TOUR NOTES BIOGRAPHIES
Screaming Jay Hawkins
Screaming Jay Hawkins was born Jalancy J. Hawkins on July 18th, 1929 in Cleveland, Ohio. At 14, he lied about his age to join the army to fight in WWII and soon found himself in the special services entertaining the troops. In 1950, Hawkins added the "Screaming" to his name as a cry against injustice and prejudice. In 1955, he released "I Put a Spell On You" which became a hit.
Due to the massive hit, Hawkins began touring and became notorious for his wild shows and addiction to alcohol. Alan Freed once paid Jay to emerge from a coffin on stage and soon, the coffin became a part of his act. He began to use more props such as skulls and rubber snakes in his act. Upon wearing a warrior outfit with a loincloth, spear, shield and white shoe polish as body paint, the NAACP chastised Jay for promoting stereotypes and his career soon went downhill.
In 1974, Jay Hawkins realized his alcoholism was destroying his life and although he feared that alcohol was what made his show so interesting, he got help. His fears were definitely unfounded as he toured with the Clash and started his interest in the punk scene. His career slowly began to recover. In 1989 Jay appeared in the movie Mystery Train and began to appear in commercials and talk shows.
On February 12, 2000, Screaming Jay Hawkins died from surgery complications.
Read more on Screaming Jay Hawkins at: www.lastcallrecords.com/biographies/screamingjay.html
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