Halloween Playlist Idea’s
Top Halloween tracks
Halloween is fast approaching and whether you like it or not you will definitely have one of these tunes stuck in your head. This list will highlight what songs Tea Break believe you should definitely have on your Halloween playlists. So, without further or do Tea break will be counting down from 10 only to reveal at 1 the best Halloween song to date.
10. “GhostBusters Theme Tune” – Ray Parker Jnr. (1984)
Written and recorded by Ray Parker Jnr in 1984 for the highly anticipated film GhostBusters the song grew to be a massive hit. Debuting at #68 on June 16, 1984 the song went on to reach the top spot in the billboard charts and was even nominated for an academy award however, it sadly didn’t win.
Fun fact: According to CBC-Music Parker Jnr only had approximately two-and-a-half days to write this song.
9. “Time Warp” – Richard O’Brien/Patricia Quinn/Nell Campbell/Charles Gray (1975)
Written for the 1973 rock musical The Rocky Horror Show the song quickly became everyone’s jam. It’s feature in the 1975 film adaptation The Rocky Horror Picture Show made the song what it is. A house favourite that’s played at every party. The dance routine itself is enough to make everyone get up and dance.
Fun Fact: Shockingly Rocky Horror wasn’t released on VHS until 1990.
8. “Monster Mash” – Bobby “Boris” Pickett (1962)
The song was written to be apart of an album for the record company at the time called, ‘The Original Monster Mash’. All the songs on the album were meant to be monster themed and as Pickett’s best known song it became a Halloween classic as it hit the billboard charts and gained the top spot in the week of Halloween the year it was released.
Fun Fact: One night impersonated “Frankenstein” star Boris Karloff during his group’s performance of the Diamonds’ song “Little Darlin'” and the audience reaction inspired him to try and write an original song about movie monsters using the Karloff voice.
7. “Somebody’s Watching Me” – Rockwell (1984)
The title itself is quite creepy but this song was not originally wrote for the purpose of halloween however, is now commonly associated with this holiday. The song speaker at number 2 on the Billboard charts as well as reaching number 6 in the UK. However, this song made it onto our list because the music video that goes with it is heavily linked with halloween features. With graveyards, zombies and parody scenes from Psycho this song definitely needs to have a place on your Halloween playlists.
Fun Fact: This song has backing vocals from the one and only Michael Jackson.
6. “Calling All the Monsters” – China Anne McClain (2011)
A fairly recent song as made a heavy impact on this generation. It’s Halloween vibes were made for one of the Disney channel stars at the time to preform. On the A.N.T Farm soundtrack this Halloween themed tune made it onto the list for it’s catchy nature and dancing monsters in the music video. “Calling All the Monsters” debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 100, moving 25,000 digital downloads during the week ending October 2, 2011.
Fun Fact: Inspired by the music video for Michael Jackson’s 1984 single “Thriller“.
Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calling_All_the_Monsters
5. “The Addams Family Theme Tune” – Vic Mizzy (1964)
Written for the black and white TV series on ABC in 1964 The Addams Family the theme tune soon become a classic. The shows a supernatural dark comedy surrounding a family of the shows name who live in a constant state of horror. They love torture, pain and everything dark.
“They’re creepy and they’re kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
They’re altogether ooky,
The Addams Family.”
Source: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/theaddamsfamilylyrics.html
Fun fact: The theme appears in The Addams Family stage musical and is included on the original cast recording.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Addams_Family_Theme
4. “I put a spell on you” – Bette Midler (1993) Written by Jay Hawkins
One of the best Halloween films to date features 3 witches in present day. While the witches adjust to this world they crash a high school party and the eldest witch (Bette Midler) grabs the mic and starts to sing ‘I put a spell on you’. Halloween embraces all things magic and witch therefore, the song perfectly compliments the film. It’s creepy nature and theatrical tone is the reason you need it on your halloween playlists.
Fun Fact: The producers wanted a “weird” sounding record, so they gave the musicians lots of food and liquor and created a party atmosphere at the session.
Source:http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=445
3. “Spooky Scary Skeletons (Remix)” – Andrew Gold (1996)
Originally written for a Disney’s 1929 cartoon “The Skeleton Dance” edited with “Spooky Scary Skeletons”. There isn’t much t say for this song but I’ve been informed it’s quite the hit. However, i’d recommend putting the remix version on your halloween playlists as it’s more in the 21st century than the 1929 version.
Fun Fact: This song more recently got famous because it was featured in a very popular meme.
2. “Thriller” – Michael Jackson (1982)
Thriller is one of the most listened to songs of the Halloween era’s and definitely has to be on all of your Halloween playlists. The dance routine alone is the reason you need to play this song at your halloween pre-drinks or party’s. Representatives for Sony and Jackson’s estate say that Thriller has sold 105 million copies globally. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(Michael_Jackson_album).
It’s a halloween classic because of it’s 14-minute video showing Jackson in a horror-themed performance that is accompanied by dancing zombies and werewolves. As a definite halloween classic this song has to be on your halloween playlists.
Fun Fact: The video cost half-a-million dollars; at the time, it was the most expensive video ever made.
Source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/12-thrilling-facts-about-michael-jacksons-thriller-20131029
1.“This is Halloween” – Danny Elfman (1993)
‘The Nightmare before christmas’ is a film or better yet tradition of every halloween. Disney’s stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy follows Jack Skellington as he discovers christmas land. However, it’s the opening number ‘This is Halloween’ that steals the show. The haunting feel and creepy lyrics make good evidence as to why this halloween song has reached number 1 on our halloween playlists.
Fun Fact: In several countries The Nightmare Before Christmas was released only with subtitles, since the movie was originally thought to be “too dark and scary for kids”.
Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Halloween
So, there you have it! Do you agree with Tea Break’s list? Please feel free to comment below any of your suggestions.
I hope you have a wonderfully spooky Halloween and stay safe.
Until Next time…
Charlotte Green
Tea Break
De Montfort’s Blogging society