17 September 2003Purple people everywhere mournIn Erick, Oklahoma, there's an intersection: Sheb Wooley Avenue and Roger Miller Boulevard. Roger Miller died in 1992, dang him, and now Sheb Wooley's gone too leukemia, at age 82. Wooley's biggest hit under his own name was the 1958 novelty "Purple People Eater", reportedly the answer to a kid's riddle; later, he penned the theme to Hee Haw, and released a number of wacky (and ostensibly inebriated) country-music parodies under the name "Ben Colder". A fulsome Colder couplet:
I shot a DJ up in Reno who wouldn't play my song
Now all the DJs round the country, they play me loud and long
And Wooley sustained an acting career as well; he was Pete Nolan in the Fifties western Rawhide, which also featured a young fellow named Clint Eastwood. Still, most people who remember Sheb will remember the one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater who wanted to get a job in a rock and roll band, and I bet that was just fine with him. Tequila. TrackBack: 1:59 AM, 22 September 2003 » The Cul-de-Sac for Monday, September 22 from suburban blight Good morning, bloggers and blog aficionados! Welcome to the Cul-de-Sac, my eternal quest to figure out what's what in my ever-expanding blog neighborhood. This week, I thought I'd kick her off by answering a few of the most commonly asked......[read more] Well bless my soul. RIP, Sheb...and may you finally see the elusive purple people eaters that you sang about. Posted by: David at 8:41 PM on 17 September 2003And in Waukesha, Wisconsin, they have the intersection of Saint Paul and Les Paul. Posted by: triticale at 9:39 PM on 23 September 2003 |