Novelty Song: The Purple People Eater

Welcome to the Novelty Songs series here on Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Jumpin' John, and back in episode number 196 I discussed the 1958 novelty hit "Witch Doctor".  In today's episode I will review another Novelty Song from 1958:  "The Purple People Eater"!  In discussing "The Purple People Eater" I will also review the interesting career of Sheb Wooley, the composer and performer of the 1958 hit.

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Transcript

Thank you for that introduction!  Welcome to the Novelty Songs series here on Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Jumpin' John, and back in episode number 196 I discussed the 1958 novelty hit "Witch Doctor".  In today's episode I will review another Novelty Song from 1958:  "The Purple People Eater"!  In discussing "The Purple People Eater" I will also review the interesting career of Sheb Wooley, the composer and performer of the 1958 hit.

Shelby Fredrick Wooley was born in 1921 in Erick, Oklahoma.  Sheb learned to ride at an early age and became a working cowboy and later an accomplished rodeo rider.  When the United States entered World War II, Wooley tried to enlist in the military, but was unsuccessful due to his numerous rodeo injuries.  Instead, in the early 1940's, he worked in the oil industry and as a welder.  He started his recording career in 1945.  Sheb's music encompassed Western swing, country, hillbilly, rock and roll, pop, and novelty songs.  In 1946, he moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where he earned a living as a country-western musician, recording songs and traveling for three years with a band throughout the South and Southwest.  In 1950 he left Texas with his young family and moved to Hollywood, California where Wooley hoped to establish himself as an actor or singer in film or in the rapidly expanding medium of television. 

In 1958 Sheb came up with the premise of a song based on a joke.  The joke was "What has one eye, one horn, flies and eats people?  A one-eyed, one-horned, flying people eater!"  Sheb composed the song within an hour.  Much of the "The Purple People Eater" song's humor derives from toying with the listener's expectations.  The creature is initially described as having "one long horn", suggestive of an anatomical horn.  However, the song ends with the creature playing music from the horn, implying that it is acoustic or instrumental.  Likewise, challenging the listener's assumption that the creature is a purple-colored people-eater, the creature asserts that it eats purple people.

The song's recording was arranged by Neely Plumb.  The voice of the purple people eater is a sped-up recording, giving it a voice similar to, but not quite as high-pitched or as fast as Ross Bagdasarian's two hits from 1958: "Witch Doctor" and "The Chipmunk Song".  The sound of a toy saxophone was produced in a similar fashion, as the saxophone was originally recorded at a reduced speed.  MGM Records initially rejected the song, saying that it was not the type of music with which they wanted to be identified.  An acetate of the song reached MGM Records' New York City office, and it quickly became popular with the office's younger staff, with up to 50 people listening to the song at lunchtime.  The front office noticed, reconsidered their decision, and decided to release the song in May 1958.  The single of "The Purple People Eater" quickly shot up the charts.  It reached #1 on the Billboard pop charts from June 9th to July 14th, #1 in Canada, #12 overall in the UK Singles Chart, and #1 in Australia.  The Sheb Wooley version also crossed over to the Billboard R&B Best Sellers in Stores chart, peaking at #18.  

Here is Sheb Wooley's version of "The Purple People Eater":

Since then, Wooley recorded the song several times, including “The Purple People Eater #2” in 1967 for MGM, which is credited to his alter ego Ben Colder, and again in 1979 as “Purple People Eater” for King Records.  Alvin and the Chipmunks eventually covered "Purple People Eater" for their 1998 album The A-Files: Alien Songs.  Jackie Dennis, Judy Garland, Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages, and others would also cover the song.

For a period of time Wooley also had a string of country hits, with his "That's My Pa" reaching #1 on Billboard's Hot Country &Western Sides chart in March 1962.  While Wooley never had another Hot 100 hit, “The Purple People Eater” has nevertheless endured in pop culture.  In 1988, it got its own Disney Channel film, Purple People Eater, about a boy who, by playing the song, inadvertently summons the real-life creature.  It also appeared in the soundtracks to 1989’s Parents, 1997’s Contact, and 2009’s Monsters vs. Aliens movies.  The enduring popularity of the song also led to the nicknaming of the highly effective "Purple People Eaters", the Minnesota Vikings defensive line of the 1970's, whose football team colors include purple. 

As an actor, Sheb Wooley had an extensive career.  In movies he portrayed such diverse roles as  Ben Miller in the 1952 Academy Award nominated film High Noon, Gabe Target in the 1956 film Giant, Travis Cobb in 1976's The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Cletus Summers, the principal of Hickory High School and assistant coach in the popular sports movie, 1986's Hoosiers.  Sheb Wooley is also credited as the voice actor for the Wilhelm scream, a stock recording used by sound-effects teams in over 400 films.  Wooley originally performed the scream in the 1951 adventure film Distant Drums, in which he had a minor acting role. 

Here is Sheb Wooley's recording of the Wilhelm scream:

During the 1950's Wooley had numerous bit parts in various syndicated TV series.  However, in 1959, the year after the success of "The Purple People Eater" song, Sheb got his big break professionally as an actor.  That was when he was hired to play the role of Pete Nolan, a Scout on the popular television series, Rawhide.  

Sheb Wooley continued to write songs and record.  Wooley's reworking of "D.I.V.O.R.C.E." into a parody of the Tammy Wynette song of the same name became an international hit when Billy Connolly covered it in 1975.  Also, in the late 1960's and early 1970's, Wooley became a regular on the television series Hee Haw and wrote the theme song for that long-running series.  On Hee Haw, he often appeared as the character Ben Colder, playing him as a drunken country songwriter.  Ben Colder was his humorous play on words, as in "had never been colder".  Outside of Hee Haw, Wooley would record 66 songs and perform as Ben Colder, although he still sang under his own name, as well.  In 1966, performing as Ben Colder, Sheb released a song entitled "Almost Persuaded No. 2."  Colder's version reached #6 on the Hot Country Singles chart and #58 on the Billboard Hot 100.  

Here is an excerpt from Ben Colder's version of "Almost Persuaded No. 2":

Wooley continued to tour internationally and make personal concert appearances until his death in 2003.  Sheb recorded his last written song just four days before he died.  

Sheb Wooley was the recipient of numerous awards over the years for his accomplishments as a singer, actor, and writer for both comedic and dramatic productions.  In 1968, he received the Country Music Association's Comedian of the Year award.  He also received the 1992 Songwriter of the Year and two Golden Boot Awards.

Thank you for listening to another episode in the Novelty Songs series here on Rock and Roll Flashback, where I reviewed the 1958 hit song, "The Purple People Eater", and the fascinating career of Sheb Wooley!  So, fellow travelers, may your path be smooth and your music always be rockin'!  And until next time...Rock On!