"Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by American surf rock bandthe 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". The song was released as a single in 1963 and reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Trashmen also recorded an album named after the track, released two months later.
History
followed up their 1963 Billboard Hot 100 hit "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" with the similar "The Bird's the Word" in 1963. The Trashmen had not heard this version but saw a band called the Sorensen Brothers playing it. They decided to play the song that night at their own gig. During this first performance, drummer and vocalist Steve Wahrer stopped playing and ad-libbed the "Surfin' Bird" middle section. Despite not knowing "The Bird's the Word" was a Rivingtons song, the similarity to "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" was obvious and the Trashmen added the chorus to the end of their new track. A local disc jockey, Bill Diehl, was at the gig and convinced the band to record the track. It was recorded at Kay Bank Studios in Minneapolis. Diehl entered it into a local battle of the bands competition and it won. It was then sent to a battle of the bands competition in Chicago where it also won. This led to the group being signed to Garrett Records with the single being quickly released. It reportedly sold 30,000 copies in its first weekend before going on to national success, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Wahrer was originally credited as the song's writer, but that was changed to the Rivingtons after the group threatened to sue the Trashmen for plagiarism.
"Surfin' Bird" was covered by the Cramps as their 1978 debut single on Vengeance Records; it also appeared on their 1979 album Gravest Hits and on their 1983 compilation albumOff the Bone. The Cramps often end their concerts with the song.
Paul Reubens covered the song on the soundtrack of the film Back to the Beach.
Orbital sampled heavily from the original version on "Tension" from their 2001 album The Altogether.
"Surfin' Bird" was covered by Ramones on their Rocket to Russia album, released on November 4, 1977.
"Surfin' Bird" was covered by Sodom on their 2001 album M-16.
Poultry-themed punk band the Radioactive Chicken Heads released a cover as a single in June 2017 and later as a music video in August, the same day the band performed the song on the ABC revival of The Gong Show.
Brazilian rock band Os Cascavelletes made a Portuguese-language version of the song, entitled "Pombo Surfista", for their 1987 demo tape Vórtex Demo.
Media portrayal
''Pink Flamingos''
A man flexes his anusto the tune of this song in one scene of John Waters's 1972 exploitation comedy.
''Full Metal Jacket''
In the second half of 1987 Stanley Kubrick film Full Metal Jacket, when a journalist news team records and interviews the platoon during the battle at Huế, "Surfin' Bird" can be heard playing on both the soundtrack and in the background on a radio.
''E.T. the Extraterrestrial''
Early in Steven Spielberg's film, one of Michael's friends is heard requesting a radio DJ to play the song while they play Dungeons and Dragons.
''Family Guy''
The song is also featured in the "I Dream of Jesus" Family Guy episode, in which Peter Griffin overhears the song at a diner. He proceeds to annoy his family by buying the record from the diner and playing the song virtually nonstop for the rest of the episode. "Surfin' Bird" has become a recurring gag on the show.
''The Big Year''
In the movie The Big Year, Jack Black's character Brad Harris has "Surfin' Bird" as his cellphone ringtone.
''Birdz''
The song was covered as a theme song for the short-lived CBS animated series Birdz.
Other cultural appearances
Major League Baseball
The Trashmen's tune 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. Fidrych was nicknamed "The Bird" because of his supposed resemblance to Sesame Streets 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 Ramones cover was used in a Fall 2017 television commercial for the Subway sandwich chain.
''Ferdinand'' (film)
Prior to the release of the 2017 filmFerdinand a television commercial featured a cover by an unknown artist having the Ferdinand's nickname "Ferd" instead of bird.
