The Tall Man Won A Grammy?!
Did you know “The Tall Man” Angus Scrimm won a Grammy?
When horror movie fans think of Angus Scrimm they think of his terrifying visage, evil sentinel spheres, and of course his menacing growl of “BOYYYYYYY!!!” However, did you know Mr. Scrimm was an accomplished music writer who was the recipient of a Grammy award?
Back when LP vinyl records were the music format of choice, Angus Scrimm (then known by his given name of Lawrence Rory Guy) held a staff position at the legendary Capitol Records in Hollywood. In the pre-internet age, album liner notes were one of the most important ways for fans to learn about the artist and the recording process. The man who would go on to terrify moviegoers was the author of album liner notes for everybody from Frank Sinatra, to Miles Davis to The Beatles.
An ultra rare copy of MEET THE BEATLES for which Angus Scrimm penned the liner notes.
One of his most famous liner notes was for the 1964 Capitol Records release of “Meet The Beatles!” which was their first American release. The towering Angus Scrimm was responsible for introducing not just Phantasm's deadly killer spheres to the world, but also the phantastic Fab Four!
And copied below are Mr. Scrimm's historic liner notes from Meet The Beatles!: (Source)
“The Beatles all hail from Liverpool, a seaport city which because it’s sailing men bring in the latest hit singles from America, is the hippest pop music spot in England. They wear “pudding basin” haircuts that date back to ancient England, and suits with collarless jackets which they’ve made the newest rage. John Lennon plays rhythm guitar and harmonica, George Harrison lead guitar, Paul McCartney electric bass guitar, Ringo Starr drums, and all four of the boys sing. They also work piano, Hammond organ, tambourine, mouth organ, Arabian bongos and claves into their act. That’s John doing the lead vocal in It Won’t Be Long and All I’ve Got To Do and the double track solo in Not A Second Time. Paul does the lead vocal in All My Loving and Hold Me Tight, and the solo in Till There Was You. Ringo is soloist in I Wanna Be Your Man and George in Don’t Bother Me, double-tracked.
A year ago the Beatles were known only to patrons of Liverpool pubs. Today there isn’t a Britisher who doesn’t know their names, and their fame has spread quickly around the world.
Said one American visitor to England, “Only a hermit could be unaware of the Beatles, and he’d have to be beyond the ranch of television, newspapers, radio, records and rioting fans.”
Said another, “They’re the biggest, hottest property in the history of English show business.”
The foursome – John Lennon, 23, George Harrison, 20, Ringo Starr, 23, and Paul McCartney, 21 – write, play and sing a powerhouse music filled with zest and uninhibited good humor that makes listening a sensation-filled joy. It isn’t rhythm and blues. It’s not exactly rock ‘n’ roll. It’s their own special sound, or, as group leader John Lennon puts it, “Our music is just – well, our music.”
Whatever it is, the Beatles’ robust, roaring sound has stimulated a reaction the English themselves describe as “Beatlemania.”
Ten years later, in 1974, Scrimm wrote the liner notes for “The Classic Erich Wolfgang Korngold” for which The Recording Academy presented him with their celebrated Grammy award for "Best Album Notes - Classical". And we all know that just a few short years later Angus Scrimm would go on to star in PHANTASM and the rest as they say is history.
So PHANTASM fans are you as impressed with the multi-disciplinary talents of Mr. Scrimm as we are? Music, Writing, Acting and more. In our book Angus Scrimm was a legend!
