With voodoo-tinged blues and a creepy stage act that included popping out from a coffin, some say Screamin' Jay Hawkins was the father of true shock-rock bravado.
And that's not the only thing he fathered.
The demented singer-pianist who died last month at age 70 and wrote the 1956 hit, "I Put a Spell on You," also put his spell on a lot of women--becoming papa to 57 children during his storied (and apparently very busy) career. Now, friends and family hope a new Website will help track down Hawkins' long lost kids, and fulfill a final wish to reunite them all.
"Are you one of Jay's kids?" asks the site, www.jayskids.com.
With a record like his, you better go check your own papers. Potential tip-offs could include an uncanny blues-singing ability, an uncooperative afro, or a propensity to hang out in cemeteries.
Hawkins died of multiple organ failure following surgery February 12 in Paris. Friends say they probably won't be able to track down all his kids before lawyers submit his will for probate in May, but the whole hunt is about seeking closure and perspective in the wild man's life.
"He said it would be great to have the time to figure out who they are and what they're doing," says Maral Nigolian, a close friend of Hawkins (but not that close, she adds). "He had a lot of relatioships while he was married, unfortunately. But he was very charismatic, and as it happens, was moving very fast throughout the world."
So fast, he never figured out exactly where he spread his seed. Nigolian says the site--which features a comedic, snarling photo of a younger Hawkins--has drawn some 2,000 visitors per day. The site allows potential kin to fill out an application and provide proof of their relationship. Since the site went up, friends have tracked down and verified at least one of his daughters, reportedly born to him in 1951.
More discoveries may be on the way. While potential offspring could live anywhere throughout the world, friends think more may be found in places such as Atlantic City and Cleveland--where the screamer often "played."
Born in Cleveland in 1929, Jalacy J. Hawkins usually took the stage with a bone through his nose, a toy skull named "Henry" and emerged from a flaming coffin. His freaky hit "I Put a Spell on You" is probably best known from Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1968 cover, but other tunes such as "Constipation Blues" are cult classics.
Hawkins was married six times, but he only stayed in regular contact with one of his kids. While Nigolian says Screamin' Jay's estate is "of reasonable size," long lost kids shouldn't expect to uncover the fatherload. "This is not a jackpot," she says.
Responses to Hawkins' site have ranged from the traumatic to the downright hilarious, and Nigolian says they may start posting some of the best fake applications. "The fake entries are very funny and very amusing," Nigolian says. " 'J.J.' had a wonderful sense of humor, and in his spirit it would be appropriate to share them with fans and friends.
"But the real entries are very heartfelt," she adds. "You feel the pain, and whether they're his children or not, they're still looking for their fathers."
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