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 Ben
Colder was the alter ego of
singer Sheb Wooley (of "Purple
People Eater" fame), which
he used specifically for recording
parodies of country hits. Due
to various acting commitments,
Wooley had been unable to record
the song "Don't Go Near
the Indians," which was
instead cut by Rex Allen for
a significant hit in 1962. Wooley
recorded a drunken-sounding
parody called "Don't Go
Near the Eskimos" and released
it under the pseudonym Ben Colder
(other choices reportedly included
Ben Freezin and Klon Dyke).
"Eskimos" was a Top
20 hit on the country charts,
and Wooley decided to keep returning
to his new comic persona on
a regular basis.
"Hello Wall No. 2"
went Top 30 in 1963, and "Almost
Persuaded No. 2" went all
the way to number six in 1966,
giving Wooley the second-biggest
country hit of his career. Ben
Colder had a few more chart
singles through the '60s, including
"Harper Valley P.T.A. (Later
That Same Day)" and "Little
Green Apples No. 2," and
continued to release albums
on MGM through the '70s. Thanks
to his penchant for comedy,
Wooley was tapped as a staff
songwriter for the television
series Hee Haw when it debuted
in 1969. Colder made a comeback
in 1996 thanks in part to Billy
Ray Cyrus, who inspired the
title track of Shakey Breaky
Car. (Steve Huey, All Music
Guide).
Head on
over to our Videos to see some
great YouTube clips of of Ben
Colder!
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