Trivia for your enjoyment:
SHELBY WOOLEY WAS BORN APRIL 10, 1921 NEAR ERICK, OKLAHOMA.
BY THE TIME HE WAS A TEENAGER, HE HAD FORMED A TEEN WESTERN BAND
AND WAS A RODEO RIDER. HE SHORTENED HIS NAME TO "SHEB" BECAUSE HE
THOUGHT HIS REAL NAME SOUNDED FEMININE! "YOU CAN'T HAVE SOME RODEO
ANNOUNCER SAYING, 'AND HERE COMES SHELBY RIDING TORNADO OUT OF
SHOOT NUMBER 5.'"
SHEB WOOLEY WROTE THE LYRICS, MUSIC AND RECORDED "PURPLE PEOPLE
EATER" IN 1958. THREE WEEKS AFTER THE 'SILLY SONG' HIT THE AIRWAVES
AND RECORD SHOPS, THE SONG EARNED A GOLD RECORD. PEOPLE LOVED IT!
"PPE", AS ITS CREATOR CALLED IT, SOLD THREE MILLION RECORDS
WORLDWIDE WITHIN A MONTH! FORY-FIVE YEARS LATER, IT'S STILL A BEST
SELLER.
SHELBY WOOLEY STARRED AS "PETE NOLAN" IN THE RAWHIDE TV SERIES
FOR FIVE YEARS. HE ALSO STARRED IN THE MOVIE, 'HIGH NOON.' "I LOVED
MAKING THAT FILM," HE SAID. "IT STILL IS MY FAVORITE MOVIE."
ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2003, SHEB WOOLEY ATTENDED FUNERAL
SERVICES FOR JOHNNY CASH AT HENDERSON, TENNESSEE. TWO DAYS LATER,
SEPTEMBER 16TH, SHEB WOOLEY DIED.
AT HIS REQUEST, HIS SERVICES WERE AT 'HIGH NOON' AT THE
HENDERSON BAPTIST CHURCH. BURIAL WAS IN THE HENDERSON CEMETERY. HE
HAD SUFFERED FROM LEUKEMIA SINCE 1996. HE WAS 82 YEARS-OLD.
