Spooky, Scary Skeletons

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"Spooky Scary Skeletons"
Song by Andrew Gold
from the album Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music
Released1996 (1996)
GenreHalloween, novelty
Length2:08
LabelCraft
Songwriter(s)Andrew Gold
Producer(s)Andrew Gold

"Spooky, Scary Skeletons" is a Halloween song by American musician Andrew Gold, first released on his 1996 album Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music.[1]

Since the 2010s, the song has received a resurgence in popularity online as an Internet meme.[1][2] In 2013, The Living Tombstone created a dubstep remix of the song. In 2019, Intelligencer's Brian Feldman called the song "the Internet's Halloween anthem",[1] and that same year, Rolling Stone's E. J. Dickson referred to the song as the "Halloween meme" of Generation Z.[3] In 2021, Alexandra Petri of The Washington Post ranked the song number two on her list of the 50 best Halloween songs of all time.[4] “Spooky, Scary Skeletons” will be adapted into a children's picture book by Random House Children's Books featuring the lyrics to the song on August 27, 2024. [5]

Background and recording[edit]

"Spooky, Scary Skeletons" was one of nine original songs on the album Halloween Howls, released, according to Gold on his 1996 liner notes, to fill a void of availability of fun and scary Halloween original songs.[6][7] Andrew produced, mixed, sang and played all the instruments on the track. It prominently features a xylophone to represent the sound of skeletal bones rattling.[8]

Release and Internet popularity[edit]

In 1998, Disney included the song on their VHS tape Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Happy Haunting: Party at Disneyland! (which was released on DVD as Disney's Sing-Along Songs: Happy Haunting in 2006). They paired the song with the 1929 animated short film The Skeleton Dance by Ub Iwerks.[1] In 2010, YouTube user TJ Ski remade the video from the VHS tape, pairing the animated short with the song, after he was unable to find the original video online.[1] TJ Ski's video has garnered over 31 million views since it was uploaded.[1]

"Spooky, Scary Skeletons" has since become an Internet meme, with its origins in YouTube gaming culture.[2] One example of an early viral video featuring the track is a video that features Minecraft characters dancing to the song.[2] Since the 2010s, the song has become a standard in music playlists for Halloween parties, along with the 1962 song "Monster Mash".[2]

On October 31, 2013, Israeli-American remix musician Yoav Landau, member of the YouTube band The Living Tombstone created an electronic dance-like remix of the song with a faster tempo than the original.[1] Their upload of the remix to YouTube has garnered over 98 million views.[1] Intelligencer's Brian Feldman called the Living Tombstone's remix "probably the most well-known version of the song".[1] This remix further propelled the song's status as an Internet meme; both the original song and the Living Tombstone remix are often paired with such visuals as The Skeleton Dance and a video of a man dancing while wearing a pumpkin head and a black unitard, the latter being from a mid-2000s broadcast on local Omaha, Nebraska news station KXVO.[1][9]

In 2019, "Spooky, Scary Skeletons" and its The Living Tombstone remix experienced a resurgence of popularity on the short-form video and social media platform TikTok, where over 2.5 million videos featuring the song—including videos by such celebrities as Will Smith dancing to the track[10]—have been posted.[1] By 2022, there were over 5 million TikTok videos featuring the song.[11]

In 2021, Craft Recording issued a first-ever vinyl record release of Halloween Howls, adding one of the more popular remixes of "Spooky, Scary Skeletons" to the tracklist. New cover art was created by Jess Rotter. Craft dedicated a web page to the song.[12] NPR's Elizabeth Blair recommended the vinyl release for children.[10] Official merchandise relating to the song, including hoodies and T-shirts,[13] is also available at Craft Recording's official store.[14]

Linda Ronstadt,[15] Andrew Gold's former Bryndle bandmate Karla Bonoff, Stephen Bishop, and Nicolette Larson[14] all joined in to do the "Monster Mash." In addition to that graveyard smash, the other guest Howl-ers include the late David Cassidy on "Halloween Party".[14]

Gold's daughters, Emily and Victoria, were credited for background vocals.[16]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for "Spooky, Scary Skeletons"
Chart (2022–2023) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[17] 69
Germany (Official German Charts)[18] 87
Global 200 (Billboard)[19] 85
Ireland (IRMA)[20] 35
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 61
UK Singles (OCC)[22] 55

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for "Spooky, Scary Skeletons"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[23] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions and use in media[edit]

In 2018, the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers performed a cover of the song at a live Halloween performance.[24]

A cover of the song by LvCrft was used by Freeform to promote their "31 Nights of Halloween" programming block in both 2020 and in 2021.[25][26][27]

Album releases[edit]

  • 1996: Halloween Howls
  • 2019: Halloween Howls Deluxe Edition (Digital including remix bonus tracks)
  • 2021: Halloween Howls (Vinyl with remix bonus track)
  • 2023: Halloween Howls (Vinyl & CD)

Single releases[edit]

  • 2019: "Undead Tombstone Remix and Extended Remix"
  • 2020: "DMA ILLAN REMIX"
  • 2021: "The Remixes" (including SharaZ remix)
  • 2022: "The Undead Tombstone - Slowed & Reverb Remix"
  • 2022: "Dave Wave Remix"

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Feldman, Brian (October 16, 2019). "How 'Spooky Scary Skeletons' Became the Internet's Halloween Anthem". Intelligencer. Vox Media. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Wetmore, Brendan (September 12, 2019). "The Official Halloween TikTok Trend Is Here". Paper. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  3. ^ Dickson, E. J. (October 8, 2019). "The Writer of the 'Golden Girls' Theme Is Blowing Up on TikTok For Being Spooky". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  4. ^ Petri, Alexandra (October 22, 2021). "Opinion: The 50 Best Halloween Songs of All Time". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  5. ^ ""Random House to release Spooky, Scary Skeletons on August 27, 2024."".
  6. ^ "Behind The Song: "Spooky, Scary Skeletons" by Andrew Gold". Americansongwriter.com. October 31, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  7. ^ "Andrew Gold - Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music (LP)". Spookyscaryskeletonsofficial.com. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  8. ^ "Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music - Andrew Gold | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  9. ^ "A short guide to spooky culture, the Internet's Halloween refuge from a scary real world". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Blair, Elizabeth (October 26, 2021). "Need some new Halloween movies and books for your kids? Do come in (mwah-ha-ha)". NPR. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  11. ^ Gold, Andrew (2022-07-28). "Popular songs on TikTok". TikTok. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  12. ^ "Andrew Gold - Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music (LP)". Spooky, Scary Skeletons. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  13. ^ "Official Site". Spooky, Scary Skeletons. 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  14. ^ a b c "Spooky, Scary: Andrew Gold's "Halloween Howls" Returns on Friday". The Second Disc. 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  15. ^ "Linda Ronstadt - Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music". iHeart. 1996-01-01. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  16. ^ "Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music - Andrew Gold - Credits". AllMusic. 1996-08-20. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  17. ^ "Andrew Gold – Spooky Scary Skeletons" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  18. ^ "Andrew Gold – Spooky Scary Skeletons" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  19. ^ "Andrew Gold Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  20. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  21. ^ "Andrew Gold – Spooky Scary Skeletons". Singles Top 100. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  22. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  23. ^ "American single certifications – Andrew Gold – Spooky, Scary Skeletons". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  24. ^ Wallis, Adam. "Red Hot Chili Peppers surprise school with costumed Halloween performance". Global News. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  25. ^ "You know where we'll be ALL... - 31 Nights of Halloween". Facebook. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  26. ^ "31 Nights OF HALLOWEEN / LVCRFT - Freeform". YouTube. 2022-07-26. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  27. ^ "Freeform's 31 Nights Of Halloween Promo 2020 #2". YouTube. 2022-07-26. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
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