The retro Halloween style is back in fashion. Bring out your classic black and orange decor and prepare for a spooky soiree with this Vintage Halloween playlist. These tunes are perfect for a swinging wake!
Ever since I was in high school jazz band, I have loved swing and 20’s – 50’s era jazz. I am so happy to see the iconography and music of the early-to-mid 1900’s coming back into pop culture. This playlist has some of my favorite vintage Halloween songs. They provide a spooky and whimsical atmosphere perfect for parties. While they have some Halloween novelty to them, they are just as melodically intricate and beautiful as standard classics of the time.
There are two popular versions of this classic – one by Louis Armstrong and this one by Putney Dandridge. While I love Armstrong, Dandridge’s version has just a little more spunk. Its faster tempo makes this one perfect for grabbing your boo and shaking those bones.
“You never heard such unearthly laughter
Or such hilarious groans
When the skeleton in the closet rattled his bones”
“When you are down with the blues,
It means that the devil got into your shoes
Youll find them easy to lose,
dancing the devil away”
There is truth that it is hard to be gloomy and sour while hopping about to a dandy little tune like this one. With all sorts of devils and demons about on Halloween, it is best to get out on the dance floor to stay safe!
This swinging big band era song is based off an 1899 poem by William Hughes Mearns, entitled “Antigonish”. The poem was inspired by legends of a ghostly man roaming the stairs of a haunted house in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The spooky lyrics are a fun contrast to the swinging melody.
Singers Lyn, Lee, and Lou add a haunting melody to this poppy, spooky tune. It reminds me a little of “Tonight You Belong to Me” by Patience and prudence, but with more of a dance beat below it. It certainly shares the slightly obsessive and creepy vibes. The singers’ harmony has an ethereal and ghostly quality to it.
“Minnie the Moocher” was originally a 1931 jazz song written by Cab Calloway and Irving Mills. The original song centered on Minnie’s vices from being a “moocher” (exploiting the generosity of others) to being a “red hot hoochie coocher” (a sexually promiscuous woman) to “kicking the gong around” (using drugs). The song was extremely popular and is one of the most recognized jazz recordings in American history.
Minnie has gone on to appear in other songs (including another a little further down on this list). In “Minnie the Moocher at the Morgue” poor Minnie is taken to the morgue by the police to see if she can identify some of the bodies. Looking over the corpses, she sees some of her fellow sinners – most notably her boyfriend. It is a macabre and morbid tune, whose story can be summed up in its final lines:
“Now my little story’s all over
You’ve heard ’bout poor Minnie’s plight
Now if you think this story ain’t got no moral
You can just bet your bottom dollar you’re right”
This little flirtatious Halloween tune is one of my favorites to sing in the shower. It seems to be from the perspective of a man who is perusing the object of his affections and teasing her about his persistence. It’s lyrics about The Boogie Man frightening “bad little girls like you” are fun and light for a vintage Halloween-themed party.
Nicknamed the “Empress of the Blues”, Bessie Smith’s enchanting voice casts its spell in this morbid ballad. The lyrics tell of an abused woman who sets her sights on murder when her man leaves her for another woman. This song creates a moody and macabre atmosphere.
This is another song with many versions, but this one by Louis Prima & Joe “Wingy” Manone is my favorite. It has a hopping beat and fun back and forth between the lead singer and background chorus. The song is about the discovery that an old man was found dead in his log cabin. I have to say, I really hope that people don’t sing a jolly song upon finding my corpse some day! This is another fun and morbid song to play in the background at your Halloween hootenany.
Tommy Dorsey was a trombonist, conductor, and bandleader in the big band era, referred to as the “Sentimental Gentleman of Swing”. This song is from 1954, after his initial big band disbanded and he joined forces with his older brother (a bandleader legend in his own right) Jimmy Dorsey.
This spooky tune is about man’s best friend – a nine foot tall specter! It is cute and brings to mind Casper the Friendly ghost and other happy haunts.
Vocalists Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks, and Annie Ross create a melodic chorus and fun scat impressions of a ghost, witch, and demon, all set to a fun jazz beat in “Halloween Spooks”. This song encapsulates the fun of the holiday with the tongue in cheek chorus:
“Halloween Spooks outside my window.
Halloween Spooks behind the tree.
I wish that the children could see, but I can’t find them for the life of me.
And there’s Halloween Spooks outside my window pane.“
In one of my favorite songs of all time, a ghost addresses his former acquaintances at the speakeasy. Smokey Joe was the life of the party while in corporeal form and won’t let being dead stop him from continuing.
Cab Calloway does his signature call and response to his band, “hi-dee-hi-dee-hi-dee-hi”. He also ends the tune with his energetic scat singing, another of his iconic strengths. Side-note, he was born in Rochester, NY – quite close to my hometown area.
Minnie the Moocher is briefly mentioned in this song, but apparently, she has stopped “kicking the gong around” – perhaps being at the morgue scared her straight!
When you think of crooner Bing Crosby’s holiday songs, his Christmas tunes are usually what come to mind, but this Halloween song is an enduring classic as well. From the Disney animated film The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949), this song is what Brom Bones sings at a Halloween party to spook the superstitious Ichabod Crane.
While some of the lyrics have not aged particularly well, the overall story still sets a perfectly eerie mood for an evening.
Bandleader Charlie Barnet paired with singer Mary Ann McCall for this swinging tune. Halloween is a time for enchantment and this song can set the mood for romance.
“You knew you had the power
And even picked the hour
When the full moon was up above
I was hypnotized when I looked into your eyes
My heart was filled with love”
Did you like it? What songs are on your Halloweenplaylist? Let me know on Facebook & Instagram.
Want some other spooky tunes? Check out more music and playlists here.
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