Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow

Last updated

"Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow"
Rivingtons Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow.gif
Single by The Rivingtons
from the album Doin' the Bird
B-side "Deep Water"
ReleasedMarch 16, 1962 (1962-03-16)
RecordedFebruary 1962 (1962-02)
Studio Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California
Genre
Length2:17
Label Liberty
Songwriter(s)
  • Carl White
  • Al Frazier
  • Sonny Harris
  • Turner Wilson Jr.
Producer(s) Adam Ross
The Rivingtons singles chronology
"Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow"
(1962)		"Kickapoo Joy Juice"
(1963)

"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, [1] and number 35 on the Cashbox charts. [2] 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".

Contents

"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. [3] 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. [4] 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-Oom-Mow-Mow" syllables.

Cover versions

Other appearances of the song's lyrics

The title of the song is quoted in background lyrics of the song "Summer Nights" from the musical Grease : in facts, the appearance of the lyrics, which was written in 1962, in a song set in fall 1958 creates one of several anachronisms present in the musical.

In 1964, surf rockers Jan and Dean morphed the song into "The New Girl in School", with new lyrics and the refrain "Doo-ron-de-ron-de" substituted for "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow". "New Girl in School" garnered significant U.S. airplay as the B-side of the Top 40 hit "Dead Man's Curve". In 1969, the song's distinctive titular nonsense lyrics appeared as a similarly sung chorus in Giorgio Moroder's first single "Looky Looky". Al Frazier was a member of The Rivingtons and is listed as a co-author of "Papa Oom Now Now"; it has been erroneously reported over the years that he and Dallas Frazier were the same person.

The "Papa oom mow mow" lyric appears in the final repeating refrain of Neil Sedaka's 1975 single "The Queen Of 1964". [7] [8] The Oak Ridge Boys' 1981 hit "Elvira" has an "Oom-papa-mow-mow" chorus, an element that existed in songwriter Dallas Frazier's 1967 original version of the song. Garage rock band Nobunny added the song's lyrics at the end of their hit "I Am a Girlfriend", released in 2008. Heavy metal artist Rob Zombie repeatedly uses the song's title in the chorus of his song "Burn", which is the 8th track off of his solo 2010 album Hellbilly Deluxe 2 .

The song is also featured in Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), in the scene where Elliot sits with his brother's friends while ordering a pizza; they are trying to request the song on a phone call to a radio station, and the echo refrain of the song playing can be heard before Elliot first encounters ET in his family's backyard.

The song was referenced in the name of Pizza Oom Mow Mow, a former quick-service restaurant at Disney California Adventure which opened with the park in 2001 that served a variety of pizzas and was themed to the surfer culture of California. This restaurant closed in 2010 and was replaced with Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta in 2011 as part of a retheming of the land Pizza Oom Mow Mow sat on. [9]

Related Research Articles

Surf music 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 surf, distinguished by reverb-heavy electric guitars played to evoke the sound of crashing waves, largely pioneered by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. The second is vocal surf, which took elements of the original surf sound and added vocal harmonies, a movement led by the Beach Boys.

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, tenor Al Frazier, baritone Sonny Harris and bassist Turner "Rocky" Wilson Jr. Frazier was replaced by Madero White for a period in the late 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Sedaka</span> American singer and songwriter (born 1939)

Neil Sedaka is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard "Howie" Greenfield and Phil Cody.

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.

<i>Beach Boys Concert</i> 1964 live album by The Beach Boys

Beach Boys Concert is the first live album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on October 19, 1964. It is their seventh album in all, and their third alone in the same year. It was their first of two chart-topping albums in the US, as well as the first live album to top pop music record charts, maintaining its position for four weeks during a sixty-two-week chart stay, and becoming another gold seller.

<i>Beach Boys Party!</i> 1965 studio album by The Beach Boys

Beach Boys' Party! is the tenth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, and their third in 1965, consisting mostly of cover songs played with acoustic instruments. It reached No. 6 in the US and No. 3 in the UK. The album spawned one single, a cover of the Regents' "Barbara Ann", which reached No. 2 in the US and No. 3 in the UK, and was their highest-charting British single to that point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surfin' Bird</span> 1963 single by the Trashmen

"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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Do It Again (The Beach Boys song)</span> 1968 single by Beach Boys

"Do It Again" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was released as a standalone single on July 8, 1968. It was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love as a self-conscious callback to the group's earlier surf image, which they had not embraced since 1964. Love and Wilson also share the lead vocal on the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surfin' Safari (song)</span> 1962 single by the Beach Boys

"Surfin' Safari" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Released as a single with "409" in June 1962, it peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also appeared on the 1962 album of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dance, Dance, Dance (The Beach Boys song)</span> 1964 single by The Beach Boys

"Dance, Dance, Dance" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album Beach Boys Today!. Written by Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, and Mike Love, it was first issued as a single in October 1964, backed with "The Warmth of the Sun". "Dance, Dance, Dance" marked Carl's first recognized writing contribution to a Beach Boys single, his contribution being the song's primary guitar riff and solo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elvira (song)</span> 1966 single by Dallas Frazier

"Elvira" is a song written and originally recorded by Dallas Frazier in 1966 on his album of the same name. Though a minor hit for Frazier at the time of release, the song became a bigger and much more famous country and pop hit by The Oak Ridge Boys in 1981. "Elvira" is now considered one of the Oak Ridge Boys' signature songs.

Thurston Harris was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1957 hit "Little Bitty Pretty One".

The Freshmen were among the most popular Irish showbands of the 1960s and 1970s. They specialised in recreating the complex vocal harmonies of international acts such as The Beach Boys and The 5th Dimension. They had nine top 20 hit singles in Ireland, including a reworking of The Rivingtons' song "Papa Oom Mow Mow", featuring the deep voice of lead singer, Derek Dean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calendar Girl (song)</span> 1960 single by Neil Sedaka

"Calendar Girl" is a song by Neil Sedaka. The music was composed by Sedaka and the lyrics by Howard Greenfield. Recorded in 1959 and released in December 1960 as a single, it was a Top-5 hit single for Sedaka, peaking at No. 4 on the US charts, No. 3 in Australia, and No. 1 on the Canadian and Japanese charts.

<i>Surfin Bird</i> (album) 1964 studio album by The Trashmen

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidewalk Surfin'</span> 1964 single by Jan and Dean

"Sidewalk Surfin'" is a song with music by Brian Wilson and lyrics by Roger Christian, which was recorded by 1960s American pop singers Jan and Dean. The song was recorded as a single and then appeared on the 1964 album Ride the Wild Surf, and later on the Little Old Lady from Pasadena album. The B-side of the single is "When It's Over." "Sidewalk Surfin'" reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 31, 1964, which was Jan and Dean's lowest-charting single in a year and a half since the release of their number one hit single "Surf City." Jan and Dean were known for their music of the 1960s surf era with songs like "Dead Man's Curve," "Drag City," and "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena."

<i>Live in Sacramento 1964</i> 2014 live album by The Beach Boys

Live in Sacramento 1964 is a live album by The Beach Boys, released on December 2, 2014, exclusively through the iTunes Store. It was recorded in 1964, with some performances appearing on the band's first live album, Beach Boys Concert, in 1964.

<i>Live in Chicago 1965</i> 2015 live album by The Beach Boys

Live in Chicago 1965 is a live album by The Beach Boys, released on December 6, 2015. It was originally recorded in 1965.

"Looky, Looky" is a 1969 song written and performed by Giorgio Moroder as "Giorgio". The song sold over a million copies and was awarded a gold disc in October 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surfin' U.S.A.</span> Single by the Beach Boys

"Surfin' U.S.A." is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, credited to Chuck Berry and Brian Wilson. It is a rewritten version of Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" set to new lyrics written by Wilson and an uncredited Mike Love. The song was released as a single on March 4, 1963, backed with "Shut Down". It was then placed as the opening track on their album of the same name.

References

  1. ↑ Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 by Joel Whitburn, Record Research Publications, Menomonee Falls, WI - ISBN   0-89820-155-1
  2. ↑ Cashbox Pop Singles Charts 1950-1993 by Pat Downey, George Albert, and Frank Hoffmann, Libraries Unlimited, Englewood, CO - ISBN   1-56308-316-7
  3. ↑ Billboard (date unknown). Surfin' Bird on the Billboard Hot 100. Retrieved from "The Hot 100". Billboard . Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2013.. Copied 17 January 2012 from the Surfin' Bird article.
  4. ↑ Gueningsman, Ryan (2009-04-27). "A whole new generation is ‘hearing the word’". Herald Journal, 27 April 2009. Retrieved on 2009-04-29 from http://www.herald-journal.com/archives/2009/stories/new-generation-trashmen.html. Copied 17 January 2012 from the Surfin' Bird article.
  5. ↑ "Hong Kong". Billboard . The Billboard Publishing Company. 2 October 1965. p. 28. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "Gary Glitter - Papa Oom Mow Mow".
  7. ↑ "Neil Sedaka – the Queen of 1964".
  8. ↑ Neil Sedaka - "The Queen Of 1964" [radio version] (1975) on YouTube
  9. ↑ "Yesterland: Pizza Oom Mow Mow". yesterland.com. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.