The spooky season is upon us once again. Ghouls and goblins prowl the empty streets by the light of the full moon, scaring the socks off the unwary, thereby feeding the fragile ghoul/sock economy. And who better to serve as your spectral host? Why, The Rockin’ Ghost, of course!

He’s a mysterious one, though, as there exists — and I hate to use this oft-overused word — literally no information about this song. Nil. Nada. Even the vocal identity of this hip apparition remains hidden. It could be an anonymous vocalist from the orchestra, or it could actually be the credited artist, Archie Bleyer, although he was known in his day primarily as a conductor, musical arranger, and producer. In fact, in lieu of anything else, let’s get a little detail on Archie, because this man was connected, a force to be reckoned with behind the curtains of Oz.

Bleyer formed his own jazz band orchestra in the 1930s, gained popularity in the Hollywood clubs, and recorded in relative obscurity for a variety of labels until 1946, when he became the musical director for Arthur Godfrey, the ukulele-playing hitmaker and talent scout king of radio and early television. After helping to launch Godfrey to further fame, Bleyer started his own record label, Cadence Records, where he scored a couple of big hits under his own name, and also produced all the hit singles by The Chordettes (who we met here) and all the early classics by The Everly Brothers (here).

It’s around now in the timeline that Bleyer records “The Rockin’ Ghost,” written by one Steve Allen — jazz pianist, composer, comedian, and inventor of late night TV, virtually anything you’ve ever seen late night talk show hosts do over the last 50 years, Allen did first.

And that’s it. That’s what we know. Released in 1956, this quirky little seasonal novelty song creeped its way up to #61 on the Billboard pop chart, a minor footnote in the musical careers of both men, but a fun song to add to the October festivities. You don’t even need to worry about your socks.

So don’t be afraid! Just say, “I dig you the most” …. with Archie Bleyer.