Screamin' Jay

He made the sky turn green, he made the grass turn red
He even put pretty hair on Grandma's bald head
He made the moon back up, he even pushed back time
He took the Frutti out of Tutti, he had the devil drinkin' wine

The first time I heard Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ song, Little Demon, I knew I was listening to something different. To my ears, this music shared similar nonconformist undercurrents with Weird Al and with punk rock bands—clearly not willing to go along with everything society suggests in order to get ahead in life, but also completely unique in his approach.

Whimsical. Macabre. Weird.

Shock rock is what this genre came to be called, but there are other ways to name what sort of music Screamin’ Jay created. One is proto-punk, since this sort of bold anti-establishment messaging and presentation shouted against conformity. Another is horror rock, which I find somewhat more appropriate, given how cool the horror genre is.

At any rate, Screamin’ Jay was a true pioneer in rock and ro…