The Cramps’ ‘Goo Goo Muck’ Soundtracks Tim Burton’s ‘Wednesday’ Series
The song was originally released in 1962 by Ronnie Cook and The Gaylads.
The Cramps’ “Goo Goo Muck” was featured in the fourth episode of Netflix’s new show Wednesday. The song is from the band’s second studio album Psychedelic Jungle.
Wednesday tells the story of the beloved Addams Family daughter Wednesday (Jenna Ortega). The IMDB synopsis describes the show as, “A sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy. Wednesday’s attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago – all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore.”
The song soundtracks a moment where Wednesday (Ortega) takes to the dancefloor and channels some goth moves of yesteryear. The actress even shared some of her inspirations for the scene, namechecking everyone from Siouxsie Sioux, Bob Fosse’s Rich Man’s Frug, Lisa Loring, Lene Lovich, Denis Lavant, and “archival footage of goths dancing in clubs in the 80s.”
Only half of the songs on Psychedelic Jungle were original songs by the band, written by guitarist Poison Ivy Rorschach and singer Lux Interior. The other songs are updated takes on classic rock and roll, rockabilly, and garage hits from the 1950s and 1960s, including a spin on Ronnie Cook and The Gaylads’ 1962 hit “Goo Goo Muck.” The Cramps version of the songsong was also featured in the 1986 film Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. The photo on the back cover of the album was taken by Anton Corbijn.
The band was active until 2006 when they stopped performing. They officially hung up the Cramps name when Lux Interior died in 2009. More recently, long-time drummer Nick Knox died in 2018 at the age of 60. Former Cramps members Miriam Linna and Kid Congo Powers paid tribute to Nick Knox on social media. In a heartfelt Facebook tribute, Miriam Linna wrote: “I thank God that Nicky was a friend of mine. He was one of the kindest, funniest, most amazing human beings ever and I was very lucky to have been in his orbit.”
Kid Congo Powers tweeted: “Nick Knox Coolest of the cool. R.I.P. Glad to have played to your boss Beat. Meet you on the mystery plane. Nick said on his last email to me a few months ago ‘don’t take any wooden nickels or $20 bills with Reggie Jackson on ’em.’ Your friend and mine. Already missed.”
