Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Hawkins studied classical piano as a child and learned guitar in his twenties. His initial goal was to become an opera singer (Hawkins has cited Paul Robeson as his musical idol in interviews), but when his initial ambitions failed he began his career as a conventional blues singer and pianist.
Hawkins was an avid and formidable boxer. In 1949, he was the middleweight boxing champion of Alaska.
In 1951, Hawkins joined guitarist Tiny Grimes's band, and was subsequently featured on some of Grimes's recordings. When Hawkins became a solo performer, he often performed in a stylish wardrobe of leopard skins, red leather and wild hats.
His most successful recording, "I Put a Spell on You" (1956), was selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. According to the AllMusic Guide to the Blues, "Hawkins originally envisioned the tune as a refined ballad." The entire band was intoxicated during a recording session where "Hawkins screamed, grunted, and gurgled his way through the tune with utter drunken abandon." The resulting performance was no ballad but instead a "raw, guttural track" that became his greatest commercial success and reportedly surpassed a million copies in sales, although it failed to make the Billboard pop or R&B charts.
The performance was mesmerizing, although Hawkins himself blacked out and was unable to remember the session. Afterward he had to relearn the song from the recorded version. Meanwhile the record label released a second version of the single, removing most of the grunts that had embellished the original performance; this was in response to complaints about the recording's overt sexuality. Nonetheless it was banned from radio in some areas.
Soon after the release of "I Put a Spell on You", radio disc jockey Alan Freed offered Hawkins $300 to emerge from a coffin onstage. Hawkins accepted and soon created an outlandish stage persona in which performances began with the coffin and included "gold and leopard skin costumes and notable voodoo stage props, such as his smoking skull on a stick – named Henry – and rubber snakes." These props were suggestive of voodoo, but also presented with comic overtones that invited comparison to "a black Vincent Price."
He continued to tour and record through the 1960s and 1970s, particularly in Europe, where he was very popular. He appeared in performance (as himself) in the Alan Freed bio-pic American Hot Wax in 1978. Subsequently, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch featured "I Put a Spell on You" on the soundtrack – and deep in the plot – of his film Stranger Than Paradise (1983) and then Hawkins himself as a hotel night clerk in his Mystery Train and in roles in Álex de la Iglesia's Perdita Durango and Bill Duke's adaptation of Chester Himes' A Rage in Harlem.
His 1957 single "Frenzy" (found on the early 1980s compilation of the same name) was included in the compilation CD, Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files, in 1996. This song was featured in the show's Season 2 episode "Humbug". It was also covered by the band Batmobile. "I Put a Spell on You" was featured during the show and over the credits of Episode 303 of The Simpsons.
In 1983, Hawkins relocated to the New York area. In 1984 and 1985, Hawkins collaborated with garage rockers The Fuzztones, resulting in "Screamin' Jay Hawkins and The Fuzztones Live" album recorded at Irving Plaza in December 1984. They perform in the 1986 movie Joey.
In July 1991, Hawkins released his album Black Music for White People. The record features covers of two Tom Waits compositions: "Heart Attack and Vine" (which, later that year, was used in a European Levi's advertisement without Waits' permission, resulting in a lawsuit), and "Ice Cream Man" (which, contrary to popular belief, is a Waits original, and not a cover of the John Brim classic). Hawkins also covered the Waits song, "Whistlin' Past the Graveyard", for his album Somethin' Funny Goin' On. In 1993, his version of "Heart Attack and Vine" became his only UK hit, reaching #42 on the UK singles chart.
When Dread Zeppelin recorded their "disco" album, It's Not Unusual in 1992, producer Jah Paul Jo asked Hawkins to guest. He performed the songs "Jungle Boogie" and "Disco Inferno".
Hawkins also toured with The Clash and Nick Cave during this period, and not only became a fixture of blues festivals, but appeared at many film festivals as well, including the Telluride Film Festival premier of Mystery Train.
Hawkins died on February 12, 2000 after surgery to treat an aneurysm. He left behind many children by many women; an estimated 55 at the time of his death, and upon investigation, that number "soon became perhaps 75 offspring".
Although Hawkins was not a major success as a recording artist, his highly theatrical performances from "I Put a Spell On You" onward earned him a steady career as a live performer for decades afterward, and influenced subsequent acts. He opened for Fats Domino, Tiny Grimes and the Rolling Stones. This exposure in turn influenced rock groups such as The Cramps, Screaming Lord Sutch, Black Sabbath, Arthur Brown, Dread Zeppelin, The Horrors, Marilyn Manson, Tom Waits, Alice Cooper and Glenn Danzig.
I Hear Voices
Screamin' Jay Hawkins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And now you're knockin' on my door
I hear you knocking but you can't come in
I hear you knocking, go back where you've been
I begged you not to go, but you said goodbye
And now you tell me all your lies
I hear you knocking, but you can't come in
You better get back to your use to be
'Cause your kind of love ain't good for me
I hear you knocking, but you can't come in
I hear you knocking, go back where you've been
I told you way back in Fifty Two
That I would never go with you
I hear you knocking, but you can't come in
I hear you knocking, go back where you've been
The lyrics to Screamin' Jay Hawkins's song "I Hear You Knockin'" tell a story of a man who had a relationship with a woman that ended badly. The woman left him a long time ago but is now trying to come back into his life. The man can hear her knocking at his door, but he refuses to let her in because he knows her love is not good for him. He reminds her that he told her before that he would never go with her, and he tells her to go back to where she came from.
The lyrics are a powerful commentary on the nature of relationships and how they can often be unfulfilling and toxic. Even though the man in the song may have feelings for the woman, he knows that he will only be hurt again if he lets her back into his life. He is standing up for himself and refusing to let her manipulate him.
As the song progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that the woman is not just a former lover but a liar and a cheat. The man is tired of her lies and is not willing to let her back into his life. He knows that he deserves better than her and is willing to wait until the right person comes along.
Overall, the lyrics to "I Hear You Knockin'" are a powerful commentary on the nature of relationships and the importance of self-care and self-respect. They remind us that we should never compromise our own well-being for the sake of someone else, no matter how much we may love them.
Line by Line Meaning
You went away and left me long time ago
You left me a long time ago and now you are back.
And now you're knockin' on my door
You are knocking on my door now.
I hear you knocking but you can't come in
I hear you knocking, but you cannot come in.
I hear you knocking, go back where you've been
I hear you knocking, go back to where you came from.
I begged you not to go, but you said goodbye
I pleaded with you not to leave, but you still said goodbye.
And now you tell me all your lies
And now you are telling me all your lies.
You better get back to your use to be
It would be better for you to return to your former life.
'Cause your kind of love ain't good for me
Because your kind of love is not good for me.
I told you way back in Fifty Two
I told you a long time ago, in 1952.
That I would never go with you
That I would never be with you.
I hear you knocking, but you can't come in
I hear you knocking, but you cannot come in.
I hear you knocking, go back where you've been
I hear you knocking, go back to where you came from.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Pearl King, Dave Bartholomew
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind