What the Riff?!?

Rocking Halloween - A What the Riff Rabbit Hole


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Our Christmas Rabbit Hole Episodes rank among the highest. This special episode features classic rock songs and theme songs which feature a spooky theme.  We hope you enjoy this first “Halloween” special from What The Riff?!?

Theme from the television series “The Walking Dead”  This post-apocalyptic zombie series ran for 11 seasons, from 2010 until 2022.  It was based on a comic book of the same name and sparked multiple spin-offs.  The minor key and strings set the mood well for this horror series.

Theme from the television series “The Munsters  A television classic that surprisingly only ran for two seasons, from 1964 until 1966, in black-and-white.  Some say the ratings drop that resulted in cancellation of the show was due to competition from "Batman."

Run Like Hell by Pink Floyd  This track from “The Wall” features music from David Gilmour and lyrics from Roger Waters, the last collaboration to date from these two.  The song represents the turn to violence in the life of Pink as he orders his thugs to attack the “riff-raff.”

Bark at the Moon by Ozzy Osbourne  The first single from the 1983 album of the same name tells of a creature who terrorized a town, was killed, and then returns from the dead.  The song featured the first Ozzy music video.

Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath  The title track to the 1980 album of the same name features new front man Ronnie James Dio on vocals, taking over for Ozzy Osbourne in the band.  Dio is also the source of the lyrics for the track.

Spirits in the Material World by the Police  Sting wrote this opening track to the Police October 1981 album “Ghost in the Machine.”  It is a psychological and philosophical piece, discussing man's existence and the failure of the institutions around him. 

Witchy Woman by the Eagles  One of the early Eagles songs, this track was the only song on the debut album for which Don Henley would have a writing credit.  The inspiration was an amalgam of women Henley had met, but the primary inspiration was Zelda Fitzgerald, the muse and wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Hells Bells by AC/DC  The lead-off track to the album “Back in Black” starts with the tolling of a 2,000 pound bronze bell.  Today it is used in multiple sports events, as well as being a fantastic Halloween song.

Friend of the Devil by the Grateful Dead  This folk rock track appeared on the Dead's fifth studio album, “American Beauty,” from 1970.  It is one of the most covered Dead songs in their catalog.    

Feed My Frankenstein by Alice Cooper  While this song was originally recorded by British group Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction, it is more famous in its cover version which Cooper performed in a cameo in the movie “Wayne's World.”  The cover also has guest appearances itself, including Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Nikki Sixx, and Elvira. 

Superstition by Stevie Wonder  This funky song came out in October 1972 and hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973.  Wonder chronicles a number of superstitions in the lyrics, and warns against the negative effects of being superstitious. 

Thriller by Michael Jackson  No Halloween song list would be complete without the seventh single from Michael Jackson's sixth studio album of the same name.  Thriller was not originally intended to be a single, but became that in an attempt to boost the album sales.  The video would be scarily expensive, and would be called "the most famous music video of all time" by the Library of Congress.  The tactic worked, as album sales doubled after Thriller's release as a single.

Thanks for listening to “What the Riff?!?” 

NOTE: To adjust the loudness of the music or voices, you may adjust the balance on your device. VOICES are stronger in the LEFT channel, and MUSIC is stronger on the RIGHT channel.

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**NOTE: What the Riff?!? does not own the rights to any of these songs and we neither sell, nor profit from them. We share them so you can learn about them and purchase them for your own collections.

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What the Riff?!?By Rob Marbury, Wayne Rowan, Bruce Fricks and Brian Dickhute

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