What do Frankenberry, Richard Hell, a cat named Sloopy, and Bill Haley and His Comets have in common? You can find out with Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records’ first-ever reissue of the long-lost Halloween classic Songs Our Mummy Taught Us! This one-of-a-kind, super-rare LP was the creation of voiceover artist Bob McFadden–best-known as the voice of Frankenberry, the Thundercats’ pal Snarf, Cool McCool, and countless others–and the mysterious “Dor,” otherwise known as singer-songwriter (and America’s best-selling poet!) Rod McKuen. Rock-and-roll and beat culture met horror headfirst on this off-the-wall album, with McFadden taking the role of a not-so-scary Mummy and McKuen voicing a blasé beatnik on its best-known song, the novelty hit “The Mummy.” According to McKuen, none other than Bill Haley’s Comets played on the rocking track! But that’s not all. McFadden’s Mummy also put a new spin on “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” and “Hound Dog,” while McKuen’s original song “The Beat Generation” would inspire Richard Hell’s “Blank Generation.” Other satiric targets on this frightfully fun LP include exotica (“Noisy Village”), surf music (“Bingo,” a riff on “Tequila” with McFadden as the bingo caller), and celebrity culture (“The Beverly Hills Telephone Directory Cha-Cha-Cha”). The original 1959 Brunswick album artwork has been meticulously recreated for this new reissue, and an insert features new liner notes by The Second Disc’s Joe Marchese. It’s all been remastered by Mike Milchner at SonicVision and pressed on clear with orange pumpkin swirl vinyl limited to 750 copies. To miss Songs Our Mummy Taught Us would be, well, a grave mistake!
