Bobby "Boris" Pickett
| Bobby Pickett | |
|---|---|
Bobby Pickett in 2005
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robert George Pickett |
| Also known as | Bobby "Boris" Pickett |
| Born |
February 11, 1938 Somerville, Massachusetts, United States |
| Died | April 25, 2007 (aged 69) Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | Novelty, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, writer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1962–2007 |
| Labels | Garpax Records |
Robert George Pickett (February 11, 1938 – April 25, 2007), known by the pen name Bobby "Boris" Pickett, was an American singer who was known for co-writing and performing the 1962 hit novelty song "Monster Mash".
Pickett was born in Somerville, Massachusetts. His father was a theater manager, and as a nine-year-old he watched many horror films. He would later incorporate impressions of them in his Hollywood nightclub act in 1959. Pickett was a United States Army veteran, who served in Korea.
Pickett co-wrote "Monster Mash" with Leonard Capizzi in May 1962. The song was a spoof on the dance crazes popular at the time, including the Twist and the Mashed Potato, which inspired the title. The song featured Pickett's impersonations of veteran horror stars Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi (the latter with the line "Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?"). It was passed on by every major record label, but after hearing the song, Gary S. Paxton agreed to produce and engineer it; among the musicians who played on it was pianist Leon Russell. Issued on Paxton's Garpax Records, the single became a million seller, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks before Halloween in 1962. It was styled as being by "Bobby 'Boris' Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers". The track re-entered the U.S. charts twice, in August 1970, and again in May 1973, when it reached the #10 spot. In Britain it took until October 1973 for the tune to become popular, peaking at #3 in the UK Singles Chart. For the second time, the record sold over one million copies. The tune remains a Halloween perennial on radio and on iTunes. A Christmas-themed follow-up, "Monster's Holiday", (b/w "Monster Motion") was also released in 1962 and reached #30 in December that year. "Blood Bank Blues" (b/w "Me And My Mummy") did not chart. This was followed by further monster-themed recordings such as the album The Original Monster Mash and such singles as "Werewolf Watusi" and "The Monster Swim". In 1973, Pickett rerecorded "Me And My Mummy" for a Metromedia 45 (it did not chart). Another of Pickett's songs, "Graduation Day", made #80 in June 1963. In 1985, with American culture experiencing a growing awareness of rap music, Pickett released "Monster Rap", which describes the mad scientist's frustration at being unable to teach the dancing monster from "Monster Mash" how to talk. The problem is solved when he teaches the monster to rap.
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