Reggae synonymous with Halloween? You wouldn’t have believed it? And yet, Jamaican music is full of titles, each more frightening than the last, and some are even classics known to everyone! They are called “Duppy tunes” in the Caribbean or “Spooky tunes” more generally, because they deal with ghosts, spirits, vampires or zombies. They sometimes offer metaphors to talk about leaders and people in power, but not only that!
We offer you a little overview with our selection of 10 special Halloween titles (well, we know, there are more than 10 but that’s also the magic of Halloween 😉 … Tremble fans of reggae, tremble!
The Skatalites.html”>Skatalites – Skalloween
A title that could not be more ambiguous! Halloween already inspired Jamaican artists of the 60s and the Skatalites.html”>Skatalites are undoubtedly the first to dare to wink with this ready-made play on words. An entirely instrumental piece of which the group has the secret with melodies reminiscent of the theme songs of vampire series or cartoons, while remaining irresistibly danceable of course.
Desmond Dekker – Dracula
Desmond Dekker falls under the spell of an attractive young girl while he walks on the beach one rainy night. They hold hands and when the girl smiles at him, amazed: “Believe me folks ! She was a Dracula !” The ska star warns his friends: girls with the faces of angels are sometimes ready to suck your blood. “Don’t fall in love”. No doubt a metaphor to talk about corrupt women…
King Horror – Dracula Prince of Darkness
This Dracula is not a metaphor. The artist goes so far as to announce the color in his stage name. The identity of this frightening deejay remains a mystery and several testimonies contradict each other on this subject. We can read here and there that it is the singer Laurel Aitken or a Trinidadian living in London named Young Growler. Whoever he is, this King Horror left behind a bunch of spooky tunes like Loch Ness Monster, Ghost Hour, Frankenstein and this magnificent and terrifying early reggae Dracula Prince of Darknessreleased in 1969.
Bob Marley – Mr Brown
Bob Marley himself contributed to “duppy tunes”, Jamaican songs that refer to ghosts, a true belief on the Caribbean island. When Marley was a child, there was a rumor in Jamaica that three ghosts were traveling the country in coffins looking for someone named Mr. Brown. Marley and his Wailers.html”>Wailers make a sublime piece. The dark voice of Peter Tosh is heard in the distance on an instrumental full of creepy sounds by Lee Perry and whose instrumental version of the Upsetters.html”>Upsetters is called logically Dracula. And if you listen carefully, you’ll recognize the chords of another song from the Wailers.html”>Wailers that’s just as distressing: Duppy Conqueror.
Lee Perry – Ketch Vampire
We can’t talk about Halloween without mentioning Lee Perry. Dracula, Haunted House, Ghost Dance, Disco Devil, Ketch Vampire… The lexical field of horror has always inspired the producer and musician. Besides, isn’t Scratch compared to a wizard when he burns down his studio or embarks on artistic creations, each crazier than the last? The mad producer has also long shown his interest in voodoo and maintained ambiguity around his inclinations towards black magic. Brrrrrrr!
Peter Tosh – Vampire
Screams of what sounds like a werewolf introduce this Peter Tosh classic from his eighth solo album No Nuclear War released in 1987, the year the elder Wailer died. If we know Peter Tosh’s tendency to compare those he doesn’t like (politicians, hypocrites, slave traders, businessmen…) to vampires, terror has its place in the song punctuated by screams of beasts and a terrified woman. The dub of the song is also subtitled Dracula Version and is even more riddled with disturbing noises of all kinds.
Lone Ranger – Barnabas Collins
In 1979, deejay Lone Ranger disguised himself as a vampire sipping a glass of blood on the album Barnabas in Collins Wood. The title refers to a fictional character – a vampire – from a cult series from the 70s broadcast on the American channel ABC: Dark Shadowsadapted for the cinema by Tim Burton in 2012.
Easy Star All Stars ft. Mikey General & Spragga Benz – Thrillah
Thriller by Michael Jackson is undoubtedly the most famous horror song in the history of music. In 2012, the group Easy Star All Stars had fun covering the album of the same name in a reggae version (as it had already done with Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd or Sergent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band of the Beatles). For the eponymous title, which became Thrillah (yardie dialect obliges), it’s Mikey General who takes on the role of the king of pop in a slowed down reggae-style tempo. As for Vincent Price’s voice – you know, the one that gives you chills at the end of the song with his laughter coming straight from the darkness – it is replaced by that of Spragga Benz for a most successful effect.
Tommy Lee Sparta – Dark Clouds
The choreography of the music video Thriller undoubtedly inspired this Tommy Lee Sparta music video. The Jamaican, who appeared on the dancehall scene in 2008 with his gothic style, called on French dancer Mylana Malsert for the music video for Dark Clouds. A title faithful to the artist’s repertoire, specializing in these pieces that will shock you. Take a look at his YouTube channel, you won’t be disappointed…
Derrick Parker & Carl Meeks – Walking Dead
Carl Meeks and Derrick Parker teamed up in 2019 with the French label Rub A Dub Mrkt for a powerful soundclash-style digital tune on which they compare soundboys to the living dead and zombies. Sound ah go dead tonight!
Without forgetting to mention the following other titles:
