45's - Purple People Eater Meets Witch Doctor - Big Bopper

Jiles Perry Richardson — who played guitar — began his musical career as a song writer. George Jones later recorded Richardson's "White Lightning", which became Jones' first #1 country hit in 1959 (#73 on the pop charts). Richardson also wrote "Running Bear" for Johnny Preston, his friend from Port Arthur, Texas. The inspiration for the song came from Richardson's childhood memory of the Sabine River, where he heard stories about Indian tribes. Richardson sang background on "Running Bear", but the recording wasn't released until September 1959, after his death. Within several months it became #1.

The man who launched Richardson as a recording artist was Harold "Pappy" Daily from Houston, Texas. Daily was promotion director for Mercury and Starday Records and signed Richardson to Mercury. Richardson's first single, "Beggar To A King", had a country flavor, but failed to gain any chart action. He soon cut "Chantilly Lace" as "The Big Bopper" for Pappy Daily's D label. Mercury bought the recording and released it in the summer of 1958.

"The Purple People Eater" tells how a strange monster (described as a "one-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eater") descends to earth because it wants to be in a rock 'n' roll band. The premise of the song came from a joke told by the child of a friend of Wooley's; Wooley finished composing it within an hour.[1]

The monster isn't necessarily purple but rather it is purple people that the monster eats, as shown in the following excerpt: "I said Mr Purple People Eater, what's your line? He said eating purple people, and it sure is fine But that's not the reason that I came to land I wanna get a job in a rock 'n roll band" [2][3][4]

The ambiguity of the song was present when it was originally played on the radio. In responses to requests from radio DJs, listeners drew pictures that show a "people eater" colored purple.[1]

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 "Witch Doctor", another hit from earlier in 1958; and "The Chipmunk Song" which was released late in 1958. (The Chipmunks themselves eventually covered "Purple People Eater".) The sound of a toy saxophone was produced in a similar fashion as the saxophone was originally played at a reduced speed.[1]

The song invokes phrases from several other hit songs from that era: "Short Shorts", by The Royal Teens, and "Tequila", by The Champs, both from earlier in 1958; and "Tutti Frutti" from 1955.

The purple people eater reappeared in "The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor", sung by Joe South, also released in 1958; it was also released as sung by The Big Bopper on the B-side of at least one version of the "Chantilly Lace" single.

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[Edisonfans19]

WOW! Now that's too much! Crazy man.

[Ne14Gr8Music]

@Edisonfans19 Thanks Paul! The Big Bopper was a wild one for sure. :-)

[nutballgazette]

From what I heard Eater was originally thought to be the A-Side.

[Ne14Gr8Music]

That would certainly be interesting if that's how the record company intended it to be. Thanks for your comment.

[kennyrocksable]

Definately one of the crrrrraaaaaaaazziest novelty tunes ever made, coming from a rock pioneer we lost 50 years ago--love the way it ends too--sick, sick, sick man!!!

[Ne14Gr8Music]

Absolutely! I thought this might also be a good one for Halloween.

[ResistIslamToday]

WOW that was the oddest record i ever heard! hahaha cool song though

[Edisonfans19]

@Ne14Gr8Music Yes he was!

[mykindofmama]

Does anyone have a link to My Fondest Memories, the other side of the 45?

[jjojjorge]

Bopper, Ritchie and Buddy; plane-crash 1959; sad day for rock and roll. Elvis was in the army and these 3 were doing great. Rock took a radical change after the crash.

[OldMusicOnVinyl1]

Very funny!