Threefer – Halloween Songs

Happy Halloween! This creepy Threefer scares up three great lesser-known “Halloween” songs.

Blue Magic – “Born on Halloween”

Songwriters: Norman Harris, Allan Felder, and Tanya Jones
Genre: Philadelphia soul
Released: 1975

Blue Magic are among the most underappreciated R&B vocal groups of the 1970s. In the vein of The Stylistics and The Delfonics (check out our “Threefer” on the latter), Blue Magic notched about a dozen R&B hits, but only “Sideshow” made a significant dent on the pop chart, peaking at #8 in ‘74. For their third album, Blue Magic threw a curve ball with the excellent spooky-themed record, Thirteen Blue Magic Lane.

“Born on Halloween,” one of the album’s standout deep cuts, opens with a werewolf howl and witch cackle, followed by the quintet’s soaring falsetto vocals and lush orchestral production. The lyrics tell of a woman – a “queen of witchcraft” – who broke the narrator’s heart. (“With your witches’ brew, build me up then you desert me.”) A hauntingly beautiful track from the golden era of Philly soul.

Dead Kennedys – “Halloween”

Songwriters: Jello Biafra and East Bay Ray
Genre: Hardcore punk
Released: 1982

“Halloween” is a highlight from Dead Kennedys’ second full-length album and punk classic, Plastic Surgery Disasters. Frontman Jello Biafra, never one to shy away from biting social commentary, takes aim at people who only dress up on Halloween. All the other days of the year they’re normies conforming to what society expects. (“So, you run back and stuff yourself in rigid business costumes.”)

The track moves at a breakneck pace and has some killer guitar parts with an angular quality reminiscent of post-punk legends Gang of Four. The song closes with Biafra repeating, “Why don’t you take your social regulations and shove them up your ass?!”

Phoebe Bridgers – “Halloween”

Songwriter: Phoebe Bridgers, Christian Lee Hutson, and Conor Oberst
Genre: Indie folk
Released: 2020

The fifth track from Phobe Bridgers’s acclaimed sophomore LP, Punisher, “Halloween” is about a relationship on the rocks. “It’s like you’re bored and sad and you don’t want drama, and you’re waking up every day just wanting to have shit be normal,” Bridgers told Apple Music.

The narrator sings that she and her partner can’t even set their problems aside on Oct. 31. (“Baby, it’s Halloween/And we can be anything.”) Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst, who received a co-writing credit, provides vocals at the end, singing “Whatever you want, I’ll be whatever you want.”