One eyed,one horned, flying purple people eater..

[dead0man]

My SO and I got into a discussion last night over this song. I had always assumed it was a monster that ate purple people. She seems to think the monster is purple. Her reasoning being that there are no purple people. I argued that there are no purple, cycloptic, single horned monsters. Whats the Straight Dope?
dead0man

[Helena]

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

[Amp]

What? You haven't seen the movie with a young Doogie Howser? He only eats purple people.

Oh, and I highly suggest viewing the movie. Its not a work of art but for a fun hour and a half it can't be beat.

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0095930

[John Carter of Mars]

Depends on which variety of the critter you are discussing. I once read of a: "Purr-pull peephole eater" that purred, pulled peepholes out of sidewalk barricades and then ate them.
And so it goes.

[El Elvis Rojo]

deadOman, you sumvabitch. I had this great story worked out about this subject and you RUINED IT with your crazy telepathic "Let's fuck with Elvis's head." Grrrr....
But yeah, he only eats purple people.

(God, of all things for two people halfway across the world to want to post about at the same time....)

[dead0man]

Thank you Helena,Amp and El Elvis Rojo. I will be sure to rub this in.

I'd also like to apologize to El Elvis Rojo. I will consult you next time I post a question.
dead0man

[Largo62]

That goes back to about 1956. Who besides me is that old?

[John Carter of Mars]

Originally posted by DesertGeezer
That goes back to about 1956. Who besides me is that old?

I remember dancin' the Bop to "Purple People Eater" when it was on the charts. Summer of '58 seems right to me, 'cause there was this chick, Crystal...
That help yer feelin's, Geezer?

[ftg]

And I'm still steamed about this one, from back in the Art Flemming "Jeopardy" days:

Category: ~wacky songs

Ans: Ooh, Eeh, Ooh, Ah, Ah.

Quest: What is The OEOHFPPE.

I kid you not.

[DrFidelius]

That goes back to about 1956. Who besides me is that old?

I don't often listen to this rock-and-roll you young hooligans seem to like.

And get a haircut.

[Koxinga]

Don't we have a WWII on the boards?

[Koxinga]

WWII veteran, that is.

[Largo62]

I did get a haircut...all of them in fact. Got a buzz cut (very convenient). When I leave the barber shop I look like Uncle Fester forgot his turtle neck.

[kittyHASclaws]

Originally posted by dead0man
My SO and I got into a discussion last night over this song. I had always assumed it was a monster that ate purple people. She seems to think the monster is purple. Her reasoning being that there are no purple people. I argued that there are no purple, cycloptic, single horned monsters. Whats the Straight Dope?
dead0man

I'm the SO he was talking about and I would like to say thanks for giving him something to rub in... he is so rarely right about anything. And huney ... I WANT THAT HOUSE!!

And I'm still going to think of a purple monster when I hear that song.

[Dolores Reborn]

Thank you, OP, for asking the burning question of our time. I, too, always thought that the monster was purple, and now I have been enlightened.

Let us go forth and spread the word!

[Max Carnage]

You know, the PPE does claim that "eatin' purple people" is his line, but when the singer (who is NOT purple, I've seen pictures) asks the PPE not to eat him, PPE says he "wouldn't eat [him] cause [he's] so tough." Not because he's the wrong color, but because he isn't tender enough. Apparently, PPE normally likes to eat purple people, but in a pinch he will eat a normal person if the meat is the right texture.

[Balance]

Diffidently I point out that there's no reason that the monster can't be purple as well. After all, flamingos derive their pink coloration from carotene in shrimp or algae they eat. Is it so impossible that the purple pigment in purple people could have a similar impact?

<extracts tongue from cheek and moves on>

[knarf]

Originally posted by Max Carnage
You know, the PPE does claim that "eatin' purple people" is his line, but when the singer (who is NOT purple, I've seen pictures) asks the PPE not to eat him, PPE says he "wouldn't eat [him] cause [he's] so tough." Not because he's the wrong color, but because he isn't tender enough. Apparently, PPE normally likes to eat purple people, but in a pinch he will eat a normal person if the meat is the right texture.

Maybe purple people are more tender than any other color?

[zev_steinhardt]

I actually asked this very same question on the SDMB back in October 2000. In that thread, a relative of the singer of the song gives us the official answer... he eats purple people.

Zev Steinhardt

[Stuffy]

When I saw this thread I immeditely remembered a compilation album from the 70's or early 80's, that was sold on TV. It was animated, and the One Eyed One-Horned Flying Purple People Eater was dipicted as being in fact purple. Guess the producers should have done some research. Anybody else remember that commercial, it also featured Alley Oop as I recall?

[tracer]

One-eyed, One-horned, Flying Purple People Eater

Frequency: very rare
No. appearing: 1
Armor Class: 3
Move: 6"/24"
Hit dice: 10 + 4
THAC0: 10
% in lair: 0%
Treasure type: nil
No. of attacks: 2
Damage/attack: 4-24/2-12
Special attacks: nil
Special defenses: nil
Magic resistance: standard
Intelligence: low
Alignment: chaotic-hungry
Size: L
Psionic ability: nil
^{Attack/Defense modes: nil}

The one-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eater's diet consists of people. Whether this is limited to people who are purple, fly, have one horn, and/or have one eye is a matter of speculation, but it is assumed by most adventurers that the creature will devour any sort of people if it gets sufficiently hungry, provided that its meal isn't too tough.

The creature attacks with its single horn and its bite, with successful attacks doing 4-24 and 2-12 damage respectively. It prefers to swoop down on its prey from above, as its pigeon toes do not provide for fast movement on foot. When not engaged in combat, it has been rumored that the creature has aspirations of becoming a rock star and can be found playing his horn as a musical instrument.

[Max Carnage]

Originally posted by Stuffy
When I saw this thread I immeditely remembered a compilation album from the 70's or early 80's, that was sold on TV. It was animated, and the One Eyed One-Horned Flying Purple People Eater was dipicted as being in fact purple. Guess the producers should have done some research. Anybody else remember that commercial, it also featured Alley Oop as I recall?

Remember it? Hell I got it for Christmas! Goofy Gold, a two album set, featuring:

Beep Beep
King Kong Your Song
Ahab The Arab
Transfusion
OEOEFPPE
Alley Oop
Mr. Custer

and many more!

My borther and I acted out every one of those songs one day. Who knew interpretive dance was in my blood?

[Tars Tarkas]

I remember rockin' out to this song, a few years ago, when i bought the Dr. Demento CD set it was on. Anyone here remember the sequal, with the purple people eater meeting the witch doctor?

[Chronos]

Alignment: chaotic-hungry

You realize, of course, tracer, that it's all your fault that the rest of the folks in the lab are looking at me funny right now.

[Stuffy]

That's the one Max, I almost mentioned the Ray Stevens tunes, but wasn't sure. I have a Ray Stevens collection from the same period, and thought I might be confusing the two. Oh great, now I have The Streak running through my head.

[IMWOMANHERE]

I remember singing with Mom and Dad on car trips in the late 50's.
This song and Seven Little Girls Sittin' in the Backseat,Kissin' and a Huggin' with Fred. Thanks for the momories!

[RiverRunner]

Originally posted by Stuffy
Oh great, now I have The Streak running through my head.

There's an easy cure. Just think of Freedy Feelgood's Funky Little Five-piece Band.


Yow! Work out, now!


RR

[RiverRunner]

Re: Freedy
I meant, of course, "Freddy." Freedy is his younger brother.


RR

[A Monkey With a Gun]

I expected more from the straight dope, my colleagues here seem to have forgotten a basic rule of logic. Namely that deductive reasoning is useless if the premise is faulty. deadOman asks if the monster is purple or if it eats purple people. Helena then submits direct evidence from verse three that the monster in question consumes homo sapiens that reflect electromagnetic waves with a frequency of approximately 700 trillion hertz. It is then concluded that the beast would not reflect electromagnetic waves with a frequency of approximately 700 trillion hertz. This is wrong.

The error lies in the mistaken premise that this relationship follows an either/or model. There is no evidence that this is the case. The fact that A = C does not preclude the possibility of B also equalling C.

I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, new evidence in this matter. In my frequent trips to the Serengetti Alps, located off the Arctic coast of the Brazillian Congo, I have obtained a specimen of tyranoavian unicycloptus. The beast is in fact, both purple and a predator of purple people. Here is a digital photo of the specimen captured.

[Balance]

While your logic is impeccable, my three-armed friend, it is a bit belated. I made the point that both the eater and eaten could be purple nearly a week ago (see my post above, which involves speculation on the cause of such a chromatic coincidence). Perhaps I pointed it out too diffidently.

Still, additional evidence is always welcome.

[Swampwolf]

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
Well, bless my soul rock 'n roll flying' purple people eater
Pigeon-toed under-growed flyin' purple people eater
one-eyed one-horned it was a people eater
What a sight to see

(bolding mine)

[Polycarp]

Beeblebrox, would you please convey our appreciation to the artist, who is clearly destined for a successful career as a creative limner of nature?

[Max Carnage]

Oh, but what of the hammer-head shark floating beside the OEOHFPPE in that artist's rendition???? Where does he fit in ???

[Sengkelat]

Not to mention that in the illo the people-eater is primarily green.

[Polycarp]

From the same site that Beeblebrox located that artist's rendering of the OEOHFPPE, here is a second viewpoint. Note carefully how the creature can, as it were, "double in brass."

[Max Carnage]

That PPE is obviously a sloppily doctored photo as he is not, as the song says "playin' rock'n'roll music through the horn in his head," but rather playing some sort of music through the horn in his ass.