Sheb Wooley - Collection 1946-62 (CD)

Sheb Wooley was a cowboy-styled country singer and character actor in western movies and TV series, who is best-known for his unique landmark No. 1 novelty rock 'n' roll and pop hit "Purple People Eater" from 1958. It was such a distinctive and memorable record that it made an impact on people who had no interest in pop and entered the annals of the greatest novelty hits in pop history. Born in 1921, he started making country records in the late 1940s, often in a distinctive humorous style, and made his first movie appearances in the early '50s, including a role in the 1952 classic "High Noon" - his biggest screen success came after the success of "Purple People Eater" when he was cast as Pete Nolan in the western series "Rawhide". His early music was characterised by hillbilly and western swing styles, but he readily embraced rockabilly and rock 'n' roll styles as the market changed in the 1950s. This excellent-value 60-track 2-CD collection comprises selected A and B sides of his singles, from his recording debut in 1946 on the Bullet and Blue Bonnet labels and his career on the MGM label through to 1962. "The Purple People Eater" is naturally the centrepiece, but the set also includes other chart entries, notably his 1961 country No. 1 "That's My Pa", and another off-the-wall novelty "Don't Go Near The Eskimos" in his TV guise of Ben Colder. It's an highly entertaining and varied collection of excellent country and country/pop performances, often with a humorous novelty twist, and underlining what a versatile and unusual talent he was.

Track List:

Disc: 1

1. Oklahoma Honky Tonk Gal
2. I Can't Live (On) Without You
3. Lazy Mazy
4. Wooley's Polka
5. Peeping Thru the Keyhole
6. Time Won't Heal An Achin' Heart
7. Too Long with the Wrong Woman
8. Indian Maiden
9. Texas Rose
10. Cherokee Waltz
11. Rover Scoot Over
12. Mule Boogie
13. (Now You Are) Changing Your Name
14. Country Kisses
15. Over the Barrel
16. Down in the Toolies
17. You're the Cat's Meow
18. Wha' Happened to Me Baby
19. A Cowboy Had Ought to Be Single
20. You Never Can Tell
21. A Heart Bound in Chains
22. Freight Train Cinders in My Eyes
23. Love Is Just Another Merry-Go-Round
24. Texas Tango
25. Goodbye Texas, Hello Tennessee
26. Knew I Had Lost
27. Don't Stop Kissing Me Goodnight
28. Panama Pete
29. White Lightnin'

Disc: 2

1. I Go Outa My Mind
2. Hill Billy Mambo
3. I Flipped
4. Speak of the Devil
5. Love at First Sight
6. It Takes a Heap of Livin'
7. Humdinger
8. Are You Satisfied'
9. The Birth of Rock 'N' Roll
10. You Can Do It
11. First Day of School
12. Let the Big Wind Blow
13. Honey, I'm Lonesome (Telegraph Song)
14. Recipe of Love
15. I Found Me An Angel
16. The Purple People Eater
17. I Can't Believe You're Mine
18. The Chase
19. Santa and the Purple People Eater
20. Sweet Chile
21. Josie
22. Roughneck
23. Luke the Spook
24. Taste of Ashes
25. Skin Tight, Pin Striped, Purple Pedal Pushers
26. That's My Pa
27. Laughin' the Blues
28. Somebody, Please (Say Something Funny)
29. Land of No Love
30. The Legend of Echo Mountain
31. Don't Go Near the Eskimos