Blog

How was your Halloween or Día de los muertos? I never have a shortage of costumes and I tend to embellish with action and voice, but, hey, that’s what I do for a living. I never get tired of the Rat Pack because they always seem current. No matter the holiday, season or event, I can usually think of a connection with the Pack and Halloween is no different. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. all had amazing singing careers, so I thought I would share a few songs from each that have direct or potential connections to this ghoulish day.

Sammy could be a cutup, as we saw in my The Art of Impressions Blog, so it’s no wonder he recorded such Halloween gems as Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead, Bewitched, and of course, That Old Black Magic. Additionally, if we want to get really creative – as I think about all the ghosts and goblins that knock on my door each All Hallows’ Eve – The Candy Man could be a staple with this theme.

Looking at his song list, Dino didn’t seem to embrace the holiday as enthusiastically as the others, but his renditions of It’s Magic, The Magician, Terrible Tangled Web, and Blue Moon could certainly all be used in a soundtrack for a spooky movie.

If song titles can be used as evidence, Frank appeared to be particularly fond this time of year. Hearing The Voice’s versions of Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered; I Don’t

Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You; Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea; and You Cast a Spell Over Me all bring chills to music lovers, but one of his signature songs, Witchcraft – which can be found on my Sinatra Forever DVD/CD box set – is the highlight for Halloween.

So, as young and old alike come down from the sugar high that has come to represent the last day of October I’ll leave you with the reason why I like dressing up for Halloween: the freedom that can come with not having to be yourself, even if it lasts but a moment.