Monster Mash - Cover Versions

Cover Versions

"Monster Mash" became a pop music standard, and many cover versions have been recorded over the years.

• Radio/television horror host John Zacherle recorded his own version of the song in 1962, for an album of the same name.
• The Beach Boys covered the song just two years after its original release, on their 1964 album Beach Boys Concert.
• The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band covered it on their 1969 album Tadpoles having performed it on the British television series Do Not Adjust Your Set in 1968 (complete with Frankenstein Monster on "electric spoons").
• Boris Karloff was so taken with the song that he performed it himself on a 1965 episode of Shindig!.
• In 1972 horror film actor and DJ Mike Raven performed a version of "Monster Mash" on the music show 2 G's and the Pop People.
• Actor Vincent Price recorded a version of it as well in 1977.
• A 1978 Halloween episode of Happy Days featured Ron Howard performing a rendition of the song, using a Peter Lorre impression rather than Pickett's Karloff one.
• In 1980, the British ska band Bad Manners covered "Monster Mash" on their debut album Ska 'n' B.
• Hardcore punk band Ill Repute covered it as well on their 1985 album Omelette.
• In 1988, The Big O covered it for the Return of the Living Dead Part II Soundtrack.
• In 1991, Ross Higgins covered the song for the ABC For Kids Video Hits videotape.
• In 1994, Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song for their Halloween special "Trick or Treason."
• The 1996 album Test for Echo by the Canadian rock trio Rush includes an instrumental track, Limbo, which contains several samples from "Monster Mash" including the line "Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?".
• In 1997, the horror punk group The Misfits released a music video of them covering "Monster Mash" live. They also released a studio version as a single in 1999, and recorded a separate version for their 2003 album Project 1950 (see below).
• In the Walt Disney Records album Mickey's Monster Bash, Goofy sings the cover version of "Monster Mash".
• A Kidz Bop cover version appeared on the 2004 album Kidz Bop Halloween & Kidz Bop Halloween Hits.
• Mannheim Steamroller also covered the song for their 2006 album Halloween, Vol. 2: Creatures Collection.
• The song has also been covered by Zombina and the Skeletones.
• In 2008, The Smashing Pumpkins released a live recording of the song from Halloween of that year through Live Smashing Pumpkins.
• In 2011 Shake It Up stars Kenton Duty, Adam Irigoyen and Davis Cleveland covered the song for the film Spooky Buddies
• Blair Packham wrote and performed "One Hit Wonder" in 2004, about the later years of Bobby Pickett's musical career and Pickett's relationship with his most-recognized song.
• In 2012, the song was parodied by Zoidberg and his dummy "Little Hermes" for the Futurama episode "The Six Million Dollar Mon".
• On Halloween 2012, as part of the "Wrecking Ball" tour stop in Rochester, New York, the song was World-Tour Premiered by the one and only Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
• The song was featured on the original motion picture soundtrack for the critically acclaimed 2012 film "Silver Linings Playbook" covered by CrabCorps.