The Purple People Eater
The Purple People Eater is a song written by Sheb Wooley in 1958 . Sheb Wooley, who also starred in films like Twelve Noon, sold the single over three million copies. The song became a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the United States, and topped the bestseller charts for six weeks.
The English version of the song is about a strange creature described as a one-eyed, horned, flying purple ogre who wants to play in a rock 'n' roll band. The story is based on a joke that a child of a friend told Wooley. He wrote the song for it within an hour. As the song progresses, the singer asks the creature
"I said Mr. Purple People Eater, what's your line, He said it's eatin 'purple people and it sure is fine."
"I told Mr. Purple People Eater what is your job, he said it is to eat purple people and that sure is good."
A version by Jimmy Buffett was used in the film Contact . A German cover version with the text by Kurt Feltz was sung by Bill Ramsey under the title Wumba-Tumba Schokoladeneisverkäufer .
Individual evidence
- ^ Sheb Wooley - The Purple People Eater. Retrieved June 24, 2013 .
- ^ Actor and Musician Sheb Wooley Dies. Retrieved June 24, 2013 . ; Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 659
- ↑ Bill Ramsey - Wumba-Tumba chocolate ice cream seller. Retrieved June 24, 2013 .