Monster Mash features an interview and full-length record by John Zacherle. The presentation was published originally as a vinyl record in 1962. The liner notes are by Don Rosenblit. The cover design is by Al Cahn and Elkman Advertising Company, Inc.
The record comes with a spooky Halloween interview with John Zacherle (born September 26, 1918) followed by Halloween jazz music. The cover has a color picture of John Zacherle, Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, the Wolfman, flying bats, goblins, and an open coffin with a dead body protruding. The setting is perfect for Halloween.
In the interview, Zacherle explains that he was born some 200 years ago, stating that he "was belched forth from the graveyard in Transylvania." He specialized in the "Black Arts" and made the honor society Phi Beta Draca in Ghoulage. He received his Monster's Degree and made his way into the world of mortals.
The record has famous recordings such as, "Monster Mash," "Hurry Bury Baby," "Let's Twist Again (Mummy Time is Here)," "I'm the Ghoul from Wolverton Mountain," "Gravy (With Some Cyanide)" and "Popeye (The Gravedigger)."
"Monster Mash" (Pickett-Capilli) is a graveyard smash accompanied by very strange music, bubbling laboratory chemicals, drums in the background, and Zacherle singing. Later on in the song "the ghouls all come from their humble abode to get a jolt from my electrode."
In "Hurry Bury Baby" (Mann-Appell) there's a girl named Sammy who was squeezed so tight that she couldn't breathe and died. Zacherle sings that he had to "hurry bury baby." He scurries about in many places looking for a safe place to bury her out of sight.
"Let's Twist Again (Mummy Time is Here)" (Mann-Appell) is in the character of Chubby Checker, except tailored to fit the Halloween theme. Zacherle sings to the listener that "mummy time is here." The song sounds a lot like Chubby Checker with a theme set for Halloween and the music of the dead. The song is perfect for a holiday dance to "The Twist."
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