“The Witch Doctor”   Broadway FunTime Records   Here’s David Seville’s original (with the original “chipmunks”)

Jan & Dean   “You Really Know How To Hurt A Guy”   Liberty Records

Richard Hayman and His Orchestra  “Voodoo!”  Mercury Records  UK (1959)  From the liner notes “This record, with its pulsating drum beats, summons you to the dark of the jungle, to the deepest interior of the worlds of fearsome fire and the brewing pot , surrounded by the weird frightening shadows of masks and men.   (Here) are the weird rhythms and sound of a music that is more than just music for it is a brimful of a secret life, distilled in ritual, reflecting its powers of magic that takes hold on its native hearers”

Here’s the American LP cover:

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Hayman when he sold me his personal record collection.  His apartment was beautiful – on Park Avenue – and was filled with photos, memorabilia, awards and art from a long career in music.   Known for his prolific output of classical pops, harmonica, lounge, exotica and bachelor pad records, the most valuable LPs in his collection were the ones he never played on or played – a stash of sealed Mainstream psych titles that he had because of his position as Music Director at the label throughout the sixties.

Archie Shepp   “The Magic of Ju-Ju”   Impulse Records   (1967)   .  

“The Rites of Diablo”   Johnny Richards Orchestra with the Dave Lambert Singers   Esquire Records (UK)   Cool English cover variation on this classic US jazz exotica record from 1958.   Here’s that original:

Johnny Richards put together this lp after studying the rituals of the Bantu,the family of tribes which inhabits southern Africa. Intrigued by the rhythmic possibilities he composed the six part Rites of Diablo which has been described as a sort of Black Mass during which the participants vilify, insult and by every means possible degrade the gods of evil. Augmenting his regular orchestra with SEVEN percussionists, including Sabu Martinez ,Potato Valdez and Jose Mangual, brought in to to emulate the sounds of the authentic drums used in the genuine ritual, plus the eight voiced Dave Lambert Singers, Richards took over New York’s Webster Hall for four sessions in march and april 1958. The flaring excitement of the band ,the superlative solo work of men such as Gene Quill, Seldon Powell and Jimmy Cleveland and the meshing of the huge percussion section gives the music a unique quality.   This is another great example of jazz exotica which had been long deleted until recently when it was reissued as part of the wonderful Mosaic Select series. — this from a great site called Orgy In Rhythm

Black Sabbath Vol. 4 Vertigo Records UK   (Warner Bros. in US/Canada) 1972.   Features several Sabbath classics, such as “Tomorrow’s Dream,” “Snowblind,” “Supernaut” and “Changes.” Eminem uses “Changes” as the basis for his track “Going Through Changes” from his album Recovery.

Here’s a video of “Changes” from Ozzy’s “end of the road” last concert.

In June 1972, Black Sabbath reconvened in Los Angeles to begin work on their fourth album at the Record Plant Studios.   The recording process was plagued with problems, many due to drug issues. Despite the copious amounts of cocaine, the band produced another first-rate album that pushed the boundaries of heavy metal and would influence countless bands.       As Butler told Guitar World in 2001, “Yeah, the cocaine had set in. We went out to L.A. and got into a totally different lifestyle. Half the budget went on the coke and the other half went to seeing how long we could stay in the studio…We rented a house in Bel-Air and the debauchery up there was just unbelievable.”

The album cover features a monochrome photograph of Ozzy Osbourne with hands raised, taken during a Black Sabbath concert. The album’s original release features a gatefold sleeve.   Each band member is given their own photo page, with the band on-stage (and photographed from behind) in the center.   The album’s cover art has proved iconic and even Converse shoes released a limited edition of a pair of sneakers with the Vol. 4 cover.

Now , just for fun, check out this brief clip from evangelist Michael Mills’ album about Hidden and Satanic Messages in Rock Music:

Voodoo in Haiti

“Magic”   Peter Pan Records   Thanks Way Back Now.   (See you send me a cover and…presto!…it appears on LPCoverLover)

“The Demon Possessed Boy”   A T.L. Osborn Evangelistic Production     Like A.A. Allen, Osborn was a Soul Crusader who traveled the country – the world – healing the sick and possessed, driving out demons and performing assorted miracles.   He recorded his big tent revival meetings and audience responses.   This record features a boy who misfiled his father’s records one day, leading his father to suspect the devil’s hand and bring him to see the great and mighty Osborn.   In this recording, T.L. dramatically illustrates his power of exorcism, leaving the boy cleansed, never to mistake James Brown with Clifford Brown again.   True story.

Rire-O-Thon Avec Romeo Perusse   (Canada)