"Spooky" is an instrumental song, originally performed by saxophonist Mike Sharpe (Shapiro) and written by Shapiro and Harry Middlebrooks Jr, which first charted in 1967 hitting No. 57 on the US pop charts and No. 55 on the Canadian charts.[4][5] Its best-known version was created by songwriter James Cobb and producer Buddy Buie for the group Classics IV when they added lyrics about a "spooky little girl". The vocalist was Dennis Yost.[6] The song is noted for its eerie whistling sound effect depicting the spooky woman. It has become a Halloween favorite.[7][unreliable source?] In 1968, the vocal version reached No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100,[8] No. 1 in Canada,[9] and No. 46 in the UK.[10]
Another gender-flipped version was recorded by Martha Reeves and released on the album In the Midnight Hour in 1986. In this version, the line "spooky little girl like you" is changed to "spooky old lady like me".[citation needed]
A big bandLatin Jazz version of the song appears on the 2024 Grammy-nominated double CD Vox Humana, recorded live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in NYC by the Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band. It features Janis Siegel on vocals highlighting the genre switch, along with Peter Brainin on tenor saxophone over authentic Cuban cha-cha, son montuno rhythm, with a jazz-oriented arrangement by Jeremy Fletcher.[citation needed]
