Before Alice Cooper, before KISS, before Rob Zombie there was Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. The original shock rocker, Screamin’ Jay’s performances combined outrageous theatrics and costumes with sophisticated songwriting that combined exotic borrowings with elemental rhythm and blues — take the Eastern European waltz tempo of Jay’s classic “I Put a Spell on You” as the best example. Add to this mix one of the biggest voices — and best screams — in the history of rock and you’re left with one of music’s true originals.
The documentary I Put a Spell on Me recounts Hawkins inimitable career while also archiving his last performances before his death in 2000. Here’s the skinny from the YouTube page:
The legendary Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was a great influence on many musicians and his performances were so highly provocative in their originality that even today they can be considered “revolutionary”.
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins met Nicholas Triandafyllidis and commissioned him to make a documentary about his notorious life in and out of the music industry. Screaming Jay came to Greece and he gave his very last concerts in Thessaloniki and Athens, before his sudden death in Paris in 2000.
Having been left a legacy of confidential sessions and footage of his final live performances, Triandafyllidis completed the film with a little help from Jay’s friends: Jim Jarmusch (director of Ghost Dog), Bo Diddley, Eric Burdon (The Animals), Rudi Protrudi, Diamanda Galas, Arthur Brown (The Crazy Word of Arthur Brown), Andre Williams and others.
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