Song · They Might Be Giants
“Purple Toupee” by They Might Be Giants
From the album Lincoln (1988)
“Purple Toupee” by They Might Be Giants appears on 1 radio countdown from 1 station in 2003. It was first released in 1988 on the album Lincoln. Its best result is #1815 on the Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #7,016 alternative song of all time.
"Purple Toupee" was one of three singles off Lincoln, They Might Be Giants' second album, released on Bar/None in 1988 and named for the Massachusetts town where John Linnell and John Flansburgh grew up. The two Johns wrote it together, Linnell sings it, Bill Krauss produced and Al Houghton engineered.
It sits among the album's songs that tip toward social and political satire, on a record that tries to fold wordplay into story songs and, like the band's earlier work, does without a full-band arrangement. The result is brainy, nervy and a little sly: a pop song that smuggles its point in under a funny hat.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 1815 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
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