It may not give Tippi Hedren shivers – because I have a feeling that nothing scares her – but Christina Aguilera’s Birds of Prey, a track off of her unnecessarily unheralded science fiction concept album Bionic, is definitely a spooky pop masterpiece.
Of course, Aguilera, who has had songs featured on such genre television shows as The Vampire Diaries and Roswell, is always in flight at www.christinaaguilera.com.
Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
For generations of children the scariest thing about the distinguished Portia Nelson was probably the fact that her decisive Sister Berthe didn’t like Julie Andrews’ lovable Maria in the 1965 film version of The Sound of Music. But Nelson’s friendship with author Tom Tryon actually resulted in a role with even more haunting consequences. Cast as Mrs. Rowe in the atmospheric film version of Tryon’s The Other, this eclectic artist found herself as a part of the cinematic universe of one of the most popular horror novels of the early ‘70s.
But Nelson, who was also an influential author and songwriter, was perhaps best known for her work in the cabaret. Her beautiful soprano voice, which deepened adroitly with age, was nimble enough to find subtle meanings in the songs she sang, allowing listeners to, as her most popular lyrical composition attested, “make a rainbow” in their minds.
Nelson, whose poem Autobiography in Five Chapters is a notable tool for those in recovery, also battled cancer for many years. Ever the warrior, she, ultimately, lost her life to the disease, at the age of 80, in 2001.
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A mother’s quest for vengeance strikes at the heart of the much ridiculed Jaws: The Revenge. I, for one, have always taken this goofy showcase for the determined talents of Lorraine Gary as a fun, feminist uprising and Stacy Lattisaw’s song Nail it to the Wall, featured on the film’s soundtrack, definitely reflects the power of a woman at her fullest strength.
Lattisaw, who enjoyed a number of bouncy, beloved hits throughout the ‘80s, is still performing in a spiritualistic capacity and can be visited at www.stacylattisaw.org.
Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
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In 1972’s The Possession of Joel Delaney, eclectic hoofer Shirley MacLaine encountered a demonic presence that forever altered the life of Norah, the steadfast mother and sister that the actress gave passionate life to.
Thankfully, as a veteran of such musical comedies as Irma La Douce and Sweet Charity, MacLaine seems to be imbued with something much less sinister in reality…the Gypsy in Her Soul!
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Haters of ‘80s AM pop radio may believe that there is nothing scarier than doing a duet with Phil “Sussudio” Collins. But Marilyn Martin, a pretty blonde with a powerhouse voice, found her greatest success singing the nougat thick romantic ballad Separate Lives with Genesis’ most erstwhile band member.
Unfortunately, Martin’s follow-up hit, Night Moves, got nowhere near the recognition of the song that brought her that first taste of fame. But, it’s sinister synth action and dark, erotically charged energy make it the perfect background song for some obsessive horror flick in the making.
Martin, meanwhile, worked with Patrick Leonard and Madonna, on her second LP, which, sadly, received even less press than her first. After fading from the spotlight for a bit, this slinky chanteuse, thankfully, seems to be making music again and can be reached at www.marilyn-martin.com.
Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
Her beauty brought Howard Duff to his knees in 1947’s Brute Force, but Yvonne De Carlo is probably best known to the latch key generation as the gloriously fun Lily Munster. Besides The Munsters, fans of freewheeling horror fare are most likely familiar with her dedicated performances in such late night cable favorites as Cellar Dweller, Play Dead, American Gothic, Satan’s Cheerleaders and Silent Scream.
Her multiple talents extended far beyond genre territory, though. An acclaimed singer, she won praise for her performance in Stephen Sondheim’s Follies in the ‘80s. As the clip below reveals, she was also a vibrant guest on television talk shows and variety specials, as well.
Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan
Best known for her career defining performance as Maria in the original Broadway production of West Side Story, the exquisite Carol Lawrence also cavorted, gracefully, across television screens on such shows as Murder, She Wrote, Hawaii Five-O and General Hospital.
As other urbane divas before her, Lawrence showed her horror roots by flirting with danger in the 1978 made for TV film Summer of Fear (AKA Stranger in Our House). Directed by the legendary maestro of terror, Wes Craven, here Lawrence found herself being threatened by the supernaturally enhanced Lee Purcell. Nicely, this beloved cult piece that offered Linda Blair a place to hone her act as a feisty damsel in distress, has recently been given a deluxe Blu-ray release by Music Box Films.
That is reason to celebrate, as Lawrence did in 1965, that some people do understand our needs as horror fans…and that they most certainly “got rhythm”!
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Kim Carnes may have included the track on her 1982 Voyeur LP, but the underrepresented Sue Saad actually sang the theme to the 1981 science fiction thriller Looker on the film’s soundtrack. Along with her band The Next, Saad received a lot of critical acclaim. Unfortunately, the praise didn’t result in album sales. Thus, the band’s self-titled 1980 release was their last to receive major distribution.
The track Young Girl moves from edgy pop to a more Jamaican rhythm, strong proof of the band’s eclectic nature.
Two of Saad’s band mates, James Lance and Tony Riparetti, meanwhile went on to work, extensively, with cult film director Albert Pyun.
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Unlike contemporaries like Blondie or The Divinyls, Bananarama never appeared on the soundtrack for A Nightmare on Elm Street flick. That’s unfortunate because the exuberant trio, well known for their cover of Venus, definitely showed more than “pure desire” with tracks like Cruel Summer and Dance with a Stranger.
In fact, the haunting Stranger, which appeared on their best selling 1986 album True Confessions, hints at possible suicide and/or deadly repercussions due to a broken heart.
The beloved group, currently alternating between a longstanding duo and the original line-up, is still making music as of this day, though, so Krueger fans may eventually get a longed for sonic paycheck.
Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
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There were a number of ‘80s girl groups featuring actresses. The Pin-ups, Lisa London’s (The Naked Cage, Sudden Impact) group, had a minor hit with Just About a Dream. Big Trouble, fronted by Bobbie Eakes (The Bold and the Beautiful, All My Children), were produced by the legendary Giorgio Moroder and had a song featured on the Over The Top soundtrack.
American Girls, highlighted by the co-lead vocals of Hilary Shepard, was probably the most musically diverse of the three. With layered musicianship, their single album release on IRS Records was compared to The Go-Go’s, their label mates. But their songs, while pop, were actually a bit more complex than the fun New Wave stylings of their more famous counterparts. This can be evidenced in the harmonic structures of American Girl, which also found a place in celluloid-verse, being featured in the Anthony Michael Hall feature, Out of Bounds.
The striking Shepard, meanwhile, may be better known to genre fans for committing some aggressive antics in Scanner Cop, one of several sequels to David Cronenberg’s horror classic, Scanners. She also made notable appearances on the A Cup of Time episode of Friday the 13th, the Series and Anthony Perkin’s lone directing credit, the horror-comedy Lucky Stiff.
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