Rocking Halloween II - A What the Riff Rabbit Hole

What The Riff?!? makes another "stab" at Halloween with these theme songs, movie and TV music, and rock songs with a bent towards the macabre.  We hope you enjoy this second "Halloween" special! 

Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran  This is the breakthrough song off Duran Duran's Rio album.  It was inspired by the Big Bad Wolf in the Little Red Riding Hood story.  It is also wone of the first times where video popularity drove the success of the band, with Duran Duran on constant play for the new MTV station.

Dead Man's Party by Oingo Boingo  Danny Elfman fronted this new wave band before he became famous for his work on film scores.  It also appeared in the comedy film "Back to School" starring Rodney Dangerfield.

This Is Halloween by Marilyn Manson  Oingo Boingo wrote this track for "The Nightmare Before Christmas," and shock rocker Marilyn Manson takes on this cover.

Theme from the "Harry Potter" film series  The Wizarding world of Harry Potter has been an enduring franchise, and this music draws us into that world from the first few notes.

Pet Sematary by The Ramones  Steven King was a big fan of the Ramones, and invited the band to his place in Maine.  While there Dee Dee Ramone wandered into the basement with a copy of King's "Pet Sematary" and returned an hour later with the lyrics to this song.

Bad Things by Jace Everett  "True Blood" is a series on HBO based on a novel called "The Southern Vampire Mysteries," and the show portrays vampires in a campy, dark comedy style.  Country singer-songwriter Jace Everett provided the intro music to this series.

Werewolf Bar Mitzvah by Donald Glover and Tracy Morgan  A skit in the television series "30 Rock" would produce this song.  Originally a 7-second clip from a skit, it was turned into a full fledged Halloween novelty song due to popular demand.

Witch Doctor by David Seville  The origins of this song go back to 1958, where Seville tells the story of how a guy learned to talk to girls from a witch doctor friend.  It has become a well known novelty song covered by a number of artists.

Devil in Disguise by Elvis Presley The King dropped this single in 1963 about a girl who uses her charm to manipulate people to get what she wants.  It peaked at number 3 on the Billboard singles chart.

You're Dead by Norma Tanega  Singer-songwriter and experimental musician Norma Tanega was better known for writing songs for Dusty Springfield.  However, this song which she penned in 1966 was picked up for use in the vampire satire "What We Do In the Shadows" in 2014.

Devil Went Down to Georgia by the Charlie Daniels Band  Folks, don't bet your soul against the Devil.  But if you do, make sure you're the best fiddler that there has ever been.  Charlie Daniels would peak at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 with this song.

Runnin' with the Devil by Van Halen  The first album that Van Halen produced was a monster in itself, and this track was the first one on the album.  It is a great introduction to the band, not only for Eddie Van Halen's guitar work, but also for David Lee Roth's screams, Michael Anthony's high harmonies, and Alex Van Halen's percussion work.

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**NOTE: What the Riff?!? does not own the rights to any of these songs and we neither sell, nor profit from them. We share them so you can learn about them and purchase them for your own collections.