Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – The Singles Collection (2cd set)

Long before Alice Cooper or Marilyn Manson made headlines with their shocking antics, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins blazed a trail through late-Fifties rock, earning a reputation for the unexpected and leaving the world a bona fide classic in ‘I Put A Spell On You’. This compilation covers his first recording decade, from 1953 to 1962, and includes both singles and bonus album versions. He first cut the self-penned song in 1954, but it was when producer Arnold Maxim matched him with some of the era’s greatest session musicians –guitarist Mickey Baker, drummer Panama Francis and sax-player Sam ‘The Man’ Taylor – two years later that the ingredients of a hit fell into place. There was one crucial addition to come when the producer brought a case of whiskey into the studio. His legend was confirmed when ‘I Put A Spell On You’, covered by everyone from Nina Simone to the Simpsons, was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. But as this compilation proves, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – outrageous, occasionally out of tune and definitely outta’ sight – was much more than a one-hit wonder.