A History of the Blues - Screamin' Jay Hawkins

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A History of the Blues - Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put A Spell On You

Jalacy "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins (July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer, and boxer. Famed chiefly for his powerful, operatic vocal delivery and wildly theatrical performances of songs such as "I Put a Spell on You", he sometimes used macabre props onstage, making him an early pioneer of shock rock.

Hawkins was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He had three older sisters, but his mother decided to put him into foster care. He grew up in the boarding house his foster mother owned. Hawkins studied classical piano as a child and learned guitar in his 20s. In a 1993 interview, Hawkins recounts telling his music tutor,

...to leave before I make your life miserable [...] because with the type of music I want to play. The things I want to do with music and don't want to do it the old conventional way that everybody knows. I want to come up with my own ideas. I've got all the information that I need to get from you to do what I want, now if you stick around, I'm going to make your life miserable.

His initial goal was to become an opera singer (Hawkins cited Paul Robeson as his musical idol in interviews), but when his initial ambitions failed, he began his career as a conventional blues singer and pianist. Other influences included Mario Lanza, Enrico Caruso, Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Brown, Amos Milburn, Wynonie Harris, Nellie Lutcher, Roy Brown, Jimmy Witherspoon, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Roy Milton, Elmore James, Lightnin' Hopkins, and H-Bomb Ferguson.

Three months after World War II ended, he dropped out of East Technical High School and joined the US Army with a forged birth certificate (aged 16). He was stationed at Fort Bliss. During this time, he entertained the troops as part of his service. Hawkins was an avid boxer during his years in the US Army boxing circuit. He later claimed that he won several boxing titles; however, there is no record of his wins. He also told friends and reporters various embellished stories about attending Yale University and the University of Cincinnati Conservatory. Additionally, he claimed he fought in World War II and the Korean War and killed enemy combatants.

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