Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Surfin' Bird

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B-side
  
"King of the Surf"

Recorded
  
1963

Length
  
2:20

Format
  
7"

Genre
  
Surf rock garage rock

Released
  
November 13, 1963 (1963-11-13)

"Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by American surf rock band The Trashmen, and it is also the name of the album that featured this hit single. It was released in 1963 and reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is a combination of two R&B hits by The Rivingtons: "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and "The Bird's the Word".

Contents

History

The Rivingtons followed up their 1962 Billboard Hot 100 hit "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" with the similar "The Bird's the Word" in 1963. The Trashmen had not heard this version but saw a band called The Sorensen Brothers playing it. They decided to play the song that night at their own gig. During this first performance, drummer and vocalist Steve Wahrer stopped playing and ad-libbed the "Surfin' Bird" middle section. Despite not knowing "The Bird's the Word" was a Rivingtons song, the similarity to "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" was obvious and The Trashmen added the chorus to the end of their new track.

A local disc jockey, Bill Diehl, was at the gig and convinced the band to record the track. It was recorded at Kay Bank Studios in Minneapolis. Diehl entered it into a local battle of the bands competition and it won. It was then sent to a battle of the bands competition in Chicago where it also won. This led to the group being signed to Garrett Records with the single being quickly released. It reportedly sold 30,000 copies in its first weekend before going on to national success, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Wahrer was originally credited as the song's writer, but that was changed to the Rivingtons (Al Frazier, Carl White, Sonny Harris, and Turner Wilson Jr.) after the group successfully sued The Trashmen for plagiarism.

Side 1

  1. "Surfin' Bird" (Al Frazier / Sonny Harris / Carl White / Turner Wilson) – 2:23
  2. "King of the Surf" (Larry LaPole) – 2:30
  3. "Henrietta" (Jimmy Dee / Larry Hitzfeld) – 2:35
  4. "Miserlou" (Milton Leeds / Nicholas Roubanis / Bob Russell / Fred Wise) – 2:08
  5. "Malagueña" (Ernesto Lecuona) – 2:35
  6. "It's So Easy" (Buddy Holly / Norman Petty) – 2:06

Side 2

  1. "Tube City" (Steve Wahrer) – 3:23
  2. "My Woodie" (Larry LaPole) – 1:55
  3. "Bird Bath" (Dan Darnold / Dal Winslow) – 2:37
  4. "Kuk" (Bob Demmon / Rich Fifield / Jim Gallagher / Dennis Lindsey) – 2:05
  5. "Money (That's What I Want)" (Janie Bradford / Berry Gordy, Jr.) – 3:12
  6. "Sleeper" (Larry LaPole) – 2:33

Bonus tracks (CD)

  1. "Surfin' Bird" [demo version]
  2. "Bird Dance Beat" [demo version]
  3. "Walkin' My Baby" (L Mathis / M Mathis)
  4. "Dancin' with Santa" (L LaPole)

Covers

  • "Surfin' Bird" was covered by the Cramps as their 1978 debut single on Vengeance Records; it also appeared on their 1979 album Gravest Hits and on their 1983 compilation album Off the Bone. The Cramps often end their concerts with the song.
  • Paul Reubens (as Pee-wee Herman) covered the song on the soundtrack of the film Back to the Beach.
  • "Surfin' Bird" was covered by the Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo on the maxi single "The Bird" in 1993.
  • Orbital sampled heavily from the original version on "Tension" from their 2001 album The Altogether.
  • "Surfin' Bird" was covered by The Ramones on their Rocket To Russia album, released November 4, 1977.
  • "Surfin' Bird" was covered by Sodom on their 2001 album M-16.
  • "Surfin Bird" was covered by Phil Streva in 1989. Release on the EP Catahoula in 2010.

    • Pink Flamingos

    A man lip-synchs his anus to the tune of this song in one scene of John Waters's 1972 exploitation comedy.

    Full Metal Jacket

    In the second half of 1987 Stanley Kubrick film Full Metal Jacket, when a journalist news team records and interviews the platoon sent to Phu Bai, "Surfin' Bird" can be heard playing on both the soundtrack and in the background on a radio.

    Family Guy

    The song is also featured in the "I Dream of Jesus" Family Guy episode, in which Peter Griffin overhears the song at a diner. He proceeds to annoy his family by playing the song virtually nonstop for the rest of the episode. It has since become a running gag on the show. In a subsequent episode it is revealed that Peter served as the original inspiration for the song, having used Stewie's time machine to travel into the past where he sang it for the Trash Men.

    The Big Year

    In the movie The Big Year, Jack Black's character Brad Harris has "Surfin' Bird" as his cellphone ringtone.

    References

    Surfin' Bird Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA