Betcha y’all didn’t know 293

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October 20, 1962, the quirky and spooky song “Monster Mash” hits No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, just in time for Halloween. The self-described “graveyard smash” becomes a literal smash hit, spending the last two weeks of October at the top of the charts—and remaining a beloved Halloween classic decades later.

The song was a toss-off idea by Bobby “Boris” Pickett, a lifelong fan of legendary horror film actor Boris Karloff, who started doing Karloff impersonations at talent competitions. After deciding to pursue an acting career in California, he teamed up with a friend, singer Leonard Capizzi, to make a novelty song featuring Pickett’s Karloff voice. In less than an hour, Pickett and Capizzi recorded “Monster Mash” with a band they called The Crypt-Kickers.

 

 

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The crowd watching him was about as quirky as the song.  

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He was quirky, no denying that, but the "Monster Mash" made him rather rich too.

• Global Royalty Revenue: "Monster Mash" generates roughly $1 million annually in total global royalties.
• Publishing vs. Master Rights: Out of that yearly million, about $500,000 comes from global publishing revenue (which goes to the songwriters and publishers) and $350,000 comes from the master recording rights. [1, 2]

👥 Pickett's Personal Share

Because Pickett co-wrote the song with bandmate Leonard Capizzi, he was entitled to a continuous stream of songwriting and publishing royalties. [1, 2, 3]

• In interviews later in his life, Pickett noted that he cleared roughly $100,000 a year in personal royalties from the song.
• In a famous interview with The Washington Post, when asked if the song brought in enough money to ensure he never had to work another day in his life, Pickett replied: "Let's just say that it has paid the rent for 43 years.