"It was a graveyard smash / He did the mash / It caught on in a flash / He did the mash / He did the monster mash."
It caught on in more than a flash, turning co-creator and vocalist Bobby "Boris" Pickett into a one-hit wonder phenomenon.
Since being released in 1962, the song reached No. 1 for eight weeks and has been in "the top 100" three different times, the first song to ever accomplish this.
In addition, it has played on all top 40 and oldies stations and has been featured in several television shows and movies including, "The Simpsons," "Cheers," "Roseanne," "Doogie Howser, M.D." and "Halloween III."
But "The Monster Mash" is more than just a song joining the ranks of countless other one-hit wonder tunes to have hit the airwaves. Because unlike "Mambo #5" and "Ice Ice Baby," this song keeps coming back time and time again - every Oct. 31.
With the opening lines and background chorus, "The Monster Mash" is one of those party songs that would actually make people get up and dance.
Put it in the record player and prepare for great dance moves from monsters, princesses and the guy dressed as George Bush.
And the lyrics are just exciting by themselves. "I was working in the lab / late one night / When my eyes beheld an eerie sight / For my monster from his slab began to rise / And suddenly to my surprise ..."
Writing the words now, I am beginning to hum the melody in my mind and can hear Pickett's classic deep voice as he takes listeners through strange occurrences on Halloween night.
But it doesn't get any better than the fact that the song was made into a movie in 1995, featuring Candace Cameron, of "Full House" fame.
The movie finds two kids, played by Cameron and Ian Bohen, on their way to a Halloween party when their car breaks down in front of an eerie mansion. In true form to the song, the monsters are loose inside and go after the kids, trying to steal brains, bodies and whatever else they need for their sinister plans.
Yes, as the song says, "The zombies were having fun / The party had just begun / The guests included Wolf Man / Dracula and his son."
Overall, this is a song that will be remembered as long as Halloween is celebrated. So if you're hanging with your friends on Halloween night and suddenly find you have nothing to do, well - "Then you can mash / Then you can monster mash / The monster mash / And do my graveyard smash / Then you can mash / You'll catch on in a flash / Then you can mash / Then you can monster mash."
