Black music on Sunday is a weekly series covering all things black music with more than 280 stories spanning artists, genres, history and more, each with its own vibrant soundtrack. I hope you find some familiar tunes and maybe discover something new.
As we head into Halloween next Saturday, it's time to get our spooky music playlists in order, with a variety of tunes ranging from jazz, blues, R&B and reggae that talk about spooky and scary things!
It has become a tradition for me to post about Halloween on Black Music Sunday. If you missed them, check out the stories and music from 2021, 2022, 2023And 2024.
Readers of these stories have provided a lot of music that I haven't mentioned in the comments (thanks!), and I'm going to feature some of it in today's post.
In the jazz genre, one of my favorite compositions was performed by Nina Simone and was recorded for the first time Screaming Jay Hawkins.
“I put A Spell On You”:
Jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks and Ross Playing “Halloween Spooks” is something I play every year:
In the genre of jazz instrumentalists Joshua Redman recorded the exciting track “Ghost”:
This ghostly instrumental appeared on Joshua Redman's 2009 trio album. Compass. His saxophone playing is absolutely creepy; Meanwhile, Larry Grenadier's bass line sounds like it's crawling through darkness, and Brian Blade's sparse percussion sounds like creaking floorboards and suddenly slamming doors.
On the creepier side, a classic is the late, great Louis Armstrong's scene from the 1936 film Pennies from Heaven. Ricky Ricciardi, at Dippermouth.blogspot. writes:
Armstrong gets one musical number in the film, which is great. “Skeleton in the Closet” was written by Arthur Johnston and Johnny Burke, and the same two wrote the rest. Pennies from heaven check. Filmed in California, Armstrong was seen hosting a lineup of some of the best West Coast jazzmen, including trumpeter (and Armstrong student) Teddy Buckner, saxophonist Kogie Roberts, future Nat Cole bassist Wesley Prince and, as already touted, a grand reunion between Armstrong and Lionel Hampton.
Moving on to the blues Bessie Smith took us into a haunted house with her song “Haunted House Blues”:
In the spirit of reggae Ziggy Marley divides a good opinion about cats in his song “Black Cat”.“:
A black cat comes to visit me, I don't care what people say.
I saw your brown eyes sparkling in the moonlight
Black cat, one day everything will change, I will erase your bad name.
my friend tells me you're bad and I say hey I'm not afraid
Black cat, you are beautiful, why is everyone running away?
did anyone tell you that I care
did anyone tell you I love you
In the world of R&B, two songs stand out to me:“Thriller” by Michael Jackson“, of course, and “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder. But I'd rather do Stevie's “Skeletons” and then Jackson's mini-movie “Ghosts.”
Philadelphia soul singers Blue Magic provided by Born on Halloween:
Queen Bey Beyoncé Knowles-Carter“Ghost” and “Haunted”, released in 2013, are not usually associated with Halloween, but “Haunted” seems to fit into this study:
Since Halloween brings out ghosts and goblins, we can all join in. Ray Parker Jr. and proclaim “I'm not afraid of ghosts” from 1984's Ghostbusters.
In the spirit of hip-hop I'll finish DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince performed their 1984 hit “Nightmare on My Street”:
Please join me in the comments section below, where I hope you'll post your favorite creepy tunes.
