Here it is! The final track in the 2010 Spooktacular! It has been a fun month and I hope that this years mix didn't disappoint... I will be posting the complete 2010 mix a little later this afternoon for those who weren't able to keep up with the daily downloads. But, let's get to the final track...
Here it is! With the untimely passing of Gregory Isaacs I wasn't sure I'd have enough time to put this one together this year but here it is...
Track twenty is upon us and it's called "Duppy Bye Bye" by the man Lloyd Lovindeer. Lovindeer is well known for his humorous tunes, especially "Wild Gilbert" released in the aftermath of Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 and selling over 50,000 copies and is therefore considered the highest selling single in Jamaican history. 
Nineteen down, two to go! The next tune in the Spooktacular is by the DJ Daddy Meeky called "Duppy Story," a nice ghost story inna early dancehall stylee! "Duppy Story" tells about Meeky's late night encounter with a few different duppies on his way back from seeing a scary movie. Also, Daddy Meeky's tune comes complete with the trailer to William Castle's 1960 haunted house classic "13 Ghosts"... but unlike 13 Ghosts you don't need to use your Illusion-O Ghost Viewer glasses to witness the action.
I am really psyched that the Halloween Spooktacular got mentioned in the Washington Post Express! Read the column online - here! Thanks Christopher!
For the love of god, will this guy ever stay dead?! Here I am into the fifth year of creating these Halloween mixes and along comes Barnabas Collins poking his fangs into yet another Spooktacular! Judging by the plethora of tunes paying tribute to Ol' Barnie and or Dark Shadows, it's quite obvious that this guy must have achieved folk hero status in Jamaica back in the 70's! 
I am devastated to hear the news that Gregory Isaacs has died... one of my all-time favorite singers and performers and it's with tears in my eyes that I face the prospect of creating a Gregory Isaacs tribute long before it should be due... I am so thankful that I had the chance to see Gregory on countless occasions and he is a voice in reggae that will sadly be missed. Rest in peace Gregory, we'll miss you.
I know the image on the left there is a little ghastly for a mild-mannered Jamaican music blog but every October the Spooktacular gives me the chance to showcase imagery best reserved for a heavy or death metal blog. It's the odd juxtaposition that makes this so much fun to begin with... and some would say you can't get an odder juxtaposition than reggae music and Halloween to begin with. But this is what I've been doing for the last 5 years and I hope people understand my motives... sharing my passion for reggae music and my love for Halloween all at the same time. 
Up next in the 2010 Spooktacular... the song is called "Vampire" and comes a group that I have absolutely no background information on called Positive. With a very Peter Tosh-esque delivery and refrain, this 1983 tune should probably sound somewhat familiar to those who have been around these parts before. I would say that Positive's "Vampire" serves as an expansion on the ideas Tosh explored on the "Vampire" 7" he released on his Intel Diplo label in 1976 and again on his Grammy Award winning "No Nuclear War" album in 1987. Regardless, Positive does a decent version that fits in well with our theme here... though, it should remain very obvious to even those with untrained "reggae ears" that the vampire in the tune is really an analogy for those who fight to oppress those who are perceived to be beneath them. 
The Vampire Beast Craves Blood or The Blood Beast Terror is a 1967 film starring Peter Cushing about a scientist who creates a creature that is capable of changing from a gigantic moth to a beautiful woman. The problem is, when the beautiful woman takes the form of the winged insect she has a propensity for human blood. And as you'd imagine, terror ensues. Such a bad movie but so enjoyable... I don't know what that says for my taste in film but I digress.
Karl "King Cannon" Bryan is up next in the Spooktacular with a smooth tune from 1969 called "Run For Your Life" which was pressed on the Camel label, yet another subsidiary of Pama Records. Bryan shows off his baritone saxophone prowess here with an instrumental that will not only get you in a Halloween mood but will get your feet moving.
Here they are in all their gory glory... the Halloween Spooktaculars from years past! Now's your chance to collect them all!! Not sold in stores, these mixes will put you in the right Halloween mood and provide a nice spooky background for your pumpkin carving! Perfect for scaring trick-or-treaters! Act now! While supplies last!
Annie Palmer has been discussed here before but I'll give you a short history of my favorite Jamaican ghost story before we get to the next track...
In the 1965 Italian gothic horror film Blood Pit Of Horror (based on the writings of the Marquis de Sade and directed by Massimo Pupillo), Mickey Hargitay plays the Crimson Executioner, a depraved and evil monster who pleases himself by torturing and killing a group of hapless fashion models who unwisely decide to use his castle as the backdrop for a photo shoot. 
Now I know you're looking at this picture of the late great Michael Jackson and wondering what the hell does this have to do with the Jamaican Halloween Spooktacular... the answer quite simply, is James Bond. Now I could just leave it at that but before this turns into a bad rehash of Abbot & Costello's "Whose On First" routine I'll explain.
Since I've exhausted my resources in trying to locate decent artist interpretations of duppies I have resorted to using the label for the next tune in the Spooktacular... please forgive me. I won't even delve into the fact that I'm still without a scanner and had to swipe the image of the label from Youtube but I digress. 
With the proper imagery and sound effects, this song "Death Rides A Horse" by the Hippy Boys works well with the spooky theme. The Hippy Boys, formed in 1968 by Lloyd Charmers, and featuring an all-star line-up of talent; Reggie Lewis on guitar, Glen Adams on organ and the Barrett brothers, Aston and Carlton on bass and drums... were a tight backing band. The tune starts with that creepy hoarse voice declaring that Death does in fact ride a horse and it has just enough of a creepy vibe to get your skin crawling when played at loud volume. 
I can't find any background information on the Tender Tones so I won't go there... here is a smokin' tune from 1969 that ties into the Halloween spookiness we got goin' on here... its called "Devil Woman" and is from a 7" on the UK based Pama Records subsidiary Crab label. A rockin' upbeat "skinhead reggae" number relating us with the tale of a mortal man combatting his seemingly evil significant other... I could really have related with the poor guy's burden a couple years ago myself but I'm not gonna get into that. :)
Tommy McCook & Bobby Ellis are up next with a smooth instrumental in honor of the world's most famous vampire! McCook (March 3, 1927 - May 5, 1998), a founding member of the Skatalites, was one hell of a saxophonist and this track makes that quite evident. Ellis (July 2, 1932), an alumnus of the Alpha Boys School, was/is a hell of a trumpeter and his combination with McCook on this track also makes that quite evident. The tune comes to us from a 7" on the Soul Beat label and when put inna combination with a couple snippets from Bela Lugosi's legendary performance in the 1931 classic, you have a pretty spooktacular track... if I do say so myself.
Carlton "Caly" Gibbs is up next in the Spooktacular with a record that works well with the spooky vibe we've got goin' here... The song is called "Ghost Walk" and was recorded and released in 1970 on the Pressure Beat label in Jamaica and the Amalgamated label in the UK. A nice ol' school DJ style over Joe Gibbs' version of the Bob Marley "Duppy Conqueror" rhythm... a real bad-ass tune!
Vin Gordon, the trombone player with a laundry list of nicknames; Trommie, Don D. Jr. or Don Drummond Jr) gives us the fifth tune in this year's Spooktacular. The tune is called "Red Blood" and is paired with the trailer from a double feature of particularly bad 1969 films called Women and Bloody Terror and Night of Bloody Horror. 
Byron Lee & The Dragonaires got started in 1950 and still remain active today, though they have since changed their name to Byron Lee's Dragonaires following Lee's death in 2008. Most known and beloved by many for the soca music they began recording in the late 70's, their foray into reggae music was short-lived... considering the majority of their output during this era were covers of roots reggae originals written by other artists and upbeat, potentially "white-radio-friendly" instrumentals, they produced little original or groundbreaking material. That's not to say Lee and the musicians in his band weren't competent... these guys could/can play but, during the heyday of roots reggae when songs of sufferation, hardship and praises of Jah were prevalent, the polished "uptown" sound that emerged from the grooves of Byron Lee's records didn't have a lot of pull for hardcore "downtown" reggae fans.
Carl "Mr. Satisfaction" Dawkins never had any intention of being a singer... at one point he even found himself competing on the national level as a soccer player. But later, he did do some recording with the Techniques and their legendary front-man Slim Smith which caused him to reconsider his career path. He cut his first solo record "Hard Times" in 1967 and its b-side "Baby I Love You." But in 1970, he went on to record "Satisfaction" the tune that would become synonymous with his name. 
When I dug up this record recently I knew it would be perfect for the Spooktacular I just wasn't sure why... sure it had "hell" in the title which is an obvious plus but, somewhere tucked away in a dusty bin in the back of my brain was a bit of recognition... but what the hell did hell have to do with a boat? A split second later it dawned on me... Charon! C'mon you know Charon don't you? Check out the pic over there on the right and you'll see the evil looking guy I'm talkin' about!
I can't believe I'm doing this again... but alas here we are in October and here we are with another Spooktacular. I have dug long and hard to uncover some more spooky Jamaican tunes for your listening pleasure and I hope they are well received. Initially I planned on presenting the Spooktacular in a different fashion this year but with the zero hour upon us I decided to just stick with the tried and true yet pain-in-the-ass-ingly labor intensive of doing a track a day. One tune will be posted for each weekday in October and once assembled in order you'll have the complete Halloween Spooktacular 2010. And if you don't feel like busying yourself with downloading individual track you can read along each day and wait until Saturday October 30th when I'll post the complete uncut mix for your downloading enjoyment.