A Brief Look at Zombie Music and Zombie Songs
Horror imagery and rock and roll have gone hand in hand for years. Songs about devils and demons have always been popular mainstays in hard rock and heavy metal, but what about zombies in music? Zombie songs are not uncommon to find. Many bands reference George A. Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead,' 'Dawn of the Dead,' and 'Day of the Dead' movies in their zombie music.
In 1953, calypso performer Lord Intruder wrote "Jumbie Jamberee," a song about spirits dancing in their graves. Numerous versions of this zombie song were covered in the US (now called "Zombie Jamboree") with slightly different lyrics by The Mighty Charmer and King Flash, The Kingston Trio; while the most widely-known version is by Harry Belafonte. Lay back, close your eyes, and picture yourself somewhere in the Caribbean dancing it up with the dead men.
(Bob Marley also recorded a reggae version with Peter Tosh on vocals in the 1970's and Rockapella covered it in the 1990's.)
"...Voodoo master says jump / Jump to the music shake your body now / Shake to the music
Shake around and around / Voodoo master says stop..." |
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The Zombies, an English group formed in 1961, scored a major US hit with 'She's Not There,' though none of their songs contained explicit references to the undead.
Shock-rocker Alice Cooper was the first to proclaim his true feelings for the living dead in his 1974 song, "I Love the Dead," from the Billion Dollar Babies album. With his outlandish stage pieces, including guillotines, hangings, and straightjackets, it's no surprise that zombies made it into his oeuvre as well.
"...I love the dead before they're cold
Their bluing flesh for me to hold..." |
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The Misfits would soon follow with countless zombie music. Their classic 1980 LP Walk Among Us references zombies in numerous songs like "Night of the Living Dead," "Astro Zombies," and "Braineaters." "Ghouls Night Out" and "We Bite" are also classic zombie tales, Misfits style.
"...Brains for dinner / Brains for lunch / Brains for breakfast Brains for brunch / Brains at every single meal
Why can't we have some guts..." |
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The punk community seems to have embraced zombie music more than any other genre. Bands like The Nekromantix, The Clash, Screeching Weasel, The Creepshow, The Riptides, MxPx, Calabrese, The John Stamos Project and more have all written zombie songs. The Ramones also recorded 'Pet Sematary' exclusively for the Stephen King film of the same name, where nothing dead stays buried for long.
While punk takes the gold in the zombie music race, mainstream pop has also delved into the genre. Michael Jackson's "Thriller," a fantastic "mini-movie" music video, featured choreographed zombies, and still made them look scary. Also during the 80's, new wave group Oingo Boingo decided to go to the "Dead Man's Party."
"...All dressed up with nowhere to go / Walking with a dead man over my shoulder /
Waiting for an invitation to arrive / Going to a party where no one's still alive..." |
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While not necessarily about zombies, The Cranberries topped the charts in the 90's with their war protest "Zombie," and indie favorites They Might Be Giants also touch on the topic with "Exquisite Dead Guy." Phantom Planet also toy with a noise-rock salute to the ghouls on the Stubbs the Zombie soundtrack. Even classic rockers Tom Petty and John Fogerty get in on the undead action in "Zombie Zoo" and "Eye of the Zombie," respectively.
Probably the most recognized name to use the zombie moniker is none other than Rob Zombie. From 1985-1998 he fronted the metal group White Zombie, a nod to the zombie movie from 1932. Rob Zombie went solo in 1998 with his Hellbilly Deluxe album, opening the record with the intro "Call of the Zombie," and the single "Living Dead Girl."
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