Screamin' Jay Hawkins, best known for his possessed vocal performance on the 1956 single "I Put A Spell On You," died Saturday near Paris of complications from surgery. He was 70.
Hawkins' manic singing was part of a stage act that included coffins, snakes, smoking skulls, and gaudy outfits. The Cleveland native would frequently begin a performance by climbing out of a coffin, a stunt for which he was once paid $300 by legendary Cleveland DJ Allan Freed.
"I Put A Spell On You" has been recorded and performed by countless artists, including Pete Townshend, Nina Simone, and Creedence Clearwater Revival, who scored a No. 58 hit on the Billboard pop singles chart with it in 1968.
Hawkins' other familiar songs include "Yellow Coat," "Hong Kong," and "Alligator Wine," written for him by the songwriting team of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. Although he performed consistently in the U.S. and Europe throughout the years, Hawkins would go long periods of time without recording an album.
But in the '80s, he released albums for the Charly and Edsel labels and collaborated with rapper Slick Rick on the 1991 Rhino album "Black Music For White People." In 1998, Hawkins released the album "At Last," featuring a cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot The Sheriff," for the Last Call label; last year, he issued the concert disc "Live At The Olympia, Paris" for the same label.
Capitalizing on his distinctive persona, Hawkins also appeared in the films "Mystery Train," "Dance With The Devil," "Two Moon Junction," and "A Rage In Harlem."
Hawkins' manic singing was part of a stage act that included coffins, snakes, smoking skulls, and gaudy outfits. The Cleveland native would frequently begin a performance by climbing out of a coffin, a stunt for which he was once paid $300 by legendary Cleveland DJ Allan Freed.
"I Put A Spell On You" has been recorded and performed by countless artists, including Pete Townshend, Nina Simone, and Creedence Clearwater Revival, who scored a No. 58 hit on the Billboard pop singles chart with it in 1968.
Hawkins' other familiar songs include "Yellow Coat," "Hong Kong," and "Alligator Wine," written for him by the songwriting team of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. Although he performed consistently in the U.S. and Europe throughout the years, Hawkins would go long periods of time without recording an album.
But in the '80s, he released albums for the Charly and Edsel labels and collaborated with rapper Slick Rick on the 1991 Rhino album "Black Music For White People." In 1998, Hawkins released the album "At Last," featuring a cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot The Sheriff," for the Last Call label; last year, he issued the concert disc "Live At The Olympia, Paris" for the same label.
Capitalizing on his distinctive persona, Hawkins also appeared in the films "Mystery Train," "Dance With The Devil," "Two Moon Junction," and "A Rage In Harlem."
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