 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: allencole
Date: 2004-10-12 10:08
Incredibly, I can find nothing in the Klarinet archives regarding this important work by the eminent American composer Sheb Wooley. (who I always seem to get confused with Spade Cooley)
Several internet sources claim that the instrumental solo near the song's end is done on clarinet. I cannot be sure, due to the Alvin-and-the-Chipmunks brand of audio effects in use.
Does anyone know whether or not the solo is on clarinet, and if so who did the honors?
Allen Cole
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-10-12 12:09
Sheb Wooley recorded his hit Purple People Eater based on a joke one of his friend's kids had heard in school. He thought it had the makings of a song.
Soon after that, he had a meeting with recording execs at MGM, trying to get a recording contract, singing a number of his original ballads. They weren't impressed with any of them until, as a last resort, he sang Purple People Eater.
They immediately recorded it and it reached number one within 3 weeks.
The recording technique was similar to what David Seville (Ross Bagdasarian) had done a few months earlier.
Sheb Wooley sang and played the saxophone solo on the recording.
A bit of trivia - Sheb Wooley was an accomplished actor who was in a number of movies, most notably High Noon and Giant. In 1958, just before recording Purple People Eater, he was cast in the TV show "Rawhide" where he had a steady role for 4 years. Thus, he wasn't able to promote his new hit recording. As it turned out, he didn't have to ...GBK
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2004-10-12 14:28
Cant help on P P E, great tune. I looked in my archives, [boxes of paper] as I knew I had inherited a listing [by A Ray DeVito, I believe] of innumerable pop music, and their keys [original and ?playable -fake?] and type, some composer listing.. Not the Brown, Red, Green tho, no music. I couldnt find Purple, as the list was made in the early 50's, but will be happy to look for friends, when asked. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-10-12 22:13
Don - you're "boxes of paper" = "archive" made me smile. I've got several of those languishing in storage at present.
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
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Author: allencole
Date: 2004-10-13 04:44
Thanks, GBK. I always suspected that someone had 'chipmunked' a sax for that.
It's amazing just how many of those western character actors were actually musicians. Dub Taylor, a native of my hometown, broke into the movies as a xylophonist in "You Can't Take it With You."
Too bad for Sheb that he was so busy when PPE came out. Had he come along about 20 years earlier, he might've actually got it played in a movie a la Smiley Burnette.
There are similar stories. I played a few jobs with Archie Bell about 15 years ago, and he said that when "Tighten Up" hit the charts he was in a foxhole in Vietnam--and his buddies didn't believe that it was him singing it.
Allen Cole
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