"Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by American

surf rock Surf music (or 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 instrumental su ...

band

The Trashmen The Trashmen were an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, in 1962. The original line-up of the group featured guitarists Tony Andreason and Dal Winslow, bassist Bob Reed, and drummer Steve Wahrer. Along with Co ...

, containing the repetitive lyric "the bird is the word". It has been covered many times. It 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 (d. November 13, 2005), baritone Sonny Harris, and ba ...

: " Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" 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

followed up their 1963 ''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 Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pla ...

, was at the gig and convinced the band to record the track. It was recorded at

Kay Bank Studios Kay Bank Studios was a recording studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota at 2541 Nicollet Avenue, now Creation Audio. Daniel Heilicher and his brother Amos started in a business together in the 1930s, distributing and stocking jukeboxes. In 1954, they fou ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

. 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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

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 threatened to sue The Trashmen for

plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and though ...

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Covers

*"Surfin' Bird" was covered by

the Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. 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. ...

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. *"Surfin' Bird" was covered by

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

on their '' Rocket to Russia'' album, released on November 4, 1977. *"Surfin' Bird" was covered by Teutonic thrash metal band

Sodom Sodom may refer to: Places Historic * Sodom and Gomorrah, cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis United States * Sodom, Kentucky, a ghost town * Sodom, New York, a hamlet * Sodom, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Sodom, West Virginia, ...

on their tenth studio album,

M-16 The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of service rifle, military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States Armed Forces, United States military. The original M16 rifle was a ...

In popular culture

"Surfin' Bird" was frequently played on Detroit radio and TV stations over the summer of 1976 during segments featuring the Tigers' 21-year old rookie sensation

Mark Fidrych Mark Steven Fidrych ( ; August 14, 1954 – April 13, 2009), nicknamed "The Bird", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) baseball pitcher. He pitched his entire career for the Detroit Tigers (1976–1980). Known for his quirky antics ...

. Fidrych was nicknamed "The Bird" because of his supposed resemblance to ''Sesame Street''s

Big Bird Big Bird is a Muppet character designed by Jim Henson and built by Kermit Love for the long-running children's television show ''Sesame Street''. An eight-foot two-inch (249 cm) tall bright yellow anthropomorphic bird, he can roller skat ...

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

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 (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Ha ...

. A 2018 television commercial for

Heineken Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a 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 Feb ...

beer, named "New Friends", used the Ramones version. It also appeared in a Nicktoons UK commercial for ''

Harvey Beaks ''Harvey Beaks'' is an American animated television series created by C. H. Greenblatt for Nickelodeon. The series aired from March 28, 2015, until December 9, 2016, when it was moved to Nicktoons on March 1, 2017, which followed the series fina ...

'' in 2015. The song has been used in various films, including ''

Pink Flamingos ''Pink Flamingos'' is a 1972 American film directed, written, produced, narrated, filmed, and edited by John Waters. It is part of what Waters has labelled the "Trash Trilogy", which also includes '' Female Trouble'' (1974) and '' Desperate Liv ...

'' (1972), '' E.T. the Extraterrestrial'' (1982), '' Back to the Beach'' (1987), ''

Full Metal Jacket ''Full Metal Jacket'' is a 1987 war drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford. The film is based on Hasford's 1979 novel '' The Short-Timers'' and stars Matt ...

'' (1987), ''

Fred Claus ''Fred Claus'' is a 2007 American Christmas comedy film directed by David Dobkin, screenplay by Dan Fogelman and a story by Dan Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, John Michael Higgins, Eliz ...

'' (2007), '' The Villain'', and ''

The Big Year ''The Big Year'' is a 2011 American comedy film starring Jack Black, Owen Wilson and Steve Martin. ''The Big Year'' was directed by David Frankel and written by Howard Franklin. It was based on the 2004 nonfiction book ''The Big Year: A Tale of ...

'' (2011). The song is also prominently featured in the ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their ch ...

'' episode "

I Dream of Jesus "I Dream of Jesus" is the second episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series '' Family Guy''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 5, 2008. In the episode, Peter finds Jesus Christ (voiced by A ...

", in which

Peter Griffin Peter Löwenbräu Griffin, born Justin Peter Griffin, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''Family Guy''. He is voiced by the series' creator, Seth MacFarlane, and first appeared on television, alon ...

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 also the theme song of the 1998 animated series '' Birdz''. "Surfin' Bird" is one of the playable songs on the 2009 Wii video game, '' Just Dance''.

References

External links

Biography and discography of The Trashmen

surfin' bird references

Music video
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

.

on

. {{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