''Surfin' Bird'' is the debut studio album by

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 ...

, 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 Kay Bank Studios, also known as Kay Bank Recording Corporation, was a recording studio and phonograph manufacturer based in Minneapolis. History Kay Bank Studios began in 1946 by Vernon Charles Bank and his wife Kay Bank. Vernon and Kay first got ...

and rushed to the stores to capitalize on the success of the "Surfin' Bird" single, released two months earlier. According to

Rick Shefchik Rick Shefchik (born May 9, 1952) is an American novelist, nonfiction writer, and journalist. He is the author of the novels '' Amen Corner,'' published in 2007, ''Green Monster'', published August 1, 2008 by Poisoned Pen Press, '' Frozen Tundra'', ...

'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 Richie Unterberger (born 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' The Daily P ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, 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 erroneous track list was later used for the 1995 CD reissue (see below). The LP incorrectly credits the title track to Steve Wahrer, the band's drummer and vocalist. "Surfin' Bird" is actually a fusion of two songs 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 Bird's 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 ...

". Following legal threats by the group, the song was re-attributed to all four members of the Rivingtons. "Kuk" is a song originally by the Astronauts. For reasons unknown, some copies of the album credit Rich Fifield, but not Jon Patterson, while others credit Patterson, but not Fifield. The 1995 reissue has Fifield listed in the credits, not Patterson.

1995 CD reissue

In 1995, the album received an official CD reissue by

Sundazed Music Sundazed Music is an American independent record label founded and based in Coxsackie, New York. It was initially known as a '60s-centric surf, garage, and psych label. Over time with the additions of imprints such as Modern Harmonic, American ...

. This release uses a different track order, and also adds two demos, a B-side, and a single.

1990 CD compilation

A label called Request Record released a CD compilation also entitled ''Surfin' Bird'' in 1990. The first 12 tracks of the album comprise the original ''Surfin' Bird'' LP, in the same track order. The next 12 tracks are singles by the Trashmen. The last 2 tracks are "Cyclon"/"Sally-Jo", the A-side of a 1961 single by and the sole release of Jim Thaxter and the Travelers, a band which The Trashmen grew out of. The last 14 tracks were previously released on the 1965 compilation album ''Bird Dance Beat'', so this 1990 release is essentially a bundling of the ''Surfin' Bird'' and ''Bird Dance Beat'' albums. It is technically the earliest known CD reissue of ''Surfin Bird'', although it is likely unofficial.

Personnel

The Trashmen: *

Tony Andreason Tony Andreason (born 1943) is an American guitarist and co-lead vocalist of The Trashmen, along with drummer Steve Wahrer. He is also known as the guitarist in the Platte Valley Boys. The Trashmen are best known for the song "Surfin' Bird". Tony h ...

– lead guitar * Dal Winslow – rhythm guitar * Robert Reed – bass guitar *

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 g ...

– drums, vocals Production: * George Garrett – producer * Tom Jung – engineer * Bill Diehl – liner notes

References

{{Authority control 1964 debut albums