From: "Dik de Heer" Date: Mon Feb 11, 2002 1:15 am Subject: Born To Be With You : Bobby Pickett BOBBY "BORIS" PICKETT Born 11 February 1940, Somerville, Massachusetts Pickett's father managed a local movie theater, so Bobby got to see as many movies as he wanted, including all of Boris Karloff's films. Later, when he decided to become an actor, he learned to do different voices and Karloff's came easily. After three years in Korea, Bobby moved to Hollywood, where he formed a singing group, the Cordials. One of the songs they performed was the Diamonds' "Little Darlin'," and in the middle of it Bobby recited a monologue in a Karloff voice. Leonard Capizzi, one of the Cordials, told Bobby they should write a song about a monster dancing to one of the latest hits. At first Bobby wasn't interested, but putting aside his acting ambitions temporarily, Lenny and he got together and wrote "Monster Mash". The Cordials were under contract to Gary Paxton, who liked "Monster Mash" and signed Bobby to his label, Garpax Records. Bobby thought it was just a clever novelty song, never dreaming it would sell more than a million copies, but it did, and became a # 1 hit in October 1962. The song proved to have amazing longevity, re-entering the Hot 100 in 1970 (# 91) and 1973 (# 10). The 1973 reissue also went to # 3 in Britain, where the BBC had originally banned "Monster Mash" from the British airwaves, on the grounds of being "offensive". Bobby had two other hits: "Monster's Holiday" (# 30), a Christmas follow-up to "Monster Mash" and "Graduation Day" (# 88), sung in his normal voice and without the middle name of "Boris", which he only uses in connection with "Monster Mash". CD: Bobby (Boris) Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers, The Original Monster Mash (Deram). 16 "Boris" tracks.