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Surfin' Bird (album)
''Surfin' Bird'' is the debut studio album by the Trashmen, released on January 14, 1964. It was named after their novelty hit of the same name. The album peaked at No. 48 at the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The album was recorded at Kay Bank Studios and rushed to the stores to capitalize on the success of the "Surfin' Bird" single, released two months earlier. According to Rick Shefchik's book ''Everybody's Heard about the Bird'', which chronicles the band's rise and fall, both the ''Surfin' Bird'' album and the single each went on to sell over a million copies. Richie Unterberger of AllMusic, who gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5, wrote that it "actually outstrips most of the Southern California-based competition, due to the ferocious grit of the playing and a vaguely demented, go-for-broke recklessness." 1964 LP release Two editions are known to have an incorrect track list on the back of the sleeve – the track listing printed on the vinyl is correct, though. Interestingly, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Tony Andreason and Dal Winslow, bassist Bob Reed, and drummer Steve Wahrer. Along with Colorado-based contemporaries the Astronauts, the Trashmen have been described as "the premier landlocked Midwestern surf group of the '60s." The band took their name from "Trashman's Blues", a song written and recorded in 1961 by Minneapolis musician Kai Ray (Richard Caire, 1935–2017), who later wrote songs for the band. History Pre-Trashmen Tony Andreason and Mike Jann were friends who learned and played guitar together, starting in 1955. They primarily played country. In 1957, at the Crystal Coliseum, Tony and Mike met Steve Wahrer, a drummer, Dallas "Dal" Winslow, a guitar player, and a saxophone player. Tony, Steve, Dal, and the saxoph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Money (That's What I Want)
"Money (That's What I Want)" is a rhythm and blues song written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, which was the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise. Barrett Strong recorded it in 1959 as a single for the Tamla label, distributed nationally on Anna Records. Many artists later recorded the tune, including the Beatles in 1963 and the Flying Lizards in 1979. Composition and recording The song developed out of a spontaneous recording session at the Hitsville studio A in Detroit. Berry Gordy and Barrett Strong began by improvising on piano and vocals and were joined by Benny Benjamin on drums and Brian Holland on tambourine. It is a response song to the standard The Best Things in Life Are Free. Authors Jim Cogan and William Clark only identify the guitarist and bass guitarist as "two white kids walking home from high school hoheard the music out on the street and wandered in to Hitsville ndasked if they could play along." They add, "Strong claimed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 several months, "Mama-Oom-Mow-Mow (The Bird)" and "The Bird's the Word". "Surfin' Bird" Together with the Rivingtons' 1963 novelty song "The Bird's the Word", "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" was the basis for the song " Surfin' Bird", a number four hit in 1963 by The Trashmen. The combination of the songs, played at a much livelier pace than the original doo-wop songs, was ad-libbed at an early live performance by the band and later released as a single. Initially, the single did not credit the original songwriters, but after the Rivingtons asked for their copyright to be respected, the songwriting credits were amended. The Trashmen's follow-up single "Bird Dance Beat" referenced "Surfin' Bird" in the lyrics and featured several sections of the "Papa-O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 and bassist Turner "Rocky" Wilson Jr. Frazier was replaced by Madero White for a period in the late 1970s. History The Rivingtons had originally been known as The Sharps and had success in the charts with Thurston Harris's "Little Bitty Pretty One" in 1957. They then appeared on Duane Eddy's 1958 hit " Rebel-'Rouser", providing handclaps and rebel yells. They also recorded on Warner Brothers Records as The Crenshaws in 1961. Their first hit as the Rivingtons was "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" (Liberty #55427, 1962). Like many such songs, it began with the bass chanting nonsense syllables (in this case the title), followed by the tenor singing over repetitions of it. "Mama-Oom-Mow-Mow", an even more baroque rewrite of the theme, failed to sell, but t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernesto Lecuona
Ernesto Lecuona y Casado (; August 7, 1895 – November 29, 1963) was a Cuban composer and pianist, many of whose works have become standards of the Latin, jazz and classical repertoires. His over 600 compositions include songs and zarzuelas as well as pieces for piano and symphonic orchestra. In the 1930s, he helped establish a popular band, the Lecuona Cuban Boys, which showcased some of his most successful pieces and was later taken over by Armando Oréfiche. In the 1950s, Lecuona recorded several LPs, including solo piano albums for RCA Victor. He moved to the United States after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, and died in Spain in 1963. Early years Lecuona was born in Guanabacoa, Havana, Cuba, Kingdom of Spain, to a Cuban mother and a Canarian father. There are inconsistencies surrounding his birthdate, with some sources indicating the year 1895, and others still giving the day as August 6. He started studying piano at the age of five, taught by his sister Ernestina Lecuon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malagueña (song)
"Malagueña" (, from Málaga) is a song by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona. It was originally the sixth movement of Lecuona's ''Suite Andalucía'' (1933), to which he added lyrics in Spanish. The song has since become a popular, jazz, marching band, and drum and bugle corps standard and has been provided with lyrics in several languages. In general terms, malagueñas are flamenco dance styles with paso doble elements from Málaga, in the southeast of Spain. Origins The melodic themes which form the basis of "Malagueña" were not of Ernesto Lecuona's invention, having been prominent in Spanish folk songs named "malagueñas" for several centuries, though at least one was popularised internationally by 19th-century American composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk in his solo piano composition ''Souvenirs d'Andalousie'' ( English: ''Memories of Andalusia''). The malagueña originates in the fandango style of Málaga, hence its name. It was also exported to the Canary Islands around t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Crickets
The Crickets were an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Top 100 chart on September 16, 1957. The sleeve of their first album, '' The "Chirping" Crickets'', shows the band line-up at the time: Holly on lead vocals and lead guitar, Niki Sullivan on rhythm guitar, Jerry Allison on drums, and Joe B. Mauldin on bass. The Crickets helped set the template for subsequent rock bands, such as the Beatles, with their guitar-bass-drums line-up, performing their own material. After Holly's death in 1959, the band continued to tour and record into the 1960s and beyond with other band members through to the 21st century. History Formation Holly had been making demo recordings with local musician friends since 1954. Sonny Curtis, Jerry Allison, and Larry Welborn participated in these sessions. In 1956, Holly' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Petty
Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician, record producer, publisher, and radio station owner. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of early rock & roll. With Vi Ann Petty—his wife and vocalist—he founded the Norman Petty Trio. Biography Petty was born in the small town of Clovis, New Mexico. He began playing piano at a young age. While in high school, he regularly performed on a 15-minute show on a local radio station. After his graduation in 1945, he was drafted into the United States Air Force. When he returned, he married his high-school sweetheart Violet Ann Brady on June 20, 1948. The couple lived briefly in Dallas, Texas, where Petty worked as a part-time engineer at a recording studio. Eventually, they moved back to their hometown of Clovis. Petty and his wife, Vi, founded the Norman Petty Trio, with guitarist Jack Vaughn. Due to the local success of their independent debut release of "Mood Indigo", they landed a recor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas, during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his two siblings. Holly made his first appearance on local television in 1952, and the following year he formed the group Buddy and Bob with his friend Bob Montgomery (songwriter), Bob Montgomery. In 1955, after opening once for Elvis Presley, Holly decided to pursue a career in music. He played with Presley three times that year, and his band's style shifted from country and western to rock and roll. In October that year, when Holly opened for Bill Haley & His Comets, he was spotted by Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, who helped him get a contract with Decca Records. Holly's recording sessions at Decca were produced by Owen Bradley, who ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
It's So Easy! (The Crickets Song)
"It's So Easy!" is a rock-and-roll song written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty. It was originally released as a single in 1958 by the Crickets on Brunswick Records but failed to chart. It was the final release by the Crickets when Holly was still in the band. A cover version recorded by Linda Ronstadt from her album '' Simple Dreams'' was released on September 20, 1977 and was a Top Five hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The Crickets version Background The song was recorded by Buddy Holly and the Crickets from June to August 1958 at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico. Holly lip-synched to recordings of "It's So Easy!" and his song "Heartbeat" on the television program ''American Bandstand'' on October 28, 1958. The Crickets recorded "It's So Easy!" for Brunswick Records, which released it as a 45-rpm single in 1958 but it did not chart. The B-side was "Lonesome Tears". Tommy Allsup played the lead guitar parts on both recordings. Linda Ronstadt version Background ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Astronauts (band)
For the UK band, see Astronauts (band) The Astronauts were an American rock band, who had a minor hit in 1963 with "Baja" and remained successful for several years, especially in Japan. They have been described as being, "along with...(the) Trashmen, the premier landlocked Midwestern surf group of the '60s."Biography by Richie Unterberger at Allmusic.com Accessed 22 April 2011 For most of their career, the band members were Rich Fifield, Jon "Storm" Patterson, Bob Demmon, Dennis Lindsey, and Jim Gallagher. Career The Astronauts developed out of a group, The Stormtroupers, which was originally formed at ,[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Wahrer
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. He sang their hit song "Surfin' Bird", 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" by the Rivingtons. 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
