"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. It is a combination of two R&B hits by the Rivingtons: "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and "The Bird's the Word".[1]
| "Surfin' Bird" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Label art for the 7-inch single "Surfin' Bird", with the original songwriting credit. | ||||
| Single by the Trashmen | ||||
| from the album Surfin' Bird | ||||
| B-side | "King of the Surf" | |||
| Released | November 13, 1963 | |||
| Recorded | 1963 | |||
| Studio | Kay Bank Studios, Minneapolis, Minnesota | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:20 | |||
| Label | Garrett | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Jack Bates | |||
| The Trashmen singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song was released as a single in 1963 and reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] The Trashmen also recorded an album named after the track, released two months later.
History
editThe Rivingtons 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.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1] It was recorded at Kay Bank Studios in Minneapolis. 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, where it also won.[1] 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[1] 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.[3]
Chart performance
edit
Weekly chartsedit
|
Year-end chartsedit
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Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[9] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Covers
edit- "Surfin' Bird" was covered by the Cramps 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.[10]
- The Bird was sampled and published as Happy hardcore version by Charly Lownoise and Mental Theo as single in 1993.[11]
- "Surfin' Bird" was covered by the Ramones on their album Rocket to Russia, released on November 4, 1977.[12]
- "Surfin' Bird" was covered by Teutonic thrash metal band Sodom in 2001 on their tenth studio album, M-16.
- ”Surfin’ Bird was covered by Joe Vitullo on his studio album “Doo Rock” released in 2024.
In popular culture
edit"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.[13] Fidrych was nicknamed "The Bird" because of his supposed resemblance to Sesame Street'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 Cy Young Award.
The song has been used in various films, including Pink Flamingos (1972), Back to the Beach (1987), Full Metal Jacket (1987), Fred Claus (2007), The Villain (2009), and The Big Year (2011).
The song is prominently featured in the 2008 Family Guy episode "I Dream of Jesus", in which Peter Griffin 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.[14] "Surfin' Bird" has since become a recurring gag on the show.[15] A cover of "Surfin' Bird" was used in the first episode of 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 video game, Just Dance. "Surfin' Bird" is also featured as an emote in Fortnite, added in Chapter 5, Season 1, based on its appearances in Family Guy.[16]
A 2018 television commercial for Heineken beer, named "New Friends", used the Ramones version.[17] It also appeared in a Nicktoons UK commercial for Harvey Beaks in 2015.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Gueningsman, Ryan (April 27, 2009). "A whole new generation is 'hearing the word'". Herald Journal. Winsted, Minnesota. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- ^ a b "The Trashmen | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019.
- ^ Riemenschneider, Chris (January 23, 2015). "Minnesota's 'Surfin' Bird' makers the Trashmen are riding another wave". StarTribune. Minneapolis, Minn. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ "CHUM Hit Parade - January 27, 1964".
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 1/18/64". 19 July 2014.
- ^ "Trashmen: Artist Chart History". Official Charts. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ a b "Top 100 Hits of 1964/Top 100 Songs of 1964". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
- ^ "British single certifications – Trashmen – Surfin' Bird". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
- ^ Porter, Dick (January 12, 2015). Journey to the Centre Of The Cramps. Music Sales Limited. p. 141. ISBN 9781783233885.
- ^ Discogs (1977-11-04). "Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo – The Bird". Discogs. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
- ^ Ramones (1977-11-04). "Ramones - Rocket to Russia". Store.ramones.com. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
- ^ Steve Kornacki (2009-04-11). "Mark 'The Bird' Fidrych owned summer of 1976". mlive.com.
- ^ "Family Guy | TV Guide". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
- ^ Cubillas, Sean (2020-01-17). "Family Guy: 5 Best Running Gags (& 5 That We're Sick and Tired Of)". CBR. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ "Fortnite Bird Is The Word (Peter Griffin Emote)". FortniteBRFeed. Retrieved 2023-12-03 – via Youtube.
- ^ Furnari, Chris (June 15, 2018). "Anheuser-Busch, Constellation Brands and Heineken Release New Ad Campaigns Ahead of World Cup". BevNET.com. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
