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.
Portrait Of A Man
Screamin' Jay Hawkins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who has taken all the heart aches,
And all the pain he can stand.
I am using all the colors of blue,
I have here on my stand.
I am painting in oil, a portrait of a man.
Oh yes I know, I know when he's crying
'Tis my tears, my tears that he cries.
I am so tired of how he feels inside,
I mix the paint with my hand.
I am painting in oil, a portrait of a man.
As I paint a wrinkled brow and hair that is turning grey,
Oh tell me how, how can I paint a smile
And eyes that keep turning away?
I am using all the colors of blue
I have here on my stand.
I am painting in oil, a portrait and I'm the man.
A portrait and I am the man.
In Screamin' Jay Hawkins's song Portrait of a Man, the lyrics describe the process of painting a portrait of a man who has endured an immense amount of heartache and pain. The singer of the song is using oil paint and various shades of blue to capture the essence of this man's suffering. The refrains of "I am painting in oil, a portrait of a man" serve as a reminder that despite the challenge of capturing such a complex subject, the artist remains dedicated to their task.
The lyrics offer insight into the relationship between the painter and the subject of the portrait. The painter can see the physical effects of this man's emotional turmoil in the lines on his face and the tears in his eyes. The singer is so weary of the subject's pain that they mix the paint with their hand, adding a personal touch to the portrait. The struggles don't end there, however; the painter wonders how to depict a smile and eyes that keep turning away. The song ends on a haunting note, with the refrain "A portrait and I am the man," suggesting that maybe the artist themselves is struggling with similar emotional turmoil.
Overall, this song is a poignant reflection on the difficulties of capturing complex emotions and human experiences through art. The use of color, metaphor, and repeated phrases like "painting in oil" create a vivid picture of the painter's process and the subject's emotional state. The lyrics also leave room for interpretation, inviting the listener to connect with the song in their own way and explore the themes of pain, suffering, and creativity.
Line by Line Meaning
I am painting in oil, a portrait of a man
I am creating a work of art in oil paints that depicts a man
Who has taken all the heart aches,
This man has experienced all the emotional pain he can handle
And all the pain he can stand.
He has also reached his limit for physical pain
I am using all the colors of blue,
For this artwork, my palette consists solely of blue hues
I have here on my stand.
These are all the shades of blue I currently have available
I can tell he is dying. I see death in his eyes.
The man whose portrait I am painting appears to be near death, as evidenced by the look in his eyes
Oh yes I know, I know when he's crying
I am acutely aware when this man is experiencing emotional pain
'Tis my tears, my tears that he cries.
And I feel a deep connection to him, to the point where I sometimes cry on his behalf
I am so tired of how he feels inside,
I am emotionally drained by how this man is struggling internally
I mix the paint with my hand.
As I paint, I use my hand to blend and manipulate the colors to achieve the desired effect
As I paint a wrinkled brow and hair that is turning grey,
The man's age is captured in my artwork through the creases in his forehead and the grey in his hair
Oh tell me how, how can I paint a smile
But I struggle to convey a sense of joy or contentment in his expression
And eyes that keep turning away?
Especially since his eyes seem to avoid making direct contact with mine
A portrait and I am the man.
Ultimately, this painting is not just of the man, but it is a reflection of my own emotions and connection to him
Contributed by Scarlett D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@freed0mf1ght3r4
I am painting in oil, a portrait of a man
Who has taken all the heart aches,
And all the pain he can stand.
I am using all the colors of blue,
I have here on my stand.
I am painting in oil, a portrait of a man.
I can tell he is dying. I see death in his eyes.
Oh yes I know, I know when he's crying
'Tis my tears, my tears that he cries.
I am so tired of how he feels inside,
I mix the paint with my hand.
I am painting in oil, a portrait of a man.
As I paint a wrinkled brow and hair that is turning grey,
Oh tell me how, how can I paint a smile
And eyes that keep turning away?
I am using all the colors of blue
I have here on my stand.
I am painting in oil, a portrait and I'm the man.
A portrait and I am the man.
@graffitirasto
this dont have the recognition it deserves.... this is a real joint
@rschnoop4752
He never got the recognition he deseved in his life as a serious artist.
@chrisbeard734
R Schnoop facts, he’s so criminally underrated
@madelaca4589
I'm here after listening to Angelina Jordan's adaptation "Portrait of a Child" in rehearsal! I hope down the line she sings it somewhere or records it! It is truly remarkable!
@harrietjohnson1930
I’m a jazz lover in my 60th decade and this awesome song is NEW to me. I’m amazed at Angelina Jordan’s artistry and heart. Her choice of songs thrills me. She’s introducing people to artists and songs they may not know about. 👌🏾
@davidratcliffe1
6th decade🙂
@user-kj1pq6zh3x
@@davidratcliffe1 🤣🤣🤣
@hannephil
Any other Angelina Jordan fans who stumbled onto this? The soul lives on.
@dhamma58
yes.....this was maybe too much for the age she was in the rehearsal that was posted..... As a side note, of all the reactors who did "spell" from Angelina, I found only one who knew who Sscreamin Jay Hawkins was.
@brucecumming8803
Yes, I'm here.