The Cramps’ ‘Goo Goo Muck’ sees 50-fold streaming increase in five days thanks to Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’

The 1981 cover featured in a dance sequence during the fourth episode of the hit Netflix series

‘Goo Goo Muck’ by The Cramps has enjoyed a 50-fold streaming surge in the US, following its use in the hit Netflix series Wednesday

The song featured on The Cramps’ 1981 sophomore album ‘Psychedelic Jungle’, but was released by its original artists, Ronnie Cook and The Gaylads, in 1962.

Now, some four decades later, the rockabilly song has received renewed attention after its inclusion in the fourth episode of Wednesday, titled Woe What A Night. In it, ‘Goo Goo Muck’ soundtracks Wednesday Addams’ choreographed dance sequence at Nevermore Academy.

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Prior to Wednesday’s premiere on November 23, The Cramps song sat on 2,500 daily on-demand streams in the US (per Billboard). In the five days following its inclusion in the series, that figure surged by over 5000%, reaching 134,000 daily US streams by November 28. Currently, ‘Goo Goo Muck’ has amassed close to 10 million streams on Spotify.

Despite its resurgence, Netflix initially licensed ‘Goo Goo Muck’ for use in Wednesday for an amount which Jim Shaw – who owns the publishing rights to the track – said was “an average payment for TV use.” Shaw, who acquired the rights in 2001 before being approached by Netflix producers last year, told Billboard that the song’s resurgence was “a really amazing, fun little bonanza”.

Lux Interior, Poison Ivy Rorschach, Julien Griensnatch and Nick Knox of The Cramps. Credit: Steve Kagan/Getty Images

The renewed attention on ‘Goo Goo Muck’ somewhat mirrors that of Kate Bush‘s 1985 song ‘Running Up That Hill’, which likewise soared in popularity following its inclusion in Stranger Things 4 earlier this year.

Also produced by Netflix, the sci-fi series was responsible for the song reaching and remaining atop the UK singles charts for three weeks in June, and reportedly earned Bush an estimated $2.3million (£1.9million) in streaming revenue.

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Last week, Wednesday surpassed Stranger Things 4 as the Netflix title with the most hours viewed in a week for an English-language series. In a four-star review of the Tim Burton-directed series, NME described Wednesday as “a rare spin-off success story” and “an absolute treat.”

The Cramps first formed in 1976 and remained active with eight studio album releases until 2006. The band ultimately dissolved following the death of lead singer Lux Interior in 2009. Their version of ‘Goo Goo Muck’ also featured on the soundtrack of the 1986 film Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. 

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