31 Days of Halloween Hits: "The Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley

by Aprille Hanson
As we welcome October with its cool breezes, and - now socially distanced - festivities, we often think of scary movies, pumpkin patches and killers in masks. Rarely, if ever, do you hear anyone say what they’re looking forward to most about the season, is the music. Granted, Halloween music has nowhere near the mega-market that Christmas music has, but it seems that quality trumps quantity in this particular situation. With songs like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” Halloween season is a heavy hitter when it comes to music! 
 
That’s why we’re celebrating 31 Days of Halloween Hits here at The Word for the entire month of October. Every day we’re going to bring you a great song that fits right in on your Halloween playlist. Some are songs specifically written for the holiday, but others are great selections you can listen to year-around but have a great theme for the spookiest of all holidays. Some of these songs you’ve certainly heard and some are lesser known that we hope to familiarize you with. 

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Photo: MGM

One of the cutest Halloween monsters is a rock and roll, one-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple-people eating alien. Sheb Wooley’s 1958 novelty song “The Purple People Eater” was actually released in May of that year, but it fits perfectly into a Halloween playlist. The song, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Chart, was written in an hour, stemming from a joke Wooley heard from a friend’s child, according to TIME magazine.
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It makes sense because the song is equal parts absurd and adorable. It’s about an alien who descends to earth for two things — to eat purple people (a bit of a problem) and to join a rock and roll band, certainly more doable. 

The song is extremely catchy — I dare you to read lyrics to the chorus and not hear the tune in your head. According to songfacts.com, a speeded up recording made the squeaky Purple People Eater’s voice. It was the technique used in the “Witch Doctor” and “The Chipmunk Song,” both released the same year.

While artwork was created of the creature, primarily depicted as purple, there’s nothing in the song saying he’s purple.

It also became a 1988 Disney movie, with Neil Patrick Harris playing a young boy who befriends the alien. 

It’s such a fun throwback to the diner-style music of the ‘50s and one that’s perfect to rock out to at Halloween. 

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