Question: Was the one-eyed, one-horned flyin’ monster purple?
Answer: NO – He just liked to eat purple people.

I said Mr. Purple People Eater, what’s your line?
He said it’s eatin’ purple people and it sure is fine.
But that’s not the reason that I came to land
I wanna get a job in a rock and roll band.

It’s nice to know the monster had a higher goal in mind than to terrorize purple people.
He wanted to swivel his hips like Elvis or play drums with the Crickets.

The song was written by Sheb Wooley. It was released in June 1958 and reached the top of the Billboard charts that month.

You can read how the purple people eater reappeared in various songs, films, and even a NFL football team by reading this Wikipedia entry: Purple People Eater.