1956
I PUT A SPELL ON YOU * SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS * DIRECTION 4097 * GB
Originally recorded for Grand records, in the style of Johnny Ace, as a straight ballad, this was recorded at an allegedly drunken session which was intended to get the band and singer in a 'live' performance mood, even so some of the more extreme moans and groans have been edited out for radio play. Jalacy Hawkins was born 1929 in Cleveland, he was a Golden Gloves boxer and won the middleweight championship in 1947, he worked with the Tiny Grimes orchestra and for Fats Domino for a while before going solo. I Put A Spell On You was originally released in Britain as a 78 RPM on the Fontana label in 1958, this reissue dates from 1969, Screamin' Jay died in Paris February 2000.