Bobby Pickett

Robert George Pickett (February 11, 1938 – April 25, 2007) was an American singer who found fame under the name Bobby "Boris" Pickett. He was known for co-writing and performing the 1962 hit novelty song, "Monster Mash". [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Bobby Pickett, 69; Scored 'Monster' Hit |url= |quote=Bobby (Boris) Pickett, whose Boris Karloff impression propelled the Halloween novelty song "Monster Mash" to the top of the charts in 1962, making him one of pop music's most enduring one-hit wonders, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 69. His longtime manager, Stuart Hersh, said the cause was leukemia. |publisher=New York Times |date=April 27, 2007 |accessdate=2007-07-21]

Biography

Early life

Pickett was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, a blue-collar city just north of Boston. His father was a theater manager, and as a 9-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.

Music career

Pickett co-wrote "Monster Mash" with Leonard Capizzi, featuring 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 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. 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.

A Christmas-themed follow-up, "Monster's Holiday," was also released in 1962 and reached #30 in December that year. Another of his songs, "Graduation Day", made #80 in June 1963. Pickett also recorded a novelty spoof on "Star Trek" called "Star Drek" with Peter Ferrara, again performing some of the various voices, which was played on Dr. Demento's radio show. In October 2005, Pickett protested inaction on global warming by releasing "Climate Mash," a new version of his hit single.

Film and writing

In 1967, Pickett and television author Sheldon Allman wrote the musical "I'm Sorry the Bridge Is Out, You'll Have to Spend the Night". It has been produced by local theatres around the USA. They followed it up later with another musical, "Frankenstein Unbound". In 1995 the co-writers of Disney's "Toy Story", Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolov, produced a movie of it, originally entitled "Frankenstein Sings", but later released in the US under "Monster Mash the Movie". Pickett starred in it with Candace Cameron, Jimmie Walker, Mink Stole, John Kassir, Sarah Douglas, Anthony Crivello, Adam Shankman and Carrie Ann Inaba. On ABC-TV, he appearedon guest segment of "The Long Hot Summer," with Roy Thinnes andNancy Malone, August 1967.

In 2005 Pickett published his autobiography through Trafford Publishing. It was called "Monster Mash: Half Dead in Hollywood".

Death

Pickett died at the age of 69 on April 25, 2007 in Los Angeles, California, due to complications from leukemia. His daughter Nancy Huus was at his side when he died. He left two grandchildren, Jordan Huus and Olivia Huus. [ [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,268765,00.html Fox News: 'Monster Mash' Singer Bobby 'Boris' Pickett Dies at 69] ] [ [http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/26/obit.pickett.ap/index.html CNN.com: 'Monster Mash' singer dead at 69] ] The Sunday, May 13 2007, episode of the "Dr. Demento" show featured a documentary retrospective of Pickett's work.

Further reading

*"Guinness Book of British Hit Singles (16th Edition)". ISBN 0-85112-190-X

ee also

References

External links

* [http://www.themonstermash.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/therealbobbyborispickett/ Official MySpace site]
* [http://www.newyorknighttrain.com/2007/05/01/bobby-boris-pickett-rip-mad-scientist-who-brought-the-monster-mash-to-life/ Biographical obituary discussing in-depth the life, career and importance of Pickett and his hit song] from NewYorkNightTrain.com
*imdb name|id=0681876|name=Bobby Pickett
* [http://www.classicbands.com/boris.html Classicbands.com entry on Bobby "Boris" Pickett]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTiqeDlP-Dk Bobby "Boris Pickett" performing Monster Mash - Halloween 2005]
* [http://www.climatemash.org A parody of Monster Mash] incorporating a global climate change theme
* [http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=10666] Interview with Bobby Pickett, June 18, 2003; author: Linda Alexander