Los Angeles, CA (September 15, 2023) – Craft Recordings is thrilled to rollout more ways to celebrate Andrew Gold’s cult seasonal classic, Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music, this spooky season. Available to stream/download today is a new remix (with accompanying music video) from The Living Tombstone, reworking Gold’s Halloween classic “Witches, Witches, Witches.” The danceable Living Tombstone remix of the song brings a new dimension to this classic tune, infusing it with their signature dark and eerie electronic soundscape.
For even more frightful fun, Craft has pressed Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music on limited-edition “Bone” color vinyl. Fans can also pick up a new Deluxe CD edition featuring ghoulish new cover art by acclaimed illustrator Jess Rotter whose ’70s-inspired psychedelic designs have appeared on releases by the Grateful Dead, Questlove, Yusuf/Cat Stevens, Harry Nilsson and more. Both editions include “Spooky, Scary Skeletons”—a cult favorite that was recently certified Gold by the RIAA, thanks in part to its popularity as a meme for nearly a decade on YouTube and, most recently, on TikTok. As a special bonus, the catchy viral remix of “Spooky, Scary Skeletons” is also included on all formats.
Originally released in 1996, Halloween Howls was recorded by Gold to fill a void in seasonal music. In the original liner notes of the children’s album, he wrote “Each holiday has a mood and usually has music to go with it…However, it’s been very hard to find any tapes or CDs of Halloween music. In fact, there’s mostly just scary sound effects available and very few songs. So, I fixed that.” Recruiting several of his musician friends and collaborators to join in the fun (including Linda Ronstadt, David Cassidy and Nicolette Larson), Gold recorded a collection of both classic Halloween tunes (“The Monster Mash,” “The Addams Family” and “Ghostbusters) as well as whimsically creepy original tunes, including “It Must Be Halloween,” “In Our Haunted House,” and, of course, “Spooky, Scary Skeletons.”
“Spooky, Scary Skeletons” originally became a phenomenon in 2010, when a YouTuber paired Gold’s track with a 1929 Disney cartoon called “The Skeleton Dance.” The video garnered over 34 million views, helping to popularize the song. The Living Tombstone (electronic duo, Yoav Landau and Sam Haft) are connected to the song’s viral history. In 2013, Yoav Landau created a remix "Spooky, Scary Skeletons," which garnered over 98 million views on YouTube. Speaking on the new “Witches, Witches, Witches” release, Landau says “I’ve always loved Andrew Gold’s work, especially his Halloween songs! It’s such a treat to get to remix another one of his tracks after “Spooky, Scary, Skeletons.””
Today, “Spooky, Scary Skeletons” has become a phenomenon yet again with a new generation, thanks to a short dance video that was posted earlier this fall by a 16-year-old user. The video quickly captured millions of views and inspired countless TikTok users to share their own interpretation of the dance, resulting in billions of views across posts cut to the infectious song.
A prolific singer, songwriter, producer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist, Andrew Gold (1951–2011) not only enjoyed a successful solo career but also worked with some of the world’s biggest artists. Beginning with 1975’s Andrew Gold, he released more than a dozen solo albums and numerous charting singles, including the Top 10 hit, “Lonely Boy,” the UK Top 5 hit, “Never Let Her Slip Away” and 1978’s “Thank You for Being a Friend”—a cover version of which became the instantly recognizable theme song to The Golden Girls. Over the years Gold penned songs for artists ranging from Trisha Yearwood, Wynonna (the
Click here to stream/download/watch “Witches Witches Witches (The Living Tombstone Remix)”
Click here to order Halloween Howls on CD/LP
HALLOWEEN HOWLS TRACK LISTING CD
1. It Must Be Halloween
2. The Monster Mash
3. Spooky, Scary Skeletons
4. Trick Or Treat
5. The Addams Family
6. Ghostbusters
7. Gimme A Smile (The Pumpkin Song)
8. Don't Scream (It’s Only Halloween)
9. The Creature From The Tub
10. Halloween Party
11. Witches, Witches, Witches
12. In Our Haunted House
13. Spooky, Scary Skeletons (Undead Tombstone Remix)
HALLOWEEN HOWLS TRACK LISTING VINYL
Side A
1. It Must Be Halloween
2. The Monster Mash
3. Spooky, Scary Skeletons
4. Trick Or Treat
5. The Addams Family
6. Ghostbusters
7. Gimme A Smile (The Pumpkin Song)
Side B
1. Don't Scream (It’s Only Halloween)
2. The Creature From The Tub
3. Halloween Party
4. Witches, Witches, Witches
5. In Our Haunted House
6. Spooky, Scary Skeletons (Undead Tombstone Remix)
About Craft Recordings:
Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most essential collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its storied repertoire includes landmark releases from icons such as Joan Baez, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Celia Cruz, Miles Davis, Isaac Hayes, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, R.E.M., Joan Sebastian, and Traveling Wilburys. Plus, the catalog recordings of celebrated contemporary acts including A Day to Remember, Evanescence, Alison Krauss, Nine Inch Nails, Taking Back Sunday and Violent Femmes, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Fania, Fantasy, Fearless, HITCO, Musart, Nitro, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Vanguard, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay and Victory, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation—ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. Craft is also home to the Billie Holiday and Tammy Wynette estates which preserve and protect their respective names, likeness and music through day-to-day legacy management of these cultural trailblazers.
Craft Recordings is the catalog label team for Concord. For more info, visit CraftRecordings.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter, I