Saturday 9

 

Purple People Eater

Welcome to Saturday 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: Purple People Eater (1958)

Unfamiliar with this song? Hear it here.

1) When actor Sheb Wooley brought this song to MGM Records, they initially rejected it, saying it just wasn't the kind of thing they wanted to be associated with. Then executives discovered how popular the audition recording was with the 20-somethings in the office. MGM released it after all and it became a #1 hit. Tell us about a time you were glad you changed your mind about something.

My ex husband is my current boyfriend. 'Nuff said.

2) This song has been so enduringly popular that in the 1970s, the Minnesota Vikings defensive line referred to themselves as the Purple People Eaters. What football team do you root for?  

I'm not really a football fan.  I prefer baseball, especially the NY Mets.  But my daughter Jen is a very loyal Jets fan.

Though I do love to tell a "Super Bowl" story.  Jen graduated from high school in 2008.  As you can imagine, her senior year involved a lot of trips to colleges as she planned her future.  She was interested in the University of Hartford, in Connecticut, and  wanted to attend an event for prospective students.  The event was on a Monday morning, and we decided to drive from our home on Long Island  the night before. So we found ourselves driving from Long Island to Connecticut on Super Bowl Sunday.  

That was the year the New York Giants played the New England Patriots. So the whole time  Jen and I were in the car, her friends were texting her with updates about how the game was going...

And the Giants won the game just as we arrived at our hotel.   Huge TV in the hotel lobby tuned to the game, lots of sad faces looking at the screen...and me with my NY driver's license about to register at the hotel.

At least it wasn't Boston ....

3) The song was initially inspired by Sputnik, the satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1958. In the 21st century, do you think space exploration is a worthwhile public investment? Or would you prefer  governments spend that money here on earth?  

I can think of a thousand things we do here on earth that have happened because of the space program.  Example, my cell phone has more computing power than  the computers that launched Apollo 11. When I visited the Kennedy Space Center in 2016, I was thrilled to hear about their ongoing plans.

My real problem is with vanity rides by billionaires...

4) The Purple People Eater is a visitor from another planet. When you imagine creatures from outer space, are they frightening or friendly?

I wouldn't mind meeting this one:

5) This record was the biggest hit Sheb Wooley ever had. He was better known as an actor, costarring with Clint Eastwood on the 1950s TV show, Rawhide. What's your favorite Clint Eastwood movie?

Million Dollar Baby.

6) Sheb and Clint remained buddies and appeared together decades later in The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976). Tell us about one of your longest-lasting friendships.  

We have a small group of friends we've known for over 30 years.  

7) In 1958, when this song was popular, hula hoops were a national craze. Did you ever play with a hula hoop? If yes, were you good at it?  

I had one, never really got good at it.

8) Also in 1958, Arnold Palmer won his first Masters Golf Tournament. When did you most recently play golf?

I don't play golf.  I used to play miniature golf, but haven't done that in awhile.

9) Random question: Do you believe women gossip more than men?

Women generally seem to be more interested in other people's personal relationships than men.  So yes, women tend to gossip more.  Like most stereotyupes, it has a basis in fact.