Believe it or not, the most famous "witchcraft" song in history was supposed to be a love ballad. Most people think of it as a terrifying, gravel-voiced anthem of obsession, but the i put a spell on you original concept was actually a smooth, mid-tempo blues track about a guy trying to get his girl back. It didn't start with screams. It started with a broken heart.
Jay Hawkins—later known as Screamin' Jay Hawkins—initially recorded the song for Grand Records in 1955. That version? It’s almost unrecognizable. It’s polite. It’s calm. It’s also completely forgotten because it lacked the raw, unhinged energy that would eventually make him a legend.
Then came 1956.
How the I Put a Spell on You Original Became a "Voodoo" Masterpiece
When Hawkins moved over to Okeh Records, producer Arnold Maxim had a weird idea. He wanted to spice things up. He brought in a ton of food and a massive amount of alcohol for the session. According to Hawkins himself, the entire band—including guitarist Mickey Baker and saxophonist Sam "The Man" Taylor—got completely trashed.
They weren't just "having a drink." They were obliterated.
Hawkins later admitted he didn't even remember the recording session the next day. He had to listen to the tapes to learn how to sing like that again. The result was a performance filled with guttural grunts, demonic laughs, and a vocal delivery that sounded like it was being ripped out of a man's chest. It was shocking. It was visceral. And for 1956, it was dangerous.
The Controversy and the Ban
Radio stations weren't ready for it. In an era where Perry Como and Elvis Presley were the kings of the airwaves, a black man screaming about putting spells on women was too much for the mainstream. The song was widely banned from radio play. Why? Because it sounded "cannibalistic."
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That’s a real word used by critics at the time.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was actually worried that Hawkins' performance would reflect poorly on African Americans, reinforcing negative stereotypes. Despite the bans, or maybe because of them, the record sold over a million copies. It tapped into a primal energy that rock and roll was still trying to find.
The Birth of Shock Rock
Before Alice Cooper, before Ozzy Osbourne, and decades before Marilyn Manson, there was Screamin' Jay Hawkins. After the success of the i put a spell on you original 1956 version, Hawkins leaned into the persona. He started coming out of coffins on stage. He carried a staff topped with a smoking skull named Henry. He wore leopard skin capes and stuck bone needles through his nose.
He became a character.
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But it’s important to remember that Hawkins was a classically trained opera singer. He had a magnificent bass-baritone voice. He wasn't just a gimmick; he was a powerhouse who chose to use his voice to create a theatrical horror show. He once said, "I just found out I could do more with a scream than I could with a song."
Analyzing the Music: Beyond the Screams
If you strip away the theatrics, the 1956 recording is a masterclass in tension. The song is in 6/8 time, giving it a swaying, hypnotic feel. The instrumentation is sparse but heavy.
- The saxophone lines by Sam Taylor act as a second voice, responding to Hawkins' bellows.
- The piano provides a rhythmic anchor that feels like a heartbeat.
- The lyrics are simple, almost like a chant, which reinforces the "spell" theme.
Most people don't realize how short the song is. It clocks in at under two and a half minutes. In that tiny window, Hawkins manages to transition from a pleading lover to a terrifying warlock. It’s a complete narrative arc in less time than it takes to boil an egg.
Nina Simone and the Evolution of the Spell
You can't talk about the i put a spell on you original without mentioning how it evolved. While Hawkins brought the fire, Nina Simone brought the soul. In 1965, her version transformed the song again. She took the "spell" and turned it into a sophisticated, jazz-inflected anthem of female empowerment and desperation.
It’s a different kind of magic.
Where Hawkins was a monster in the woods, Simone was a woman in a high-rise, losing her mind over a man. Her version is arguably more famous today than the 1956 original, but it wouldn't exist without that drunken night in the studio nearly a decade earlier.
Then you have Creedence Clearwater Revival. They took it to Woodstock. They added psychedelic guitar riffs and a swampy, bayou vibe that cemented the song as a rock standard. Everyone from Bette Midler in Hocus Pocus to Marilyn Manson has tried to capture that lightning in a bottle. Most fail because they try too hard to be "spooky." Hawkins wasn't trying to be spooky; he was just trying to survive a recording session while being incredibly drunk.
Why It Still Works in 2026
The reason this song hasn't faded into the "oldies" bin of history is its authenticity. In a world of Autotune and perfectly polished pop, the i put a spell on you original feels like raw earth. It’s messy. You can hear the spit hitting the microphone. You can feel the room vibrating.
It’s also a song about something universal: the loss of control. Whether it’s through love, lust, or literal magic, the idea of being "under a spell" is a metaphor that never gets old.
Honestly, the song is a bit of a fluke. If the band had stayed sober, if the producer had been more conservative, we’d have a boring blues ballad that no one would remember. Instead, we got a piece of art that defined a whole subgenre of music. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the best creative decisions are the ones that happen by accident when the rules are thrown out the window.
Common Misconceptions About the Song
- It was written for a movie. Nope. It was a standalone single, though it has since appeared in dozens of films like Stranger Than Paradise and Hocus Pocus.
- Hawkins was a Voodoo practitioner. He wasn't. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army and a former amateur boxer (he was the Alaska Middleweight Champion!). The Voodoo stuff was purely for show.
- The "screams" were sound effects. Every sound on that record came out of Jay’s mouth in real-time.
How to Experience the Original Properly
If you want to understand the impact of the i put a spell on you original, don't just stream it on a tiny phone speaker. You need to hear it loud. You need to hear the low-end frequencies of the baritone sax and the way Hawkins' voice clips the pre-amps of the 1950s recording equipment.
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- Find the 1956 Okeh Records version. Skip the 1955 Grand Records version unless you’re a completionist; it’s too polite.
- Listen for the "breathing." Between the phrases, you can hear Hawkins gasping for air. It’s one of the most human parts of the record.
- Compare it to the covers. Play the Nina Simone version immediately after. The contrast in emotional texture is a lesson in music theory all on its own.
- Watch the 1966 performance on the Merv Griffin Show. It’s one of the few high-quality clips of Jay in his prime, emerging from the coffin. It’s campy, but his vocal power is undeniable.
The song is a landmark. It’s the bridge between the blues and everything loud and weird that followed. Without Screamin' Jay Hawkins getting a little too tipsy in a New York studio, the history of rock and roll would look—and sound—a lot more boring.
Next Steps for Music History Fans:
To truly appreciate the lineage of shock rock, your next move should be exploring the 1950s "Rhythm and Blues" scene that birthed these wilder sounds. Check out the discographies of artists like Little Richard and Joe Turner to see how the energy of the church and the barroom collided to create the music we still listen to today. If you're looking for more Screamin' Jay, seek out his track "Constipation Blues"—it's exactly what it sounds like, and it proves he never lost his sense of the absurd.