When you have a big novelty hit the logical next step is to follow up with a Christmas-themed version of the original song. Bobby “Boris” Pickett is maybe the most iconic version of this, releasing “Monster’s Holiday” as a part two of his best-selling graveyard smash “Monster Mash.” But a few years before that, Sheb Wooley introduced the world to the Purple People Eater, who came to earth to eat people who happened to be violet, though no fault of their own, but won Earth over because he played rock music through a horn in his head. We are apparently a weird species.
Well, it got weirder in the holiday sequel. As Sheb explains, Santa’s reindeer were freaking out because they thought for sure that on that year’s Christmas Eve run they were going to collide with Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. (This song came out in 1958, after all.) The Purple People Eater offers to help, which is great because a) Christmas is saved and b) he can lay off the horn a little, thus paving the way for Kenny G.
And a reminder to all you novelty hitmakers out there who haven’t put out your novelty Christmas follow-ups: there’s still time. I expect that before December 25th rolls around we’re going to need “The Christmas Streak,” “Disco Duck Meets Santa Claus” and “Chocolate Rain/The Little Drummer Boy,” so get to it.
