Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [9] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
"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 was featured in a California Wine Cooler commercial in the 1980’s The song has been used in various films, including Pink Flamingos (1972), Back to the Beach (1987), Full Metal Jacket (1987), Home for the Holidays (1995), 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 . It is also featured as an emote in the online video game 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.
In his early career Darts player Stephen Bunting jokingly used Surfin’ Bird as someone said he resembled Peter Griffin.
The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2009. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. The band are credited as progenitors of the psychobilly subgenre, fusing elements of punk rock with rockabilly. The addition of guitarist Bryan Gregory and drummer Pam Balam resulted in the first complete lineup in April 1976. They released their debut album Songs the Lord Taught Us in 1980. The band split after the death of lead singer Interior in 2009.
Rocket to Russia is the third studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, and was released on November 4, 1977, through Sire Records. It is the band's last album to feature original drummer Tommy Ramone, who left the band in 1978 to focus on production. The album's origins date back to the summer of 1977, when "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" was released as a single. That summer was known as the peak of the punk rock genre since many punk bands were offered recording contracts. The album's recording began in August 1977, and the band had a considerably larger budget with Sire allowing them between $25,000 and $30,000; much of this money went toward the album's production rather than recording.
Acid Eaters is the thirteenth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones.
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.
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.
"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.
"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.
"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 " and "The Bird's the Word".
Gabba is a London-based British tribute band performing ABBA songs in the stripped down punk style of the Ramones, a style of pop punk they dubbed discopunk and claim to have invented. They formed in 1996 and took their name in 1999. They have released one album as of 2006.
The Resurrection is the fifth studio album by the hip-hop group known as the Geto Boys. The album was released on April 2, 1996, when the Geto Boys reunited following a 3-year breakup. It peaked at number six on the Billboard 200, becoming the group's only top ten album in the United States. It is considered by fans to be one of the group's most critically praised albums and the first of two especially creative albums, followed by 1998's Da Good Da Bag & Da Ugly. The majority of the album was produced by Mike Dean.
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.
"I Dream of Jesus" is the second episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 5, 2008. The episode makes prominent use of the song "Surfin' Bird" by the Trashmen and features Peter finding Jesus Christ, voiced by Alec Sulkin, working at a record shop and convincing him to make his second coming. Directed by Mike Kim and written by Brian Scully, the title of the episode refers to the television series I Dream of Jeannie. The episode guest starred Chris Cox, Ike Barinholtz, Amanda MacDonald, Niecy Nash, Sulkin and Paris and Perez Hilton.
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.
"Rebel-'Rouser" is a rock and roll instrumental song written by Duane Eddy and Lee Hazlewood and originally released on Jamie Records in 1958 by "Duane Eddy and his 'twangy' guitar" as a single with "Stalkin'" on its B-side. Both tracks were produced by Lester Sill and Lee Hazlewood.
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.
Cem Anos de Rock n' Roll is the fifth and last studio album by Brazilian new wave band João Penca e Seus Miquinhos Amestrados. It was released in 1990 by Eldorado.
"Matthew Modine" is a 2005 song by Montreal band Pony Up!, from their 2005 self-titled EP. The song describes the life of actor Matthew Modine, and the band members' sexual desire for him. It is the first song they ever recorded.
Steve Wahrer was an American drummer and singer who is best known for being the co-lead vocalist in the rock band The Trashmen. He sung their hit song "Surfin' Bird", and also shared lead vocals with guitarist Tony Andreason.
Tony Andreason 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 has also played in The Surf Dogs as well as several other bands.