Music to Make Horror Movies By: 5 Star

Published August 16, 2020 by biggayhorrorfan

Sometimes it just takes a great mind! Denise Pearson, lead singer of ‘80s British pop sensations 5 Star, obviously had an instinct that the inhabitants of such post-apocalyptic horrors as Aliens, Creepozoids and Hardware might have had a better chance of surviving with just one thing – a dance break. This video for System Addict, one of the band’s most popular numbers, brightly and enthusiastically works that theory out to vibrant effect.

Decades later, lucky (and loyal) listeners know that Denise is still brightening dark and desolate landscapes with appearances in musicals and on concert stages across the world.

https://www.facebook.com/denisepearsonmusic

Denise Pearson

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Beach House

Published August 10, 2020 by biggayhorrorfan

Beach House Gila

I suppose it doesn’t really matter whether Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally of Beach House were streaming low budget science fiction and horror films when composing their dreamy 2008 opus Devotion. Songs like the hypnotic Gila definitely make genre fans imagine that they were.

But whether they are releasing two magnificent albums in one year or expanding their musical horizons (as they did with 7, their latest release), this duo is always proving that they exist in the realm of the fantastic and otherworldly.

http://www.beachhousebaltimore.com https://www.facebook.com/beachhouse

Beach House Devotion

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Brandy

Published August 2, 2020 by biggayhorrorfan

brandy-i-know-what-you-did-last-summer

Was there ever a greater ’90s female horror team-up than Brandy and Jennifer Love Hewitt in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, a sequel that (in many books) out-slashed its predecessor?!? There was no way that any maniac, no matter how brilliantly twisted and calculating, would prevail with those two mini-divas on the scene.

Of course, long before ruling the screen, the singularly sensation-ed Brandy dominated the music charts with a series of top hits and bestselling albums.

Thankfully for aurally inclined cinema buffs, Brandy, who just dropped her latest LP Baby Mama, is still generating enough creativity to scare off the most ardent criminal at http://4everbrandy.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/foreverbrandy.

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Brandy-Norwood

Music to Make Horror Movies By: Isaac Hayes

Published July 26, 2020 by biggayhorrorfan

Isaac Hayes_Courtesy of Stax Archives (2)

A generation knew the iconic Isaac Hayes as the deep voiced patriarch behind South Park’s love-fetching Chef. Music fiends, meanwhile, adored him for his revolutionary soundtrack to Shaft, perhaps one of the most cherished and influential celluloid musical foundations of all time.

Perhaps surprisingly to some, Hayes had a large body of acting credits, with many notches on his genre belt, as well. Films like Escape from New York, Guilty as Charged, Acting on Impulse and the Larry Cohen-William Lustig partnered Uncle Sam all benefited greatly from his unique and powerful presence.

Dying at the (far too young) age of 65 in 2008, Hayes’ multi-faceted career is thankfully and continually being honored at www.isaachayes.com and https://www.facebook.com/isaachayes.

Hayes in Uncle Sam

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Apollonia

Published July 12, 2020 by biggayhorrorfan

Apollonia

After winning Prince’s heart in Purple Rain, the magnificent Apollonia (Kotera) went onto terrorize genre veterans Mark Hamill and Amanda Wyss with her supernatural ways in Black Magic Woman.

Before this occult take on Fatal Attraction, though, this always striking entertainer showed her sweeter side with the fun and energetic Since I Fell For You from her underrated debut album.

A humanitarian who has devoted time to such organizations as GLAAD, Apollonia is working on her memoir and can be followed at https://www.apolloniakotero.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/ApolloniaKoteroOfficial.

Black Magic Woman

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Della Reese

Published June 28, 2020 by biggayhorrorfan

Della Reese

Much grittier than her Touched By An Angel persona may have suggested, the amazingly eclectic Della Reese had a vast, multi-leveled career. Her extensive credits even include an appearance in Psychic Killer, a horror effort directed by B-movie stalwart Ray Danton, the one time husband of Creature from the Black Lagoon’s Julie Adams.

Audiophiles meanwhile have embraced One More Time, a mid-60s recording effort that finds Reese at the peek of her performing powers.

A more sensual Reese is discovered on her interesting cover of Bob Dylan’s Lay, Lady, Lay, as well.

Proving herself to be a performer of many moods and textures, Reese is eternally honored at https://dellareese.com/.

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

Reese with Neville Brand in Psychic Killer

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Lou Rawls

Published June 7, 2020 by biggayhorrorfan

As protests against this country’s deadly racism rightfully rage on, it almost feels wrong to post about favorite instances of entertainment. But I thought that maybe in acknowledgement of these injustices, I could highlight some of the world’s amazing Black talent this week…those amazing individuals who have given us joy throughout the good and the bad, the fair and the (all too frequently) unfair.

In the summer of 1984, I won a scholarship to study acting for the summer at Chautauqua Institution in Western New York. The students were given free passes to all of the theater and concert events that occurred throughout those two months on campus and, when I wasn’t in classes or rehearsal, I was often at the outdoor amphitheater. One night, Lou Rawls was performing his show. It was a number of years after his songs like Lady Love and You’ll Never Find had ruled the AM airways, but he was still a major star. After the show, my buddy Steve and I went to the stage door and he kindly chatted with us for a moment and signed our copies of the institute’s paper that had announced his presence for the evening. For a kid from a small farm town of 600, it was an exciting night, and Rawls has always had a special place in my memories in the many years since.

Of course, the fact that Rawls made appearances in such ‘90s genre films as Watchers Reborn, Morella and The Code Conspiracy, throws him into a special category, as well. Significantly, he also sang the theme song for Laurence Harvey’s odd 1974 cannibalism shocker Welcome to Arrow Beach. His songs have been featured in Disturbia and an episode of Ash Vs. The Evil Dead as well.

Rawls (1933-2006), an activist with a special interest in the education of minorities and the disadvantaged, performed with dignity and style for over 50 of his 72 years. I hope the songs that I have selected here not only highlight the uncertain hope of these times, but the breadth of his talent, as well.

http://www.lourawls.com/

Rawls and Mark Hamill in Watchers Reborn

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Premier Quartet

Published May 31, 2020 by biggayhorrorfan

Premier_Quartet

Sometimes classic only goes with classic. If nothing says the Halloween season like the Premier Quartet’s That Syncopated Boogie-Boo than nothing says horror like the Amityville house.

Thus, director Henrique Couto smartly ends Amityville No Escape, his entry in the long line of sequels based around this spooky landmark, with the Quartet’s unexpectedly fun, eternally jumping tune.

Inventively utilizing different styles of film throughout its running time, this indie found footage nightmare is available at Couto’s Store Envy site, https://www.storenvy.com/products/29194798-amityville-no-escape-limited-edition-blu-ray-dvd-combo-with-reversible-artw.

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Amityville

Music to Make Horror Movies By: Madelyn von Ritz/Lynn Castle

Published May 24, 2020 by biggayhorrorfan

Without a doubt When I Close My Eyes I See Blood is one of the most memorable songs on the soundtrack of William Friedkin’s notorious Cruising. As the music wildly escalates, the ragged vocals seem to barely escape from the singer’s throat. In fact, one could imagine that this desperate sounding performer was picked out of the heroin-soaked chorus of some dimly lit drag revue and then discarded on the street the moment the track was set to tape. But Madelyn von Ritz, who perfectly matched the forbidden horror of the film’s milieu with the number, was actually a talented artist who went on to score a variety of ‘90s film projects, proving that old adage that sometimes talent and beauty are just not enough to make a permanent mark in show business.

Ritz’s story is actually more fascinating than many celluloid journeys, though. Growing up in less than ideal circumstances, she escaped through the magic of fairy tales and music. As Lynn Castle. she gained recognition in the ‘60s as a barber and when she wasn’t writing, she was catering to the longer hair of such notables as Sonny Bono and Lee Hazlewood. After making quick appearances on several television shows and films, her song Lady Barber caught the ears of Hazlewood. They eventually recorded that track and one other. Neither made an impact on the charts. Riding this mild momentum, Castle also put an album’s worth of demos to tape around the same time. Unfortunately, those unique numbers remained a mysterious trade secret for almost 40 years. Thankfully, intrepid music purveyors Light in the Attic released them on a special edition LP in 2017 and the world is finally discovering the rare, psychedelic beauty of this long-neglected songstress.

We have all been to the Castle…and our lives will never be the same!

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Ethel Ennis

Published May 17, 2020 by biggayhorrorfan

Her take on The Star-Spangled Banner may have helped heal the nation during the Viet Nam War, but joyful terror tykes across the continents are probably most aware of the smooth tones of the divine Ethel Ennis due to her singing the theme song of the stop motion classic Mad Monster Party.

Credited as being a jazz icon, Ennis did not like to be sonically labeled, preferring to add her lilting personality and unique presence into whatever genre of music that she chose to sing.

But she was proud to be claimed by her native Baltimore as one of their prime attractions, dying at the age of 86 in 2019 after dedicating nearly 70 years of her life to the arts.

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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