Surfin' Bird

This is a medley made up of the choruses of two R&B classics by the '60s doo-wop group The Rivingtons: "The Bird Is the Word" and "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow." The brainchild of Trashmen drummer Steve Wahrer, the song was a quirky and consumable hit, boldly combining surf music with novelty R&B. The Trashmen were a garage band from Minneapolis, which isn't surfing territory. Despite critical acclaim, they managed just one more minor hit before disbanding in the late '60s: the 1964 #30 "Bird Dance Beat."

When this became a hit, The Rivingtons were awarded writing credit for the song, since it was based on their compositions. This was a huge financial benefit, as they receive royalties every time the song is used in a movie, TV show or commercial. The Trashmen claimed that they heard The Rivingtons songs through cover versions played by a Wisconsin band called the Sorenson Brothers, and insisted that "Surfin' Bird" was an original recording. The Trashmen were left with the performance royalties, which while certainly not scraps, were far less lucrative. The band says that for their first payment, they each received a check for $1.88, but they eventually got a lump sum of $4,500 each. This was all they got until the mid-'80s, when they filed a lawsuit against the company that had bought the recording.

How did a band from Minnesota create a surf-rock classic? The quartet soaked up the sunshine and sounds of California when they took a road trip there in spring, 1963. Returning home, they incorporated the surf sound into their shows when they played local gigs, and eventually worked up "Surfin' Bird." That summer, they played an early version of the song at Chubb's Ballroom in Maple Grove. A local disc jockey named Bill Diehl introduced them to George Garrett, who ran a record label called Garrett Records. The band recorded the song at Kay Bank Studio in Minneapolis, and Diehl played it on his WDGY "Battle of the Bands" segment. Issued on Garrett Records, the song became a regional hit in November, and was picked up by the larger Soma label. A full album was quickly recorded, and the band was dispatched on a tour, traveling the country in a Chevy Greenbrier van. They played 292 gigs that year, but couldn't get higher than #30 with any of their subsequent releases. In 1967, they called it quits as their sound fell out of favor.