Spooky Halloween: Songs About Witches and Ghosts
This week, hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot celebrate the spooky season by revisiting their favorite songs about witches and ghosts.
Songs About Witches
With Halloween fast approaching, Jim and Greg are feeling SpOoKy. This week, they pay tribute to the queens of Halloween (and all year really) witches.
Jim:
- The Kinks, "Wicked Annabella"
- Jethro Tull, "The Witch’s Promise"
- Monster Magnet, "19 Witches"
- Bettye LaVette, "Witch Craft in the Air"
Greg:
- Donovan, "Season of the Witch"
- Martha and the Vandellas, "Mobile Lil The Dancing Witch"
- Radiohead, "Burn the Witch"
- Florence + the Machine, "Whitch Witch (Demo)"
Songs About Ghosts
Jim and Greg share some of their favorite ghost songs in honor of Halloween!
Jim:
- Roky Erickson, "If You Have Ghosts (Then You Have Everything)"
- Psychedelic Furs, "The Ghost in You"
- Johnny Cash, "Ghost Riders in the Sky"
- Robyn Hitchcock, "My Wife and My Dead Wife"
- Mekons, "Ghosts of American Astronauts"
- The Goldstars, "Stroll in Hell"
Greg:
- Joy Division, "Dead Souls"
- Suicide, “Ghost Rider”
- Caroline Herring, "Long Black Veil"
- Raveonettes, “Apparitions”
- Ladytron, "Ghosts"
- Black Sabbath, “Black Sabbath”
Featured Songs:
- The Head and the Heart, "Ghosts," The Head and the Heart, Sub Pop, 2011
- The Beatles, "With a Little Help from My Friends," Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Parlophone, 1967
- The Kinks, "Wicked Annabella ," The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, Pye, 1968
- Donovan, "Season of the Witch," Sunshine Superman, Epic, 1966
- Jethro Tull, "The Witch's Promise," The Witch's Promise (Single), Chrysalis, 1970
- Martha and the Vandellas, "Mobile Lil The Dancing Witch," Dance Party, Motown, 1965
- Monster Magnet, "19 Witches," Powertrip, A&M, 1998
- Radiohead, "Burn the Witch," A Moon Shaped Pool, XL, 2016
- Bettye LaVatte, "Witch Craft in the Air," Witch Craft in the Air (Single), LuPine, 1963
- Florence + the Machine, "Which Witch (Demo) [Bonus Track]," How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, Island, 2015
- Roky Erickson and the Aliens, "If You Have Ghosts," The Evil One, 415, 1981
- Joy Division, "Dead Souls," Still, Factory, 1981
- Psychedelic Furs, "The Ghost in You," Mirror Moves, Columbia, 1984
- Suicide, "Ghost Rider," Suicide, Red Star, 1977
- Johnny Cash, "(Ghost) Riders in The Sky," Silver, Columbia, 1979
- Caroline Herring, "Long Black Veil," Golden Apples of the Sun, Signature Sounds, 2009
- Daniel Johnston, "Casper the Friendly Ghost," Yip/Jump Music, (Self-Released), 1983
- Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians, "My Wife and My Dead Wife," Gotta Let This Hen Out!, Midnight Music, 1985
- The Raveonettes, "Apparitions," Raven in the Grave, The Raveonettes, 2011
- Mekons, "Ghosts of American Astronauts," So Good It Hurts, Twin/Tone, 1988
- Ladytron, "Ghosts," Velocifero, Nettwerk Productions, 2008
- The Goldstars, "Stroll In Hell," Stroll In Hell (Single), The Goldstars, 2021
- Black Sabbath, "Black Sabbath," Black Sabbath, Vertigo, 1970
- Umphrey's McGee, "The Floor," Death By Stereo, ATO, 2011
Dear Listeners,
For more than 15 years, Sound Opinions was a production of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Now that the show is independent, we're inviting you to join the band and lend a hand! We need your support more than ever because now we have to do all the behind-the-scenes work that WBEZ handled before (like buying insurance and paying for podcast hosting, ugh). Plus, we have some exciting ideas we'd like to try now that there's no one to tell us no!