The song 'The Purple People Eater' by Sheb Wooley reached No. 1 in the Billboard pop charts in 1958 from June 9 to July 14, No. 1 in Canada, reached No. 12 overall in the UK Singles Chart, and topped the Australian chart.

Sheb Wooley composed the song 'The Purple People Eater' within an hour after hearing a joke told by the child of a friend of Wooley's.

The 1958 sheet music portrayed a purple creature playing the single horn on his head like a woodwind instrument, and MGM used the same image on record sleeves in foreign markets such as Australia and Japan.

Listeners drew pictures that show a purple-colored people eater in response to requests from radio disc jockeys to portray the creature.

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 Mike Sammes's 1957 'Pinky and Perky', or Ross Bagdasarian's 'Witch Doctor', another hit from earlier in 1958; and 'The Chipmunk Song' which was released late in 1958.

According to Wooley, MGM Records initially rejected the song, saying that it was not the type of music with which they wanted to be identified. An acetate of the song reached MGM Records' New York office. The acetate became popular with the office's young people. Up to 50 people would listen to the song at lunchtime. The front office noticed, reconsidered their decision, and decided to release the song.

Jackie Dennis covered the song in 1958, and his version reached No. 29 in the UK.

Judy Garland recorded the song on her 1958 Capitol Records album Garland at the Grove, accompanied by Freddy Martin & his Orchestra, issued as Capitol T 1118 (mono) and ST 1118 (stereo).

Wooley recorded another version of the song in 1967, titled 'The Purple People Eater #2' and credited to his alter ego Ben Colder, on the MGM label.

Wooley re-recorded the song in 1979 under the title 'Purple People Eater', which Gusto Records released through its King Records subsidiary.