[Having written over a thousand bad monster jokes, Monstermatt Patterson has a mind unlike any other. Today, he recollects on a fond memory of his and a movie he’s seen. Find more about the mind of Monstermatt here at his site, and then head to pick up his first book, Monstermatt’s Bad Monster Jokes Vol.1]
Ghoul Mourning, Maniacs!
The head nachos, I mean honchos, here at Gravediggerslocal.com, have once again “axed” me to drop by and share some good stuff with you!
Oh, I know. What have you done to deserve such cruel treatment?!I don’t know but, here I am! It is what it is.
I want to tell you about the babysitter we had when I was a little monster. Why? Because she had a very cool career in film, television and music. She put up with me and my sister for a couple of years and dated one of our uncles. Now, don’t get the wrong idea. This isn’t a “kiss and tell” kind of column.
Sure, there’s pictures of them together in our family albums but, that’s not the purpose of this column. I’m sharing this information and the story of her career, because there is a horror connection here. After leaving the area, she went on to do some cool stuff! Let’s get right into it! Let’s celebrate the woman who used to tuck us in!
Her name is Donna McDaniel. She got a big boost in her early musical career by singing an anthem, “We’re Gonna Win That Cup”, for the NHL team The Buffalo Sabres, during their Stanley Cup run in the 1975 season. The song was pressed into vinyl and released as a 45,by Public Affairs Records. We had copies of it in our jukebox. We played it all the time. It is still a favorite for Sabres fans and the organization.
Donna sang in various musical groups and clubs in the area. She also recorded music on more records(45’s).
I can’t even count the number of either on both hands. I can’t count, period! Apparently, she was in the nightclub listings, all of the time. Keep in mind, that I was quite young at the time, so I’ll have to take the word of the family on that one. I wasn’t reading the nightclub listings at that point in my life. Probably more along the lines of Doctor Seuss and Batman: From Alfred to Zowie! Anyways.
Things took an interesting turn in the 1980’s for Donna, as she landed an acting role in “Horror Star”, later re-titled and known as “Frightmare”. This 1983 film had a very young Jeffery Combs in it. The story had an elderly horror film actor (Conrad), pass away and come back to life, to take revenge on the drama students that stole his body from his crypt! (That would be Donna and friends).
In 1984, Donna had a few film roles and one television spot. She played Crystal in the cult classic film “Angel”, about an honor roll high school student that earns money as Sunset Boulevard prostitute before nearly becoming a victim of a serial killer.
Another film,” Hollywood Hot Tubs”, had Donna in a supporting role. Donna played Leslie Maynard. This movie was an attempt to cash in on the teen/sex/comedy wave of the eat eighties. What’s interesting is that Donna also has a bunch of songs on the film’s soundtrack.
Donna made it to the television screen, in 1984, by appearing on Simon and Simon (CBS) as a waitress. This was a one episode character. It would be cool, if she became a regular, but she had other things going on musically.
From around 1984-1985 through the 90’s,Donna made great strides in her musical career, by singing backup vocals with Toto, Billy Idol, Kenny Loggins, Mötley Crüe, Michael McDonald, Don Henley and Glen Frey. Most notably, she appeared on the “Dr. Feelgood” album, tours and videos.
Please keep in mind, that most of this took place before the internet was as commonplace as it is today. When we did hear updates about Donna,it was third or fourth hand at best. Also factor in the fact that my family (parents, grandparents, etc.), didn’t know what a Billy Idol, Toto, or a Mötley Crüe was!
Anyways, it was cool to have been a part of her life. I think it would be even better, if I could’ve been old enough to appreciate it in “real time”, as it was happening. But, looking through everything she did is pretty remarkable! Not as remarkable as singing my sister and I to sleep (yeah, right!) but remarkable enough! Hopefully, you enjoyed this as much as I did, Maniacs! See you next time!!
By Monstermatt Patterson
Author of “Monstermatt’s Bad Monster Jokes Vol.1”
Writer/creator of “Wolff’s Run”
Founder of Monsters For Charity
Mask maker/artist/professional goof.
