Surfin' Bird
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"Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by American
surf rock Surf music (also known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is inst ...
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 ...
, 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 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 ...
: "
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 ...
" and "The Bird's the Word". The song was released as a single in 1963 and reached No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The Trashmen also recorded an album named after the track, released two months later.


History

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 ...
followed up their 1962 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit "
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 ...
" 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 and 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 the Trashmen's not knowing "The Bird's the Word" was a Rivingtons song, the similarity to "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" was obvious, and the band 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 Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
. 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 Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, which 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 threatened to sue the Trashmen for
plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...
.


Chart performance


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Covers

*"Surfin' Bird" was covered by
the Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2009. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...
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 ended their concerts with the song. * ''The Bird'' was sampled and released in a
happy hardcore Happy hardcore, also known as 4-beat or happycore, is a subgenre of hardcore dance music or " hard dance". It emerged both from the UK breakbeat hardcore rave scene, and Belgian, German and Dutch hardcore techno scenes in the early 1990s ...
version by Charly Lownoise and Mental Theo as single in 1993. *"Surfin' Bird" was covered by the
Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...
on their album ''
Rocket to Russia ''Rocket to Russia'' is the third studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, and was released on November 4, 1977, through Sire Records. It is the band's last album to feature original drummer Tommy Ramone, who left the band in 1978 ...
'', released on November 4, 1977. *"Surfin' Bird" was covered by
Teutonic thrash metal Teutonic thrash metal is a regional scene of thrash metal music that originated within German-speaking countries during the 1980s, and its title is a reference to the Germanic tribe. Along with Bay Area thrash metal, East Coast thrash metal, ...
band Sodom in 2001 on their tenth studio album, '' M-16''. *"Surfin' Bird" was covered by
Silverchair Silverchair was an Australian Rock music, rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Newcastle, New South Wales, with Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars, Ben Gillies on drums, and Chris Joannou on bass guitar. The group got thei ...
for the compilation album Music for Our Mother Ocean Volume 1, released on July 2, 1996.


In popular culture

The song has been used in various films, including ''
Pink Flamingos ''Pink Flamingos'' is a 1972 American surrealist independent black comedy film by John Waters. It is part of what Waters has labelled the "Trash Trilogy", which also includes '' Female Trouble'' (1974) and '' Desperate Living'' (1977). The f ...
'' (1972), '' Back to the Beach'' (1987), ''
Full Metal Jacket ''Full Metal Jacket'' is a 1987 war film directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick from a screenplay he co-wrote with Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford. The film is based on Hasford's 1979 autobiographical novel '' The Short-Timers''. It stars ...
'' (1987), '' Home for the Holidays'' (1995), ''
Fred Claus ''Fred Claus'' is a 2007 American Christmas comedy film directed by David Dobkin, written by Dan Fogelman from a story by Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, John Michael Higgins, Eliz ...
'' (2007), '' The Villain'' (2009), and '' The Big Year'' (2011). "Surfin' Bird" was frequently played on Detroit radio and TV stations over the summer of 1976 during segments featuring the
Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...
' 21-year old rookie sensation Mark Fidrych. Fidrych was nicknamed "The Bird" because of his supposed resemblance to ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
''s Big Bird character, and because of his cartoonish antics on the mound, which included talking to the ball between pitches. Fidrych was named American League Rookie of the Year in 1976, and finished second in the voting for the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...
. The song is prominently featured in the 2008 ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
'' season 7 episode " I Dream of Jesus", in which
Peter Griffin Peter Löwenbräu Griffin Sr. ( né Justin Peter Griffin) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''Family Guy''. He is voiced by the series' creator, Seth MacFarlane, and first appeared on television, a ...
(
Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. He is best known as the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orvill ...
) overhears the song at a diner and it turns out to be his favorite childhood song. He proceeds to annoy his family by taking the record from the diner and playing the song virtually nonstop for the rest of the episode. "Surfin' Bird" has since become a recurring gag on the show. A cover of "Surfin' Bird" was used in the first episode of the 1989 series '' The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'', "The Bird! The Bird!" As with all cover songs from the show, later releases of the episode replaced the song with generic music. A separate cover of the song was also the theme song of the 1998 animated series '' Birdz''. "Surfin' Bird" is one of the playable songs on the 2009
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...
video game '' Just Dance''. It is also featured as an emote in the online video game ''
Fortnite ''Fortnite'' is an online video game and game platform developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in seven distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: '' Fortnite Battle Roy ...
'', added in Chapter 5, Season 1, based on its appearances in ''Family Guy''. In advertising, the song was featured in a California Wine Cooler commercial in the 1980s, while a 2018 television commercial for
Heineken Heineken Lager Beer (), or simply Heineken (), is a Dutch pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 February 1864, ...
beer, named "New Friends", used the Ramones' version. It also appeared in a Nicktoons UK commercial for '' Harvey Beaks'' in 2015. The song is also played at popular UK theme park
Thorpe Park Thorpe Park, formerly also known as Thorpe Park Resort, is a theme park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertai ...
as part of the Amity section of the park, played on their fictional pastiche radio station WWTP Radio, themed to a 1960s
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
fishing village, which has been hit by a tidal wave. In his early career, darts player
Stephen Bunting Stephen Bunting (born 9 April 1985) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number four. Nicknamed "the Bullet", Bunting formerly competed in Brit ...
jokingly used "Surfin’ Bird" as someone said he resembled Peter Griffin.


References


External links


Biography and discography of the Trashmen

"Surfin' bird" references

Music video
on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. * {{Authority control 1963 songs 1963 debut singles Ramones songs The Trashmen songs Novelty songs Hep Stars songs Songs about birds Songs involved in plagiarism controversies UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles