Surfin' Bird (album)

Last updated

Surfin' Bird
Trashmen Surfin Bird album cover.jpg
Cover of the 1964 LP by Garrett Records.
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 14, 1964 [1]
Recorded Kay Bank Studio, 2541 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis [2]
Genre Surf rock, garage rock
Label Garrett Records
Producer George Garrett

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. [3]

Contents

The album was recorded at Kay Bank Studio and rushed to the stores to capitalize on the success of the "Surfin' Bird" single, released two months earlier. [2] According to Rick Shefchik'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. [4] Richie Unterberger of AllMusic, 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." [5]

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. [6] Interestingly, the erroneous track list was later used for the 1995 CD reissue (see below).

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
1."Surfin' Bird"Al Frazier, Carl White, Turner Wilson Jr., Sonny Harris The Rivingtons 2:20
2."Misirlou" Fred Wise, Milton Leeds, Nick Roubanis, Bob Russell This version: Dick Dale 2:03
3."Money" Berry Gordy, Janie Bradford Barrett Strong 3:05
4."Tube City"Steve Wahreroriginal song3:11
5."Kuk"Bob Demmon, Dennis Linsey, Jim Gallagher, Rich Fifield, Jon Patterson The Astronauts 2:03
6."It's So Easy" Buddy Holly, Norman Petty The Crickets 2:01
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
7."King Of The Surf"Larry LaPoleoriginal song2:25
8."Henrietta"James "Jimmy" Dee Fore, Larry Hitzfeld Jimmy Dee and The Offbeats [7] 2:29
9."Malaguena" Ernesto Lecuona Ernesto Lecuona2:31
10."My Woodie"Larry LaPoleoriginal song1:47
11."Bird Bath"Dal Winsloworiginal song2:32
12."The Sleeper"Larry LaPoleoriginal song2:29

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 Bird's the Word" and "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow". 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. [8] 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. This release uses a different track order, and also adds two demos, a B-side, and a single. [9]

No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
1."Surfin' Bird"Al Frazier, Carl White, Turner Wilson Jr., Sonny Harris The Rivingtons 2:22
2."King Of The Surf"Larry LaPoleoriginal song2:28
3."Henrietta"James "Jimmy" Dee Fore, Larry Hitzfeld Jimmy Dee and The Offbeats [7] 2:33
4."Misirlou" Fred Wise, Milton Leeds, Nick Roubanis, Bob Russell This version: Dick Dale 2:07
5."Malaguena" Ernesto Lecuona Ernesto Lecuona2:35
6."It's So Easy" Buddy Holly, Norman Petty The Crickets 2:04
7."Tube City"Steve Wahreroriginal song3:20
8."My Woodie"Larry LaPoleoriginal song1:54
9."Bird Bath"Dal Winsloworiginal song2:36
10."Kuk"Bob Demmon, Dennis Linsey, Jim Gallagher, Rich Fifield The Astronauts 2:04
11."Money" Berry Gordy, Janie Bradford Barrett Strong 3:10
12."Sleeper"Larry LaPoleoriginal song2:32
13."Surfin' Bird (Demo Version)"Al Frazier, Carl White, Sonny Harris, Turner Wilson Jr.The Rivingtons2:19
14."Bird Dance Beat (Demo Version)"George Garrettoriginal song2:06
15."Walkin' My Baby"Dean Mathis, Marc MathisAllen Wayne [10] 2:27
16."Dancin' With Santa"Larry LaPoleoriginal song2:31

1990 CD compilation

A label called Request Record released a CD called Surfin' Bird in 1990. [11] The first 12 tracks of it 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 [12] [13] single by and the sole release of Jim Thaxter and the Travelers, a band which The Trashmen grew out of. [14] The last 14 tracks were previously released on the 1965 compilation album Bird Dance Beat, [15] 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:

Production:

Related Research Articles

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.

<i>Surfin Safari</i> 1962 studio album by The Beach Boys

Surfin' Safari is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released October 1, 1962 on Capitol Records. The official production credit went to Nick Venet, though it was Brian Wilson with his father Murry who contributed substantially to the album's production; Brian also wrote or co-wrote nine of its 12 tracks. The album reached number 32 in the US during a chart stay of 37 weeks.

<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.

<i>Summer in Paradise</i> 1992 studio album by The Beach Boys

Summer in Paradise is the twenty-seventh studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on August 3, 1992, by Brother Records. Produced by Terry Melcher, it is the only album not to feature any new contributions from Brian Wilson, and has been regarded as the band's critical and commercial low point, failing to chart in either the US or UK and receiving almost unanimously negative reviews. In North America, it was the group's first album to be released only on CD and cassette, with a rare vinyl pressing released only in South Korea. The Beach Boys did not record another album of predominately original material until That's Why God Made the Radio in 2012. Summer in Paradise was left out of Capitol's Beach Boys CD reissue campaign of 2000 to 2001, as well as all other reissues for most of the group's discography. Both it and its predecessor, Still Cruisin', are currently out of print. Summer in Paradise, along with Still Cruisin, were pulled from later re-releases due to poor public reception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sundazed Records</span> American independent record label

Sundazed Music is an American independent record label founded in Coxsackie, New York and currently based in Hillsborough, North Carolina. It was initially known as a '60s-centric surf, garage, and psych label. Over time with the additions of imprints such as Modern Harmonic, Americana Anthropology, Beat Rocket, Dot Matrix Recordings, and Liberty Spike Recordings, their reach spans most genres and many decades while still firmly rooted as an archival label.

<i>Long Tall Sally</i> (EP) 1964 EP by the Beatles

Long Tall Sally is the fifth UK EP release by British rock band the Beatles and the band's first UK EP to include songs not previously released on an album or single in the United Kingdom. It was released by Parlophone in mono, with the catalogue number GEP 8913, and released in the United Kingdom on 19 June 1964. It was also released in Spain and France.

<i>NYC 1978</i> 2003 live album by Ramones

NYC 1978 is a live album by American punk rock band, the Ramones.

<i>Starpeace</i> 1985 studio album by Yoko Ono

Starpeace is a 1985 concept album by Yoko Ono, designed to spread a message of peace around the world as an opposition to Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars" missile defense system. As with most Ono albums, it did not chart extensively but the single release of "Hell in Paradise" reached #16 on the US dance charts. The album was subtitled An Earth Play for Sun and Air in the booklet and on the disc.

<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">Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow</span> 1962 single by The Rivingtons

"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".

<i>Volume 3: A Childs Guide to Good and Evil</i> 1968 studio album by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band

Volume 3: A Child's Guide to Good and Evil is the fourth album by the American psychedelic rock band The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band (WCPAEB), and was released on Reprise Records in May 1968. By the time the group commenced recording Volume 3, guitarist Danny Harris had excused himself from the WCPAEB, reducing their numbers to a trio. As with the WCPAEB's earlier work, the album saw the band continue to blend psychedelic influences and complex studio techniques, and was marked by a bizarre fusion of innocence and malice in the band's lyrics. Volume 3 featured the WCPAEB's most ambitious music to date, and the striking cover art of John Van Hamersveld, yet it failed to sell in sufficient copies to chart nationally. In more recent times, the album has been considered the band's most accomplished work and a masterpiece of the psychedelic genre.

<i>Pebbles, Volume 4</i> 1979 compilation album

Pebbles, Volume 4 is a compilation album in the Pebbles series that has been issued in both LP and CD formats. Unlike other volumes in the series – which compile obscure garage rock and psychedelic rock music – Volume 4 collects rare examples of surf rock. The LP is subtitled Summer Means Fun, while the CD is subtitled Surf N Tunes. Another Pebbles, Volume 4 was issued on CD a few years earlier by ESD Records and has completely different tracks.

<i>Live, Love, Larf & Loaf</i> 1987 studio album by French Frith Kaiser Thompson

Live, Love, Larf & Loaf is a studio album by the English/American experimental rock quartet French Frith Kaiser Thompson. It was the group's first album and was recorded at Mobius Music in San Francisco in March 1987. The album was released in 1987 in the United States by Rhino Records on LP, CD and cassette. The CD release contained two extra tracks. The album was reissued in 2008 by Fledg'ling Records with five extra tracks recorded live at the Ashkenaz in Berkeley, California.

The Revels were an American rock band from California, associated with the 1960s surf music craze. They had hits with "Six Pak", and "Church Key" which was their most famous single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Astronauts (band)</span> American surf music band

The Astronauts was an American rock band, which had a minor hit in 1963 with "Baja" and remained successful for several years, especially in Japan. They have been described as being, "along with...(the) Trashmen, the premier landlocked Midwestern surf group of the '60s." For most of their career, the band members were Rich Fifield, Jon "Storm" Patterson, Bob Demmon, Dennis Lindsey, and Jim Gallagher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Original Surfaris</span> American band

The (Original) Surfaris were a surf music band from California. They were active from the early to mid 1960s and had singles released on various labels which included Del-Fi, Northridge, and Reprise.

<i>The Kingsmen on Campus</i> 1965 studio album by The Kingsmen

The Kingsmen on Campus is the fourth album by the rock band The Kingsmen, released in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church Key</span>

"Church Key" is an instrumental single that was released by California surf group The Revels on Tony Hilder's Impact Records label in 1960. It was a hit for the group and later a hit for Dave Myers and his Surf-Tones.

<i>Surfs Up! At Banzai Pipeline</i> 1963 compilation album by Various

Surf's Up! At Banzai Pipeline was a 1963 various artist record album compilation that featured recordings by The Surfaris, Dave Myers and The Surftones, The Soul Kings, Coast Continentals and Jim Waller & The Deltas. It has been re-released a couple of times since.

References

  1. Shefchik, Rick (2015). Everybody's Heard about the Bird: The True Story of 1960s Rock 'n' Roll in Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press. p. 148. ISBN   9781452949741.
  2. 1 2 Shefchik (2015), p. 119+137: "The Trashmen recorded exclusively at Kay Bank Studio in 1963–1964" (link); "In the meantime, Soma rushed The Trashmen back to Kay Bank Studio to record an album" (link).
  3. "The Trashmen | Billboard Albums". AllMusic . Archived from the original on December 28, 2010.
  4. Shefchik (2015) , p. 139–140 + 148(link).
  5. Unterberger, Richie. "Surfin' Bird - The Trashmen". AllMusic . Archived from the original on January 6, 2013.
  6. See the sleeve pictures on Discogs of this US release and this Canadian release, which show incorrect track lists. An example of an edition with a correct track list is this one.
  7. 1 2 "Jimmy Dee And The Offbeats – Henrietta / Don't Cry No More (1957)". Discogs.
  8. Discogs features two US editions (1, 2) that credit Jon Patterson. All the other listed versions do not.
  9. Two versions of the 1995 Sundazed reissue are known to exist: one with a red-colored CD, and one with a blue-colored CD. Aside from the color, there are no differences between the two. Sundazed re-released the CD version in 2010. A 2011 CD release in Poland, with the same track order, is also known to exist.
  10. Original was released by Allen Wayne in 1963. Released as a B-side by the Trashmen in 1964.
  11. "The Trashmen - Surfin' Bird (1990, CD)". Discogs.
  12. Shefchik (2015) , p. 80+82: "The Travelers made their first recording in May 1961, taping two original songs in the living room of Jim Thaxter's parents' house. There was a Link Wray-styled guitar instrumental called "Cyclon" ... and a rockabilly tune called "Sally Jo" (link); "The band paid for five hundred copies of "Cyclon" / "Sally Jo" to be pressed on their own Ariel label and sold them at their gigs" (link).
  13. The liner notes of a 2000 reissue of the single state "Recorded 1961".
  14. Koda, Cub. "The Trashmen | Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 21, 2014.
  15. "The Trashmen - Bird Dance Beat | Releases". Discogs.