![]() ![]() Bob Gaudio played piano and had a propensity for writing songs. Bill Crandall played saxophone, at one point impressing King Curtis, who was amazed that such a scrawny kid could blow so impressively. Bill Dalton played his grandfather's guitar and later took up bass. Tom Austin's uncle, a drummer, often let the youngster practice on his drum set. The band came together in '56 at Bergenfield High School, a few miles up the road from Fort Lee. Excruciatingly for said adults, "Short Shorts" by The Royal Teens was a major hit. Parental types had a point, at least as far as lyrics go, when they complained about the disposability of their teenage offspring's fave sounds. The instrumental thing went by the wayside as well with "Planet Rock," released in the latter months of 1957 seems everyone of a certain age preferred the other side, as sexy and suggestive a song as you could imagine ('Man, dig that crazy chick!') considering the lyrics were mindlessly simple: 'Who wears short shorts?.We wear short shorts!' and little else. Their name, for one, didn't fly too many groups named The Royals had come and gone. Four teenagers from Fort Lee, New Jersey, attempted to follow that example, but plans went awry from the get-go. Wooley (1921 - 2003) and David Seville, aka Rostom Sipan 'Ross' Bagdasarian, (1919 - 1972).Instrumental rock and roll of the madcap kind was frequently dispatched by Bill Haley and his Comets during the band's heyday. It peaked at #1 (for 6 weeks) on Billboard's Best Selling in Stores chart on May 25th, 1958, and it was only its second week on the chart.Īnd the week it reached #1 there was another novelty song on the Top 10 "Witch Doctor" by David Seville was at #3 on the Best Sellers chart. Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn July 27th 1958, Sheb Wooley performed "The Purple People Eater" on the CBS-TV program 'The Ed Sullivan Show'.2" reached #6 on the Country Singles chart. * He also released records under the name Ben Colder and in 1962 his "Almost Persuaded No. 'Sheb' Wooley passed away on September 16th, 2003 at the age of 82. according to Billboard Magazine, and remained the best seller for six consecutive weeks.Īs stated above he reached #1 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart with "That's My Pa" that was for one week on March 11th, 1962. Sheb Wooley*, who played cowpoke Pete Nolan, appeared in 110 episodes.Įight months earlier on May 25th, 1958 Sheb Wooley's "The Purple People Eater" became the Best Selling record in the U.S. The series ran for eight seasons with 217 episodes. Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn January 9th 1959, the television western series 'Rawhide' had its premiere on the CBS-TV network.Randy from TexasAnyone know what the b side of flying purple eater?.Colleencanuck from Vancouver, Bc, CanadaI always thought it was an ear, not a horn! Gotta change my Halloween costume!.I think he'd have to find some actors stained as Smurfs, then make them really angry (red) so the red & blue make a nice purple & CHOMP!!! Lunch. George Pope from Vancouver BcThat's going to be one hungry critter - not a lot of purple people about - 'most any other colour, but not purple.George Pope from Vancouver BcRandy, B-side was: "I Can't Believe You're Mine".George Pope from Vancouver BcColleen, if you want people to leave you alone, just say there's no horn, because you're not "horn-y".Purple People Eater, what's your line?Īnd he said, "Eatin' purple people and it sure is fine" ** see? George Pope from Vancouver BcWhy is it confusing? The lyrics clearly say:.Incidentally, we also know that it isn't a one-eyed creature who eats "one-horned flying purple people," because the lyrics also have the creature "playing rock 'n' roll music through the horn in his head," and also it is the creature, itself, who flies because the lyrics say it "came down to Earth and lit in a tree." It's a natural impression to get considering the hail of adjectives. Yet whenever anyone is asked to depict the figure, they invariably make the creature itself purple, suggesting that it will eat people of any old color. The creature's full description is "a one-eyed, one-horned, flying, purple people eater," but the lyrics make it clear that this is a creature who eats purple people. The song is notable for a confused impression people tend to get from it, which may be intentional. It's also unusually long-lived, popping up again and again in cartoons, TV commercials, YouTube videos, and film soundtracks. It's one of the few rare cases where a pure novelty made it to #1 on the charts, for one thing. "The Purple People Eater" is a song written and performed by Sheb Wooley, which is the novelty song to end all novelty songs. ![]()
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