"Oo ee, oo ah ah, ting tang, walla walla bing bang." Ask any child or teen-ager of the '50s what this phrase means and they will remember the summer of 1958.

Perhaps it was our interest in space that inspired the major pop music hit of the summer, maybe the first piece about an extraterrestrial, "Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley.

It turned out that the Purple People Eater had the same goal as every American kid in the '50s: "I wanna get a job in a rock and roll band," he sang.

"Oo ee, oo ah ah, ting tang, walla walla bing bang." Ask any child or teen-ager of the '50s what this phrase means and they will remember the summer of 1958, a summer most memorable because of its music, including "Witch Doctor" by David Seville and "Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley.

Actually, Seville's song never told us what the words to his chorus meant, only that they are advice from a wise witch doctor to a victim of unrequited love ("You've been keeping love from me just like you were a miser, / And I'll admit I wasn't very smart. / So I went out and found myself a guy who's so much wiser, / And he taught me the way to win your heart." You know the rest.)

Anyway, the mysterious words seemed to strike a chord with me and my nine-year-old buddies who were beginning to deal with some just-as-mysterious passions awakened in us by the likes of mouseketeer Annette Funicello. How would we ever get beauties like her to notice us? "Oo ee, oo ah ah, ting tang, walla walla bing bang." You've got to admit; the words have a ring of truth to them.

"Witch Doctor" was the biggest hit David Seville, whose real name was Ross Bagdasarian, would ever record, and, today, he is most famous for his role as creator of the first animal musicians of the era, "The Chipmunks." Alvin, Simon, and Theodore began their recording career shortly after the success of "Witch Doctor."

There were a lot of firsts in 1958, including the issuing of the first general credit cards (Visa and American Express), the building of the first Pizza Hut franchise (located in Wichita, Kansas), the maiden voyage of the first U.S.-built commercial jet (the Boeing 707), the first baby boomer fad (Whamo sold 100 million hoola hoops), and the launch of the first U.S. satellite. Perhaps it was our interest in space that inspired the major pop music hit of the summer, maybe the first piece about an extraterrestrial, "Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley.

Wooley, who grew up just across the border from the Texas Panhandle in Eric, Oklahoma, was a multitalented musician, comedian, and actor, whose credits included roles in "Giant" with James Dean, "War Wagon" with John Wayne, and "Outlaw Josie Wales" with Clint Eastwood. Wooley also worked with Eastwood from 1959 to 1967 in the popular TV series "Rawhide" (he was the scout, Pete Nolan). In addition, Wooley wrote numerous country western songs, including the theme to the TV show "Hee Haw," where he worked in 1969 as part of the original cast.

"Purple People Eater" was a song about a one-eyed, one-horned alien with the gift of flight. Contrary to popular opinion, he wasn't purple. He was so named because he ate purple people, which, by the way, is not why he decided to visit earth. Rather, it turned out that the Purple People Eater had the same goal as every American kid in the '50s: "I wanna get a job in a rock and roll band," he sang.

Unlike the rest of us, the Purple People Eater succeeded, and the song ended with his TV debut. "He was blowing it out, / A'really knockin' em dead, / Playin' rock and roll music through the horn in his head."

You know the rest. All together now, "He was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' Purple People Eater, / one-eyed one-horned . . . . "