Monster Mash

By Leonard Capizzi and Bobby Pickett
1962

A Halloween staple ever since it was first recorded in the summer of 1962, "Monster Mash" might well be the song most associated with the spooky season to this day. Pickett, an aspiring actor and member of the band The Cordials, had been entertaining audiences with his Boris Karloff impression when bandmate Capizzi had the idea of building a novelty song around said impression. Born out of the dance fad craze of the era, the "Monster Mash" was intended to lampoon such popular dances as the "mashed potato". The original record went to number-one during Halloween week of 1962, and has been re-released several times, and even recorded by other horror icons Vincent Price and punk band the Misfits.

Lyrics: 

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

He did the mash
He did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
He did the mash
It caught on in a flash
He did the mash
He did the monster mash

From my laboratory in the castle east
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes

They did the mash
They did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They did the mash
It caught on in a flash
They did the mash
They did the monster mash

The zombies were having fun
The party had just begun
The guests included Wolf Man
Dracula and his son

The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, "The Crypt-Kicker Five"

They played the mash
They played the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They played the mash
It caught on in a flash
They played the mash
They played the monster mash

Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring
Seems he was troubled by just one thing
He opened the lid and shook his fist
And said, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist"

It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash
The monster mash
And it's a graveyard smash
It's now the mash
It's caught on in a flash
It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash

Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band
And my monster mash is the hit of the land
For you, the living, this mash was meant too
When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent you

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

Recorded By:

Bobby "Boris" Pickett
The Beach Boys
Vincent Price
The Misfits
Zacherley

More

By Riz Ortolani, Nino Oliviero & Norman Newell
1962

An Academy-award winning song with a strange story. It started as an instrumental entitled "Ti Guardero nel Cuore", featured in the exploitation mockumentary Mondo Cane. Later, English lyrics were added by Newell, and the song became a highly popular new standard of the 1960s. Ortolani would later compose the eerily beautiful theme for Cannibal Holocaust, one of the most disturbing films ever made.

Lyrics:

More than the greatest love the world has known,
This is the love I give to you, alone.
More than the simple words I try to say,
I only live to love you more each day.

More than you'll ever know,
My arms long to hold you so.
My life will be in your keeping,
Waking, sleeping, laughing, weeping.

Longer than always is a long, long time.
But far beyond forever, you'll be mine.
I know I never lived before,
And my heart is very sure
No one else could love you more.

Recorded By:

Steve Lawrence
Frank Sinatra
Nat King Cole
Martha & The Vandellas
Della Reese

The Girl from Ipanema

By Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes & Norman Gimbel
1962

A beautiful song unfairly twisted by the rock-obsessed baby boomer generation into the epitome of elevator music, Jobim's greatest hit is anything but dull. A breathtaking bossa nova tune inspired by a real-life girl Jobim and Moraes admired on the beach in Rio, it became an international smash hit and the famous Astrid Giberto recording won the Grammy in 1965. It was originally introduced by Pery Ribeiro, and English lyrics later added by Gimbel.

Lyrics:

Tall and tan and young and lovely,
The girl from Ipanema goes walking.
And when she passes, each one she passes goes, "Ahhh..."

When she walks she's like a samba
That swings so cool and sways so gentle,
That when she passes, each one she passes goes, "Ahhh..."

Oh, but I watch her so sadly.
How can I tell her I love her?
Yes, I would give my heart gladly.
But each day when she walks to the sea,
She looks straight ahead, not at me.

Tall and tan and young and lovely,
The girl from Ipanema goes walking,
And when she passes, I smile, but she doesn't.
She just doesn't see.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Stan Getz
Lou Rawls
Peggy Lee
Ella Fitzgerald

The Sweetest Sounds

By Richard Rodgers
1962

A rare example of a song Rogers composed by melody and lyrics to on his own, this one was for the musical No Strings. It was introduced by Diahann Carroll, whom Rodgers had hand-picked for the female lead. The melody is reportedly inspired by a phrase in Johannes Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2. It's complex tune and minor key gives it a unique, brooding sound.

Lyrics:

The sweetest sounds I'll ever hear
Are still inside my head.
The kindest words I'll ever know
Are waiting to be said.

The most entrancing sight of all
Is yet for me to see....
And the dearest love in all the world
Is waiting somewhere for me,
Is waiting somewhere.... somewhere for me.

Recorded By:

Sarah Vaughan
Barbra Streisand
Eydie Gorme
Brandy
Nancy Wilson

Tender Is the Night

By Sammy Fain & Paul Francis Webster
1962

Nominated for the Oscar for Best Song, this song debuted in the movie of the same name, based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel and starring the late Jason Robards and Jennifer Jones. It would lose to another classic, Henry Mancini's "Days of Wine and Roses". Bernard Hermann orchestrated it for the film, and Tony Bennett would make the first commercial recording of it, later the same year.

Lyrics:

Tender is the night, so tender is the night.
There's no one in the world except the two of us.
Should tomorrow find us disenchanted,
We have shared a love that few have known.

Summers by the sea, a sailboat in Capri,
These memories shall be these very own.
Even though our dreams may vanish with the morning light,
We loved once in splendor--How tender, how tender is the night.

Recorded By:

Andy Williams
Vic Damone
Johnny Mathis
Billy Eckstine
Les Baxter

Once Upon a Time

By Charles Strouse & Lee Adams
1962

This late standard originated in the Broadway show All American, about a fictional university. Strouse & Adams were coming off their previous smash hit Bye, Bye Birdie, and enlisted a little-known TV writer named Mel Brooks to pen the libretto for their new production. Ray Bolger & Eileen Herlie would introduce this song in the original production.

Lyrics:

Once upon a time,
A girl with moonlight in her eyes
Put her hand in mine
And said she loved me so.
But that was once upon a time,
Very long ago.

Once upon a time,
We sat beneath a willow tree,
Counting all the stars
And waiting for the dawn.
But that was once upon a time,
Now the tree is gone.

How the breeze ruffled up her hair,
How we always laughed as though tomorrow wasn't there.
We were young and didn't have a care,
Where did it go?

Once upon a time,
The world was sweeter than we knew.
Everything was ours,
How happy we were then.
But somehow once upon a time
Never comes again.

Recorded By:

Tony Bennett
Bobby Darrin
Jack Jones
Al Martino
Vic Damone

Meditation

By Antonio Carlos Jobim & Norman Gimbel
1962

Certainly not part of the Great American Songbook, but a classic pop standard nonetheless, as were most of the lush tunes composed by Jobim. A breezily tempoed example of his bossa nova style, it was first written as "Meditação", with original Portuguese lyrics by Newton Mendonça. Here are Gimbel's beautifully introspective English words...

Lyrics:

In my loneliness,
When you're gone and I'm all by myself,
And I need your caress,
I just think of you,
And the thought of you holding me near
Makes my loneliness soon disappear.

Though you're far away,
I have only to close my eyes
And you are back to stay.
I just close my eyes,
And the sadness that missing you brings
Soon is gone, and this heart of mine sings.

Yes, I love you so,
And that for me is all I need to know.
I will wait for you,
Till the sun falls from out of the sky,
For what else can I do?

I will wait for you,
Meditating how sweet life will be
When you come back to me.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Blossom Dearie
Doris Day
Tito Puente
Vic Damone

The Good Life

By Sacha Distel & Jack Reardon
1962

Originally written as "La Belle Vie" by French composer Distel, the easy-going cabaret tune made its way to American shores almost immediately, and its English translation was turned into a signature hit by Tony Bennett. It made it to the top 20 on the pop charts, and remains part of Bennett's regular repertoire to this day.

Lyrics:

Oh, the good life--
"Full of fun" seems to be the ideal.
Yes, the good life
Lets you hide all the sadness you feel.

You won't really fall in love,
For you can't take the chance.
So be honest with yourself,
Don't try to fake romance.

It's the good life--
To be free, and explore the unknown.
Like the heartaches
When you learn you must face them alone.

Please remember I still want you,
And in case you wonder why,
Well, just wake up, kiss the good life goodbye.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Ray Charles
Shirley Horn
Matt Monro
Jack Jones

Days of Wine and Roses

By Henry Mancini & Johnny Mercer
1962

A late addition to the popular songbook, "Days of Wine and Roses" was written for the Blake Edwards film of the same name (starring Lee Remick and Jack Lemmon), in which it was played by Mancini's orchestra. It won the 1962 Oscar for Best Original Song. And in case you were wondering, the title phrase originates from the 1896 poem "Vitae Summa Brevis" by English writer Ernest Dowson.

Lyrics:

The days of wine and roses
Laugh and run away--
Like a child at play--
Through a meadowland toward a closing door,
A door marked "nevermore,"
That wasn't there before.

The lonely night discloses
Just a passing breeze,
Filled with memories
Of the golden smile that introduced me to
The days of wine and roses, and you.

Recorded By:

Andy Williams
Perry Como
Frank Sinatra
Diana Krall
Nancy Wilson