Photo: Bobby “Boris” Pickett | By Matthew Thomas, Men’s Journal | (Can you believe this?!) Sixty-four years ago today, a song that has since regularly been considered the greatest Halloween track ever recorded hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song’s massive success came even though some powerbrokers at the time found Bobby Pickett’s “Monster Mash” so morbid that it was banned for 11 years.
‘Monster Mash’ By Bobby Pickett Hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 64 Years Ago Today
In October 2024, https://www.History.com published an article looking at the history of Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s iconic song “Monster Mash.” It noted that it hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 20, 1962, and it stayed there for a total of two weeks. While topping the chart was a major accomplishment for the track, that pales in comparison to it making such a huge impact on pop culture that it has continued to be celebrated decades later.
Who Ranked ‘Monster Mash’ By Bobby Pickett as the ‘Biggest Halloween Song of All Time’
On October 20, 2025, Billboard published its ranking of the “25 Biggest Halloween Songs of All Time on the Hot 100.” The outlet featured several huge tunes, including Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters,” Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me,” and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising.” However, the list from the highly respected outlet ranked Bobby Pickett’s “Monster Mash” at No. 1.
Why ‘Monster Mash’ By Bobby Pickett Was Banned for 11 Years
. . . . . . . . . .
Read more about why this perfectly delightful song was banned way back when:
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/music/articles/banned-11-years-biggest-halloween-130000157.html
This story was originally published by Men’s Journal on Oct 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men’s Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
More About Bobby “Boris” Pickett From Wikipedia
Robert George Pickett (February 11, 1938 – April 25, 2007), better known as Bobby “Boris” Pickett, was an American singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for co-writing and performing the 1962 smash hit novelty song “Monster Mash”.
Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, Pickett watched many horror films as a result of his father’s position as a local movie theater manager. He started improvising impressions of Hollywood film stars at a young age. At a turning point in his career, Pickett was a vocalist for a local swing band called Darren Bailes and the Wolf Eaters. He would later serve in the United States Army.
He co-wrote his signature song, “Monster Mash”, with Leonard Capizzi in May 1962 as a spoof of popular contemporary dance crazes. Pickett’s performances include impersonations of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, and although many major labels declined to distribute the song, Gary S. Paxton agreed to release it in the United States. “Monster Mash” was met with instant success and peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in October 1962, including Halloween. The song was certified gold by the RIAA on August 28, 1973. The song has since re-charted five more times—in 1970, 1973 (when it reached the Top Ten), 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Though Pickett never achieved the same success as he did with “Monster Mash” on charts, he continued to lend his voice to further parodies and other songs throughout the rest of his life. Pickett also made appearances on television, film, and radio as a guest star, narrator, actor, and disc jockey. He released Monster Mash: Half Dead in Hollywood, an autobiography, in 2005. Pickett died of leukemia on April 25, 2007, at age 69.
. . . . . . . . . .
Pickett co-wrote “Monster Mash” with Leonard Capizzi in May 1962. The song is a spoof on the dance crazes popular at the time, including the Twist and the Mashed Potato, which inspired the title. The song features Pickett’s impersonations of veteran horror stars Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi (the latter with the line “Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?”). Every major record label declined the song, but after hearing it, Gary S. Paxton agreed to produce and engineer it. Among the musicians who contributed to the song are pianist Leon Russell and The Ventures drummer Mel Taylor. Issued on Paxton’s Garpax Records, the single became a million-seller, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks before Halloween in 1962. It was styled as being by “Bobby (Boris) Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers”.
The track re-entered the U.S. charts twice, in August 1970, and again in May 1973, when it reached the number 10 spot. In Britain it took until October 1973 for the tune to become popular, peaking at number three in the UK Singles Chart. For the second time, the record sold over one million copies. The tune remains a Halloween perennial on radio and on iTunes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Pickett
Photo: Boris Pickett | From the Men’s Journal article | no credit given
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/music/articles/banned-11-years-biggest-halloween-130000157.html
