Surfin' Bird
Cover of the 1964 LP by Garrett Records.
Studio album by
The Trashmen
ReleasedJanuary 14, 1964[1]
StudioKay Bank Studio, 2541 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis[2]
GenreSurf rock
garage rock
LabelGarrett Records
ProducerGeorge 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]

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 HarrisThe Rivingtons2:20
2."Misirlou"Fred Wise, Milton Leeds, Nick Roubanis, Bob RussellThis version: Dick Dale2:03
3."Money"Berry Gordy, Janie BradfordBarrett Strong3:05
4."Tube City"Steve Wahreroriginal song3:11
5."Kuk"Bob Demmon, Dennis Linsey, Jim Gallagher, Rich Fifield, Jon PattersonThe Astronauts2:03
6."It's So Easy"Buddy Holly, Norman PettyThe Crickets2:01
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
7."King Of The Surf"Larry LaPoleoriginal song2:25
8."Henrietta"James "Jimmy" Dee Fore, Larry HitzfeldJimmy Dee and The Offbeats[7]2:29
9."Malaguena"Ernesto LecuonaErnesto 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 adds four extra songs.[9]

No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
1."Surfin' Bird"Al Frazier, Carl White, Turner Wilson Jr., Sonny HarrisThe Rivingtons2:22
2."King Of The Surf"Larry LaPoleoriginal song2:28
3."Henrietta"James "Jimmy" Dee Fore, Larry HitzfeldJimmy Dee and The Offbeats[7]2:33
4."Misirlou"Fred Wise, Milton Leeds, Nick Roubanis, Bob RussellThis version: Dick Dale2:07
5."Malaguena"Ernesto LecuonaErnesto Lecuona2:35
6."It's So Easy"Buddy Holly, Norman PettyThe Crickets2:04
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 FifieldThe Astronauts2:04
11."Money"Berry Gordy, Janie BradfordBarrett Strong3:10
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:

  • Tony Andreason – lead guitar
  • Dal Winslow – rhythm guitar
  • Robert Reed – bass guitar
  • Steve Wahrer – drums, vocals

Production:

  • George Garrett – producer
  • Tom Jung – engineer
  • Bill Diehl – liner notes

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): "The Trashmen recorded exclusively at Kay Bank Studio in 1963-1964." (p. 119); "In the meantime, Soma rushed The Trashmen back to Kay Bank Studio to record an album." (p. 137).
  3. ↑ "The Trashmen | Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010.
  4. ↑ Shefchik (2015), pp. 139–140 & p. 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): "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" (p. 80); "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" (p. 82).
  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.
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