<P> "I Put a Spell on You" is a 1956 song written by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, whose recording was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll . It was also ranked No. 313 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time . The track became a classic cult song covered by a variety of artists and was his greatest commercial success, reportedly surpassing a million copies in sales, although it failed to make the Billboard pop or R&B charts . </P> <P> Hawkins had originally intended to record "I Put a Spell on You" as "a refined love song, a blues ballad". However, the producer "brought in ribs and chicken and got everybody drunk, and we came out with this weird version...I don't even remember making the record . Before, I was just a normal blues singer . I was just Jay Hawkins . It all sort of just fell in place . I found out I could do more destroying a song and screaming it to death ." </P> <P> Hawkins first recorded "I Put a Spell on You" as a ballad during his stint with Grand Records in late 1955 . However, that version was not released at the time (it has since been reissued on Hawkins' UK Rev - Ola CD The Whamee 1953--55). The following year, Hawkins re-recorded the song for Columbia's Okeh Records--the notorious screaming version, which was released in October 1956 . This version was banned from radio for its outrageous style . A truncated version was released but the ban remained . The record still sold over a million copies . </P> <P> The hit brought Hawkins together with Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed who promptly added him to his "Rock and Roll Revue ." Up to this time, Hawkins had been a blues performer: emotional, but not wild . Freed suggested a gimmick to capitalize on the "demented" sound of "I Put a Spell on You": Hawkins wore a long cape, and appeared onstage by rising out of a coffin in the midst of smoke and fog . The act was a sensation, later bolstered by tusks worn in Hawkins' nose, on - stage snakes and fireworks, and a cigarette - smoking skull named "Henry". </P>

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