| Sheb Wooley was born on April 10, 1921, in Erick, Oklahoma. He died on September 16, 2003, in Nashville, Tennessee.
As a teenager Wooley became a skilled rodeo rider and began an interest in music. By the age of 15, he'd formed his own band, The Plainview Melody Boys, which had their own show on a local radio station.
In 1945, Wooley moved to Nashville, Tennesee where he appeared on the radio and recorded a few songs.
In 1950, Wooley moved to Hollywood, California, appeared in his first motion picture, Rocky Mountain, starring
Errol Flynn. He also appeared in
the films High Noon and Distant Drums.
In 1954, Teresa Brewer released a recording of Wooley's song, "Too Young To Tango" which was a million seller.
In the late 1950's, Wooley joined the cast of TV's "Rawhide" and released his novelty hit "Purple People Eater".
"Purple People Eater" ("It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater")was the number one song for 6 weeks in 1958 and is the number 24 song of the 1955-1959 rock era. It received a Gold Record within three weeks after it was released and eventually sold over three million records.
Wooley wrote the theme song for the TV show "Hee Haw."
In recent years, Wooley has appeared in several films including Starman, Silverado,
and Hoosiers.
Wooley was diagnosed with leukemia in 1999. On September 14, 2003, he attended a memorial service for his friend Johnny Cash. The next day he entered a Nashville hospital. On September 16, 2003, Wooley died.
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