Steve Wahrer (November 22, 1941 – January 21, 1989) was an American drummer and singer who is best known for being the co-lead vocalist in the rock band

the Trashmen The Trashmen were an American rock band formed in Minneapolis in 1962 and are best known for their biggest hit, 1963's " Surfin' Bird", which reached No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The original line-up of the group featured guitarists Ton ...

. He sang their hit song "

Surfin' Bird "Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by American surf rock band the Trashmen, containing the repetitive lyric "the bird is the word". It has been covered many times. The song is a combination of two R&B hits by the Rivingtons: "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" ...

", and also shared lead vocals with guitarist Tony Andreason. Wahrer founded the Trashmen in 1962 with guitarist Dal Winslow. The Trashmen would release "Surfin' Bird", a song that was a combination of "The Bird is the Word" and "

Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" is a novelty nonsensical doo-wop song by the Rivingtons in 1962. It peaked at number 48 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and number 35 on the '' Cashbox'' charts. The band released two similar follow-up songs over the next sev ...

" by

the Rivingtons The Rivingtons were a 1960s doo-wop band, known for their 1962 novelty hit "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow". The members were lead vocalist Carl White (June 21, 1932 – January 7, 1980), tenor Al Frazier (died November 13, 2005), baritone Sonny Harris an ...

. The song was a big hit on the charts. On January 4, 1964, Wahrer would appear on the show ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'' performing "Surfin' Bird" with the Trashmen and being interviewed. In 1967, the band disbanded. Wahrer played in a few other bands during the time the band was broken up. In 1982, the Trashmen would reunite, and Wahrer toured with them until 1988 when he became too sick to perform. He died on January 21, 1989, of throat cancer. The Trashmen replaced Wahrer with Andreason's brother Mark on drums and Tony Andreason took over full lead vocals. The band would tour until 2016, when they broke up again.

References

External links

* 1941 births 1989 deaths American rock drummers {{US-singer-stub Deaths from throat cancer in the United States