Songfacts®:

• Norma Tanega had a self-confidence and wry sense of humor that when mixed with her foray into the music industry led to "You're Dead," a song where she offers sarcastic advice to any aspiring singer:
  
  Don't sing if you want to live long
  They have no use for your song
  You're dead, you're dead, you're dead
  You're dead and out of this world
  
  Tanega didn't plan to be a pop star but got a taste of it when she released her first single, "Walkin' My Cat Named Dog," in 1966. She performed it on American Bandstand and joined a package tour headlined by Gene Pitney where she was the only woman on the bill. "Every place we played, stadiums, I'd sing my three songs and say, 'God, what am I doing here?" she reflected. "I'm educated to be a college professor."
  
  That training happened at Scripps College and at Claremont Graduate School in the early '60s when she earned a master's in fine arts. Instead of entering the art world, she moved to New York City to try her hand at music and ended up with a record deal. After that she moved to London and joined that swingin' scene for a few years, striking up an intimate relationship with Dusty Springfield. Tanega eventually moved back to California and entered the world of art and teaching, which she pursued until her death in 2019.
• "You're Dead" came back to life in 2014 when it was used in the opening credits to the vampire comedy film What We Do In Ihe Shadows. The film's editor, Tom Eagles, found the song when he went looking for tunes about death. The were able to get Tanega's permission to use it.
  
  In 2019, months before Tanega died, it became the theme song for the TV adaptation of the film on the FX network.
• "You're Dead" is the first song on Tanega's debut album, Walkin' My Cat Named Dog, her last album until 1971 when she returned with I Don't Think It Will Hurt If You Smile.