The Stroll was a dance popularized by the Diamonds in 1958 with their vaguely bawdy #4 hit of the same name, following their moments in the spotlight, “Little Darlin’” (#2, 1957) and “Silhouettes” (#10, 1957). On the dance floor I understand the formal Stroll was a kind of descendant of the Virginia reel, with a line of men on one side and women on the other, facing each other. Couples step out one at a time, gyrating in unison to the slow tempo. The tempo suggests it was intended as a slow dance interlude, always popular of course at these affairs. In fact, chances are good that lots of dance occasions skipped the line part as participants wrapped their arms around their baby and swayed and shuffled with abandon. The next year the Revels, a Philly act, cracked the top 40 (#35) with this Halloween novelty. For delicate reasons of decorum, no doubt, the song was also released as “Midnight Stroll.” But they sing “dead man” in that version too. Two things I love about this oddball from late in the first wave of rock ‘n’ roll: the drumroll and gloomy church bell that opens and closes it, which with the tempo sets an appropriately somber and sobering tone, and the unexpected maniacal laughter that stands in as a solo at the break, girded by a phalanx of saxophones. “Ah ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha,” etc. Chilling, really, surprisingly so. It’s a cackle that belongs in the movies and would stand with the best. I get the impression the Revels & co. were doing all they could to make this as scary as possible and they basically succeeded by the standards of those more innocent times (compare Dickie Lee’s 1963 “Laurie [Strange Things Happen]”). The church bells, the laughter, the scenes described at the cemetery (“I never thought I could see such a sight / A poor soul doing the Dead Man’s Stroll”). It’s a pretty stiff drink overall, at least for its times and for me too. I almost think it should be as much of a Halloween staple as “Monster Mash.”
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