3 Things to Know About Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You"

It began as a gentle love ballad Hawkins originally wrote the song in 1949 as a tender, conventional love ballad with no hint of the wild energy it would later become.

The iconic version was an accident During the recording session, Hawkins and his band were reportedly drunk, and the performance turned into the raw, uninhibited shrieking version we know today.

Hawkins claimed he had no memory of recording it He later said he didn’t even remember the session, which explains why the final take sounds so unhinged and spontaneous.