Artist

Long before shock rock and goth, there was Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. Legendary for the 1956 spooky classic “I Put a Spell On You,” he was the first popular artist to fuse R&B, rock ’n’ roll, and occult imagery into a theatrical show; it included coffins, Dracula capes, and voodoo-inspired props. Hawkins’ career path was as unique as his music. Born in Cleveland in 1929, he studied classical piano and strove to be a Paul Robeson-style opera singer years before launching a career in the blues. But much like theater-actor-turned-horror-icon Vincent Price, Hawkins learned that feeding the public’s insatiable appetite for darkness and camp could make him a star. And it did: From the late ’50s until his death in 2000, the singer with the ghoulish howl amassed a catalog full of creepily eccentric gems like “Frenzy” and “I Hear Voices.” He also made numerous appearances in film and television, including a role in director Jim Jarmusch’s 1989 indie classic Mystery Train. Hawkins’ influence extends across the rock-music spectrum, with the likes of Alice Cooper, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Nick Cave, The Animals, and Rob Zombie all tapping into his flamboyantly devilish sound.