-AM and WOKY-AM are credited with breaking it and making it a regional release. London has now moved mationally and our research department is picking up good sales in markets around the country."

Thanks for finding that. And that would be a really fast turnaround if Frankenstein inspired the Milwaukee stations, since Frankenstein didn't make the Top 40 until mid-April.

But maybe it was a really fast turnaround.

What other reason could possibly explain playing Monster Mash in April?

[tarobe]

"1. Why was it released? Maybe because Frankenstein had hit #1?"

Possibly because of "Frankenstein," but who knows? Monsters were still cool. TV stations played the hell out of monster movies, especially on weekend late nights. The Groovy Ghoulies were only recent history (maybe why the record was a minor hit in 1970?). Dr. Demento might have played it on his show, and might have had something to do with re-popularizing it.

"2. Why did the label think it would be a hit?"

Probably because it was breaking in some markets like Billboard reported.

"3. Why WAS it a hit?

Why is any record a hit?

"The kids who went out and bought it were already hearing it every Halloween. It wasn't a new song to them."

Yes it was. It was new to a lot of people. I remember hearing it a whole lot during the summer of 1973. I had never heard it before. (I was born in 1963 after its first run). Even though it was a big Halloween hit in 1962 (#1), it had faded away into obscurity by 1973. Radio did NOT play it all. Even though the nostagia/oldies thing was beginning to come alive (thanks to American Grafitti), it was not one of the oldies commonly heard on radio. It was a fresh diversion from what was current back then, but wasn't too dated. If reissued just a year or two later, after disco and more technically advanced stuff, it would have sounded more out of date. Anyways, it was a hit for none of the reasons it was a hit in 1962. In 1962 Boris Karloff was a TV celebrity - in 1973 he was dead. In 1962 the Mashed Potato was a hot new dance - in 1972 it was forgotten. In 1962 it was Halloween - in 1973 it was summer . But to many people (including myself) it was something new. Much had changed on Top 40 radio between 1962 and 1973 - The British Invasion, Motown, folk-rock, soul, acid-rock, bubblegum, Woodstock, singer/songwriter ballads, etc. And during all this, novelties like "The Monster Mash" had been long forgotten. So it really was a true comeback record.

[at40petebattistini]

In the summer of 1970, three years before its re-appearance in the Top 40, it was released and spent a few weeks on the Hot 100. Why? What station(s) was playing it then that caused it to reach the national chart? Just a little more room for speculation.