It’s a lesser known fact, but the original lineup of the Misfits was Glenn Danzig on keyboards, Manny Martínez on drums, and Jerry Caiafa on bass. With no guitar in the original lineup, their first single Cough/Cool focused on keyboards instead of guitar, making for a sound unlike anything The Misfits would ever produce again.

Despite the fact that The Misfits had yet to solidify their reputation as a horror punk band, “Cough/Cool” remains one of the creepiest Misfits songs of all time, exploring the fear of darkened streets at night. The relentless punk rock rhythms being played on a keyboard add a terrifying horror movie feel to the song, making for a very unsettling number. The b-side, “She,” a darkly complex song about a rich, pampered girl turned evil, would later be recorded with a guitar for Static Age, but it’s a fun novelty to hear it as a keyboard only version.

On the single, Jerry Caiafa’s name was misspelled, leading to his request to be credited from then on as “Jerry only,” leading to his current nickname, Jerry Only. The Cough/Cool single, with its lack of guitars, created a very different sound to what we’re used to from this band, but if you listen closely you can hear the early seeds of this band starting to take root.