(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Black Music Sunday: Tricking and treating to the 'Zombie Jamboree' for Halloween [1] [] Date: 2023-10-29 As Halloween draws close, trick-or-treaters and Halloween parade participants dress up for the occasion. Some of the more popular costumes are Barbies, princesses, Spider-Man, witches, monsters, and fairies—yet scary zombies remain a spooky favorite. While getting ready to write today’s story I found myself humming a tune about zombies that I grew up with, and was fascinated by its history and multiple covers. There is a wealth of Halloween music in multiple genres that make a great soundtrack for the holiday, much of which we’ve explored here in the past. Today, let’s explore a song about “jumbies” or “zombies.” RELATED STORIES: Black Music Sunday: Halloween is the the perfect time to enjoy these spooky tunes They put a spell on us: Black musicians and spooky tunes for Halloween ”Black Music Sunday” is a weekly series highlighting all things Black music. With more than 180 stories covering performers, genres, history, and more, each featuring its own vibrant soundtrack. I hope you’ll find some familiar tunes and perhaps an introduction to something new. Indo-Caribbean author Tiara Jade Chutkhan has written a fascinating story about the history of a variety of “jumbees,” including the Bacoo, Moongazer, Choorile, Ole Higue, The Massacooramaan, and The Dutchman Jumbee: In the Caribbean, the stories of Jumbees are among the spine-chilling tales that have been passed on for generations. Jumbee is the name given to most of the nefarious creatures in Caribbean mythology. There are many different types of Jumbees, each reflecting the Caribbean's ethnic makeup of African, Amerindian, East Indian, Dutch and English people. The Jumbee is said to be the spirit of evil people who were destined to become instruments of darkness in their death. The creatures themselves cast dark, shadowy figures and are much more sinister than the average ghost. Maybe you’ve heard the stories before, from your mom or aunty who claimed to have seen Jumbee years ago back home. Maybe you’d like to learn more about the shapes and forms these creatures take, to avoid them in the future. Author David Buck at Tedium wrote about the history of the tune “Jumbie Jamboree”: Like many "folk" songs, there is unclear copyright in the song and many lines are variable between versions. While many versions set the song in a New York, Long Island or Woodlawn Cemetery, some place it in Kingston or an island cemetery. The third verse is the most variable with The Charmer's version discussing the local food at a previous jumbie carnival parade while Rockapella's version discusses zombies and King Kong invading various New York City landmarks. The third verse of King Flash's 1956 version further discusses the female zombie's romantic pursuit of the singer. The folk singers who put the song onto U.S. charts were The Kingston Trio. x YouTube Video CompVid101’s YouTube notes explained some of the background on the Kingston Trio’s commentary and the song: The original Kingston Trio of Bob Shane, Nick Reynolds, and Dave Guard perform one of their best known and most beloved songs, "Zombie Jamboree," from the group's second album on Capitol Records, "...from the Hungry i" in 1958. The song was written around 1953 by Winston O'Connor, a Calypso musician from Trinidad and Tobago who styled himself "Lord Intruder." The droll introduction heard on this video by Trio member Dave Guard misidentifies the composer and group as "Lord Invader and his 12 Penetrators." Guard was joking; while there was an actual Lord Invader in the calypso world, he didn't write this particular song, and there was never a band of that name on record. The Kingston Trio started out as a group most interested in performing calypso music, and their very name derived from the association of "Kingston" with the Caribbean as much as it did from the vaguely Ivy League sound that it had as well. When the Trio's recording of "Tom Dooley" became a monster hit a few months after the "Hungry i" album was released, Capitol Records decided to market the Kingstons as "folk singers" - a label with which the Trio was always uncomfortable and which traditionalists resented. But as sole surviving original member Bob Shane remarks, "After Tom Dooley broke out, Capitol Records came to us with a great big suitcase full of money and said 'You boys are now folk singers." We said "You're damn right we are!' After all, we were all business majors in college." "Zombie Jamboree" has also been recorded by the calypso king himself, Harry Belafonte (though strangely three years after the KT) and more recently in the 1990s by the vocal group Rockapella. Of the multiple covers of “Zombie Jamboree,” singer, actor, humanitarian, and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte may have recorded some of the best versions of the song multiple times, starting in 1962. RELATED STORY: Black Music Sunday: Celebrating Harry Belafonte on International Jazz Day x YouTube Video True to Belafonte’s politics, he updated the lyrics with references to atomic warfare. Here is a video of him performing it live with very interesting choreography: x YouTube Video In the PBS special “Spike & Co.: Do It Acapella,” which aired on May 10, 1990, Rockapella does their version (you see Spike Lee and Debbie Allen in the clip): x YouTube Video Rockapella’s version was used as the music for a video animation made by James Bowman (@DonkeysBazooka): x YouTube Video Hope you have fun this Halloween! Beware of lurking zombies, and I hope you will treat us to some of your spooky Halloween favorites in the comments section below! 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