After yesterday's song from the Addams Family musical, I realized that in six years of doing this blog, I hadn't yet posted one of the most iconic pieces of Halloween music ever written--The Addams Family theme! Sure we've covered the The Munsters, and mentioned the Addamses in passing, but never have we honored their most well-known ditty. Today that wrong gets righted. Or would the Addams prefer if the right got wrongded?
The theme was written by Vic Mizzy, who was something of a jingle genius. Not only did he write the theme and scores to The Addams Family, but also for some of the other great loves of my life: Green Acres, five Don Knotts films, and three William Castle films! Just a few years ago, when Vic was hitting 90, he even helped out Sam Raimi on music for two of his Spiderman films. Talk about holding a special place in my heart!
Vic died in 2009 at the ripe old age of 93. I hope he's now dancing the Mamushka with Raul Julia and Charles Addams himself! Happily we still have Vic's wonderful music to remember him by, in all its creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky, finger-snapping glory. Below are two versions of the theme--the first is a fun reworking of it by comedian Joey Gaynor doing his best Frank Sinatra. It was originally on an album of celebrity impersonators covering TV themes called Rerun Rock, although I know it from an Elvira compilation. The second is the beloved original from the show. Let's get our witches' shawls on, broomsticks we can crawl on, and snap along, shall we?
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