Everybody's heard Dinner With Drac Pt. 1, right? However, you may not have heard Dinner With Drac Pt. 2 which was an alternate version Zach recorded at the bequest of Dick Clark, who "dug" the original but wanted a "cleaner" version of it to play on American Bandstand. The lyrics are different but frankly I think some of them are even sicker than the first version. Both versions were released back-to-back on a 45 in Feb. 1958. The public rejected the second version. Anyway, here are both versions so you can decide for yourself. Included are two more rare Zacherley B-sides and another great Zach track from the 1963 LP Scary Tales that fits in style-wise, making for a great EP. Enjoy, Whatever You Are!...
6 comments:
It's possible that Dick Clark had a say in this (he and the producer of Bandstand owned Swan records, which was next door to Cameo-Parkway), but the single had trouble getting airplay outside of Philadelphia and New York City, so it was re-pressed with a "tame" version as the B-side (Part 2). Billboard attributed all record sales to Part 1 (#6, 1958). ...and now I get to hear the B-side. Thank you.
stay tuned for more Zach!...
Via Google Books, I found the following Billboard magazine article from 1958.
The Billboard
(Feb. 24, 1958; pg. 6)
- Horror Hopping -
Cameo's 'Dinner With Drac' Starts Wierd Wax Trend
NEW YORK - A new and somewhat controversial "horror" trend is shaping up in the disk field, spearheaded by Cameo Records' new "Dinner With Drac" platter, and apparently an outgrowth of box-office bonanzas racked up by recent horror films ("I Was a Teen-Age Frankenstein," etc.) and high-rated video spook-movie shows.
"Dinner With Drac" features recitations, against a driving rock and roll background, of ghoulish limericks by John Zacherle, a top-rated spook-movie show emsee over WCAU-TV, Philadelphia. Altho the limericks have been read by Zacherle on TV for the past few years, Cameo's first waxing (tagged "Igor" and "Dinner With Drac") was banned by several radio stations last week, including WERE, Cleveland.
Consequently, Cameo chief Bernie Lowe cut a new version of the disk (labeled "Dinner With Drac" Parts 1 and 2) and kicked it off on Dick Clark's ABC-TV "American Bandstand" show Thursday (13). Meanwhile, Imperial rushed out a cover instrumental of the background theme by Ernie Freeman, and Lowe was in the process of cutting a covering himself, via an instrumental version by the Cool Ghouls, who also provide the backing on the Zacherle side.
Bill Randle, WERE, Cleveland, raised a furor in local newspapers when he played the original platter last Monday, and was cut off the air by WERE Program Director Sam Elber, who said the disk "had a vile lyric" (e.g. sample line: "For dessert there was bat-wing confetti and the veins of a mummy named Betty)."
Some deejays are playing the original disk, including Howard Miller, WIND, Chicago, but Cameo is pushing its new, more conservative, version. Meanwhile, Randle has made arrangement to bring Zacherle into Cleveland for a personal appearance. Current plans call for Randle and a group of teen-agers to meet him at the plane with a hearse and coffin. Zacherle, who calls himself Roland on TV, drew a crowd of 13,000 teen-agers at a WCAU-TV open house party last week.
thanx for the info!
File not found :/
try the Monster Recoerd Player below, all the tracks are available there for the taking...
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