Sounds of Darkness

Al Zanino - The Vampire Speaks (1957)

I wish I could find more information on Al Zanino … there isn’t much out there. This single was recorded by Zanino and Cliff Juranis in 1957. It looks like they collaborated on a Christmas single in 1950 as well … A Message From Santa … but that’s about all I can find. This single features some dialogue between Dracula and his Dwight Frye-ish lackey begging for blood, followed by a little speech by Dracula himself, and the flip-side has a lovely rendition of “All of a Sudden, My Hearts Sings” with lyrics re-written by Dracula (Zanino). I heard the side 1 – “The Vampire Speaks” - for the first time in the Ghouls With Attitude compilation from 2004, and came across side 2 – “In the Vampire’s Lair” – at Scar Stuff.

It’s a quick 6 minutes of weirdness. The Dracula impersonation is good, especially the diabolical laughter. A few sound effects, some piano (low notes and high notes only, it’s like the middle 3rd of the piano was broken) … good old-fashioned spookiness. I like it.

Get it from El Wiener de Halloween.