NR92 DJ Aysha Savoury reveals her top five Halloween songs
By Aysha Savoury on October 25, 2024
Here at NR92 we play all types of music to fit your style but right now I want to get into some spooky pieces because one of my favourite holidays is coming up and that is Halloween.
The Ghouls and goblins are starting to show themselves this month, so I think it’s about time NR92 shares some of their music to keep them from eating our brains.
Let’s jump right in with my number five pick being…
“Somebody’s watching me” by Rockwell.
This song was released by the Motown label in December 1983, as the lead single from his debut studio album also called Somebody’s Watching Me It features guest vocals by Michael Jackson in the chorus and Jermaine Jackson as additional backing vocals.
The song became a major commercial success internationally, topping the charts in Belgium, France, and Spain, and reaching the top 5 in Canada, West Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.
Rolling Stone magazine called the song “an international and enduring smash hit that, more than 30 years later, remains the perennial paranoia-rock anthem and Halloween mix go-to song.”
Rolling Stone couldn’t be more right with that description, but there is another song that can be added to that Halloween mix and that is my 4th song on the list…
“Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett.
The song was released as a single on Gary S. Paxton’s Garpax Records label in August 1962 along with a full-length LP called The Original Monster Mash, which contained several other monster-themed tunes.
The “Monster Mash” single was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 20–27 of that year, just before Halloween. This song will forever be a Halloween classic that you will always hear every Halloween, and if you aren’t playing it, well let’s just say the ghouls and goblins won’t be happy about that.
Now if you want something to keep the monsters still mashing after that song is over then you should play my 3rd pick…
“Spooky, Scary Skeletons” by Andrew Gold
first released on his 1996 album Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music. This song is a classic that a lot of people grew up with so of course this one made it into the list.
Since the 2010s, the song has received a resurgence in popularity online as an Internet Meme and in 2013, The Living Tombstone created a dubstep remix of the song. I’ve never been a dubstep fan but that remix hits just as much as the 2nd song in my list…
“Heads Will Roll” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
released as the second single from their third studio album, It’s Blitz! (2009). The CD and 7-inch singles were released in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2009.
A remix by Canadian DJ A-Trak appeared in the film Project X. The remix was placed at number 124 of Rolling Stone’s list of the 200 Greatest Dance Songs. So, if you want to get into the spirit this Halloween then you need to be playing this monster hit.
All the songs I’ve listed for you so far are all great Halloween hits but, in my opinion, the number one smash hit that everybody loves to play every year during Halloween is of course…
“Thriller” by Michael Jackson
On top of being the number one played song on Halloween, Thriller sold 32 million copies worldwide by the end of 1983, making it the best selling album of all time. In 1984 it became the first album to become the best selling in the United States for two years. It set industry standards, with its songs, music videos, and promotional strategies influencing artists, record labels, producers, marketers and choreographers.
The success gave Jackson an unprecedented level of cultural significance for a black American, breaking racial barriers in popular music, earning him regular airplay on MTV and leading to a meeting with US President Ronald Reagan at the White House.
I mean come on the white house? Now that’s something to brag about. That concludes my list of the Top 5 Halloween hits to be played this year. So be sure to give those songs and NR92 a listen this spooky month because you might just hear some of those bangers.
“Image credits Unsplash”