Might as well keep this going...

According to IMDB (under "trivia" for the movie "In the Heat of the Night"), Anthony James was, in fact, grooving to "Lil' Red Riding Hood" in that diner scene. When they couldn't secure the rights, "Fowl Owl" was created and substituted in the audio. I imagine that is why the song seems sooo similar. It had to be. With the film already in the can, they needed the counterman's movements to match up. I suppose they also wanted a similar "predatory" feel to the lyrics.