As we head toward the Halloween season, families will be looking for spooky and silly songs to play around the house to get everyone into the spirit of All Hallow’s Eve, with one of the more notable albums of the last few decades being Andrew Gold’s Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music. The album has a number of playful and catchy songs to get the whole family in the mood for Halloween, with the most beloved of all tracks being “Spooky, Scary Skeletons.” Just in time for the season, Craft Recordings is releasing Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music on both CD and in a new vinyl pressing. An all-new remix of his song “Witches, Witches, Witches” by The Living Tombstone has also been released. You can pre-order Andrew Gold’s Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music in a variety of formats now.
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Per press release, “Available to stream/download today is a new remix (with accompanying music video) from The Living Tombstone, reworking Gold’s Halloween classic ‘Witches, Witches, Witches.’ The danceable Living Tombstone remix of the song brings a new dimension to this classic tune, infusing it with their signature dark and eerie electronic soundscape. For even more frightful fun, Craft has pressed Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music on limited-edition ‘Bone’-colored vinyl. Fans can also pick up a new Deluxe CD edition featuring ghoulish new cover art by acclaimed illustrator Jess Rotter whose ’70s-inspired psychedelic designs have appeared on releases by the Grateful Dead, Questlove, Yusuf/Cat Stevens, Harry Nilsson, and more. Both editions include ‘Spooky, Scary Skeletons’ — a cult favorite that was recently certified Gold by the RIAA, thanks in part to its popularity as a meme for nearly a decade on YouTube and, most recently, on TikTok. As a special bonus, the catchy viral remix of ‘Spooky, Scary Skeletons’ is also included on all formats.
“Originally released in 1996, Halloween Howls was recorded by Gold to fill a void in seasonal music. In the original liner notes of the children’s album, he wrote, ‘Each holiday has a mood and usually has music to go with it…However, it’s been very hard to find any tapes or CDs of Halloween music. In fact, there’s mostly just scary sound effects available and very few songs. So, I fixed that.’ Recruiting several of his musician friends and collaborators to join in the fun (including Linda Ronstadt, David Cassidy, and Nicolette Larson), Gold recorded a collection of both classic Halloween tunes (‘The Monster Mash,’ ‘The Addams Family,’ and ‘Ghostbusters’) as well as whimsically creepy original tunes, including ‘It Must Be Halloween,’ ‘In Our Haunted House,’ and, of course, ‘Spooky, Scary Skeletons.’
“‘Spooky, Scary Skeletons’ originally became a phenomenon in 2010, when a YouTuber paired Gold’s track with a 1929 Disney cartoon called ‘The Skeleton Dance.’ The video garnered over 34 million views, helping to popularize the song.The Living Tombstone (electronic duo, Yoav Landau and Sam Haft) are connected to the song’s viral history. In 2013, Yoav Landau created a remix ‘Spooky, Scary Skeletons,’ which garnered over 98 million views on YouTube. Speaking on the new ‘Witches, Witches, Witches’ release, Landau says, ‘I’ve always loved Andrew Gold’s work, especially his Halloween songs! It’s such a treat to get to remix another one of his tracks after “Spooky, Scary, Skeletons.”‘
“Today, ‘Spooky, Scary Skeletons’ has become a phenomenon yet again with a new generation, thanks to a short dance video that was posted earlier this fall by a 16-year-old user. The video quickly captured millions of views and inspired countless TikTok users to share their own interpretation of the dance, resulting in billions of views across posts cut to the infectious song.
“A prolific singer, songwriter, producer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist, Andrew Gold (1951-2011) not only enjoyed a successful solo career but also worked with some of the world’s biggest artists. Beginning with 1975’s Andrew Gold, he released more than a dozen solo albums and numerous charting singles, including the Top 10 hit, ‘Lonely Boy,’ the UK Top 5 hit, ‘Never Let Her Slip Away,’ and 1978’s ‘Thank You for Being a Friend’ — a cover version of which became the instantly recognizable theme song to The Golden Girls. Over the years Gold penned songs for artists ranging from Trisha Yearwood, Wynonna (the Billboard No. 1 hit ‘I Saw the Light’), 10cc, Lila McCann, Celine Dion, Alvin & The Chipmunks, and Jesse McCartney, to name just a few. As a member of the British pop duo Wax (with guitarist/bassist Graham Gouldman), Gold scored hits like ‘Right Between the Eyes’ and ‘Bridge to Your Heart’ in the ’80s. Throughout his three-decade-long career, Gold was also an in-demand collaborator, who worked in the studio and on stage with the likes of Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Cher, Art Garfunkel, and the Eagles.”
The track listing for Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music is as follows:
“It Must Be Halloween”
“Monster Mash”
“Spooky, Scary Skeletons”
“Trick or Treat”
“The Addams Family”
“Ghostbusters”
“Gimme A Smile (The Pumpkin Song)”
“Don’t Scream (It’s Only Halloween)”
“The Creature From The Tub”
“Halloween Party”
“Witches, Witches, Witches”
“In Our Haunted House”
“Spooky, Scary Skeletons (Undead Tombstone Remix)”
You can pre-order Andrew Gold’s Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music in a variety of formats now.
Will you be adding the album to your collection? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
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