What is 'I Put a Spell on You' by Screamin' Jay Hawkins about?

'I Put a Spell on You' is a 1956 song by Jalacy 'Screamin' Jay' Hawkins about obsessive love — a narrator placing a voodoo curse on a woman who has left him. Hawkins reportedly recorded the final version in a single session while heavily intoxicated, producing a primal, shrieking vocal performance that was banned by numerous radio stations for being 'too suggestive and animalistic'.

Why did Screamin' Jay Hawkins perform inside a coffin?

DJ Alan Freed suggested the coffin entrance in 1956 to create a theatrical spectacle for live shows. Hawkins, who had classical opera training and initially performed as a serious blues artist, was reluctant but accepted. The prop became his signature, and Hawkins performed rising from a coffin for the next 40 years — though he later said the gimmick trapped him in a novelty persona that limited his mainstream commercial success.

How many children did Screamin' Jay Hawkins have?

By his own estimate, Screamin' Jay Hawkins fathered between 57 and 75 children over his lifetime, most of whom he never met. A DNA project launched after his death in 2000 identified dozens of his children, several of whom have since connected with each other. The number remains unverified.

The Opera Singer Who Woke Up in a Coffin

Genre: R&B, blues, proto-shock rock, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, 1950s, 1960s

February 25, 2026

Jalacy Hawkins wanted to be Paul Robeson. A producer got him drunk, a DJ dared him to play dead, and he spent forty-four years trying to stand back up.

Tracks

1. I Put a Spell On You — Screamin' Jay Hawkins
2. Alligator Wine — Screamin' Jay Hawkins
3. Person to Person — Screamin' Jay Hawkins
4. Little Demon — Screamin' Jay Hawkins
5. I Put A Spell On You — Nina Simone
6. I Put A Spell On You — Creedence Clearwater Revival
7. Heartattack And Vine — Tom Waits
8. I Put a Spell On You — Bryan Ferry
9. Welcome to My Nightmare — Alice Cooper

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