THE BLACK CAT Part II - Scotty McKay - "Hey Bo Diddley/Brown Eyed Handsome Man" (1966)

 

In Edgar Allen Poe's short story, "The Black Cat", maniac man Lou is a collector of monkeys and exotic birds! 

 

 And also, very true to the story, Lou is a drunken lout! So, he heads off to the bar to drink and just hang out! It is really quite amazing, but if you just take the five minutes or so, that it takes to read this classic story before or after you watch the movie, your appreciation will be multiplied immensely, and you can read that right here! "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allen Poe. It's mesmerising!! 

 

Right about here is where the real fun begins, because, it's only a short story, let's fill the gaps with some music, so it's, Come On Out Scotty McKay!!! Let's not forget this is Texas 1966 and the 13th Floor Elevators are rocking the house somewhere not too far down the road! 

 

The first song we're served up at the club is none other than "Hey, Bo Diddley" written by the late, and the ever so great, Mr. Bo Diddley himself, Ellis McDaniel. Scotty and the boys do a fine job on a great song and add another notch to their own gunslinger credentials! 

 

The party in the bar is swingin'!

 

And by the time Scotty and the boys serve up "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" written by Chuck Berry, Lou is really starting to loosen up. Too bad he's a mean and violent drunk just like Edgar wrote it!! Still, it's a great opportunity to show off Scotty's awesome vocal range!! 

 

If Lou sobers up enough, we'll see you on Friday for the conclusion of the story and our tribute to Max Lipscomb aka Scotty McKay!

(Lycanthropus) WEREWOLF IN A GIRLS' DORMITORY / Royal Film - 1961 / Music by Francis Berman

Tonight Tabonga have sleepiest bar music... EVER!! ~ So, grab pillow and get comfy!.. Can't a guy get drunk in peace?! Sound kinda like 'The Tale Of The Giant Rat Of Sumatra' by Firesign Theatre!! 

 

Hey, might as well have look at pretty gurl while band get warmed up!

 Tabonga like to pretend he that guy there! 

 

Big blond gurlie on left disturb Tabonga a little! 

 

Oh, great, here big jerk trouble maker!!.. He look like trouble maker! 

 

Real fair!.. 19 against 1!!

 Oh, and, don't forget about us sadistic bastards!! 

 

Sure, come on, just step a little closer!.. 

 

...And, you can meet my friend... "Shaggie!!" 

 

Man, dude is UGLY!!!

 Let's you and me wrassle!!

THE BLACK CAT - Scotty McKay (1966)

By the power invested in me, I hereby do decree this week from now and forever to be "Scotty McKay Week!" Okay, I got that out of my system, so why is it "Scotty McKay Week?" That part is kind of free form, but it has a lot to do with the spirit of the unsung independent artist! So, I searched and I searched to find Max Lipscomb, aka Scotty McKay's birthday, and while the March 17, 1991 date of his death is well documented enough, for some unknown reason, the day and the month of his birth are unavailable to find, all there is, is the year 1937!!! So, what's up with that? There's just something there that ain't right here! So, if we don't know the day, how the Hell are we supposed to celebrate this amazing unheralded artist's birthday??? And, that's why and when I decided that everything I do this week will be, to say Happy Birthday Scotty!!! 

Scotty was only in two movies and we've already exploited the other Texas feature "Creature Of Destruction" to the Max, as it were, so that only leaves the 1966 Edgar Allen Poe Texas Classic feature "The Black Cat" 

Here we have Robyn Baker in a pensive mood "Listening To The Radio" in her one, of two roles she ever had, as Diana!! 

And this is Robert Frost in his solo film outing as Lou, the principal player in Poe's nightmare! And truly, what a nightmare it is!!! Now, here's where the fun starts, because this terror terrific film is loaded with music provided by none other than our man, Scotty McKay!!! And we're just getting warmed up because this is just the theme, and some music off of the radio, wait til our hero starts going to the bar, that's when we'll catch back up with Scotty on Wednesday!! 

In the meantime, everybody lift your glasses high, to all the best artists you've never heard of, this one's for Scotty!!! 

Cheers!!!!!

FORBIDDEN PLANET / MGM - 1956 / Electronic Tones by Louis and Bebe Barron

Tonight we're doing something a little different... You can enjoy the wonders of Altair 4 and the Krell without the burden of captions while you monitor this piece of classic Krell music! Just seems like an appropriate thing to do!.. Everything's already been said about this great movie, anyway! 

 

If you haven't seen the 1958 MGM sci-fi movie, FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, lately, well, you will not believe what an absolutely horrible piece of crap it is!!! Overacting is used to make up for no budget, the old geezers are constantly bickering, etc., etc. Okay, then, their gyroscope goes haywire and what's the sound effect they use??? The sound from FORBIDDEN PLANET, of course, where the guys are landing and coming out of hyper drive!! MGM!.. Get it?.. It's pathetic and it just ain't right!! And, even more of those sounds are used in Jerry Warren's FACE OF THE SCREAMING WEREWOLF that we've already archived! Everything's for sale!! 

 

So, just sit back and enjoy the tones by this unearthly couple!!  

KRELL MUSIC

 Goodbye Altair 4!.. Goodbye Morbius!.. Goodbye Krell!..

MACUMBA LOVE - Enrico Simonetti - "Voodoo To The Max" (1960)

Here's more smokin' hot Voodoo and Calypso for a hot Saturday night! "Macumba Love" is quite a weird movie as far as music is concerned. The main musical credits go to Enrico Simonetti, but the actual songs, "Dance Calinda", "To Market" and "Paya What You Can" are all credited to the writer of the screenplay for this film, Norman Graham, with Callan Riggs and H.E. Donaldson! It's another Island Voodoo movie, but the twist this time is Snakes!! They're everywhere, so it must not be in Hawaii!! The man sitting in the director's chair was actor Douglas Fowley, father of one of the best musicans and madman record producers of all time, Kim Fowley!!! Douglas Fowley also produced the movie!!

Here's the backing band at the club during the performance of "Dance Calinda"
 
Walter Reed has got to be sitting in the smoking section!

So here's the deal, you just married a blonde bombshell, and you're on your honeymoon, and you're dancing with a voodoo vixen instead! Are you nuts Warren??
Ziva Rodann plays the part of the evil but oh so ever hot, Venus de Viasa to perfection, and she can sing too, because entertaining is one of her favorite pastimes!

The Witchy Woman has the coolest of pads, skulls and all!!

Then the music just keeps on going in "To Market"

Then they cut to this group of people and it's like WTF, when did the Bonzo Dog Band become a part of this movie! Where's the guy in the gorilla suit??

Don't do it Warren, she's just trying to charm you like a snake and Sara's waiting back at the house for you!!

The Va-Va-Voom 43-22-37 June Wilkinson as Sara always played third fiddle to Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren, but had a great career in the movies, and has appeared in tons of magazines, starting off with Playboy in 1958! Later in her career she worked as counterpoint to Spike Jones. June is still alive and struttin' today!!
"Shake it June!!"
So, who's William Wellman Jr. as Warren going to choose, his amazing buxom wife or the snake goddess?? Guess you'll just have to find out on your own!

MY SON THE VAMPIRE - Allan Sherman - "Blood!!!" (1952) (1962)

Well, everybody knows the story about Arthur Lucan(Towle)and his career acting in drag as Old Mother Riley that lasted a decade or more and made him at least the second most popular English actor in the 1940's, and his tumultuous relationship with his wife and co-star Kitty McShane. 

 

When they married, Lucan was 28 and Kitty was 16, she played the straight role to his comedic part in all the Old Mother Riley films, except this last one "Mother Riley Meets The Vampire." Their marriage had gotten so bad that in their previous film "Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure" they appeared on the set only on different days, and she refused to be in this last one! At the time of his death, there were plans for "Mother Riley Goes To Mars." What else would you expect?? 

 

But, that's not what we're here to talk about! 

 

What exactly do you mean, she's a man?? 

 

The theme song from the American 1963 re-release "My Son The Vampire" was written and performed by the legendary Allan Sherman in an attempt to capitalize on his very popular album, "My Son, The Folk Singer" released in 1962! Allan Sherman was an entertainer of mythical proportions and one of my Mom's favorites, so we listened to all his albums many times. That's probably even where some of this dry wit comes from, that, and The Smothers Brothers, because Allan's LP's while funny at first, got increasingly bitter and sarcastic like another one of our heroes, Lenny Bruce!! The image of the portly middle-aged guy with a flat-top and glasses wasn't something that has been easy to forget. The TV producer turned comedian folk singer with an odd voice had created a character and image that in reality killed him. With a love for good food and good drink, Allan unintentionally did himself in at the young age of 48, basically with too much of the good life. What a loss, there could have been so much more! We miss you, man!!! 

 

So, it's time to WAKE UP, and without further adieu, it's the best thing about this movie, from "My Son, The Vampire," here's "BLOOD"!!! The other little bit of music you will hear after the theme is credited to some cat named Lindo Southworth in his only ever film credit! The trilling trumpet imitating Old Mother Riley's speech is especially interesting, the rest of the music has a real Three Stooges feel to it! Enjoy!!!