Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow, And The Word Being The Bird!
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The nonsense lyrical phrase "papa-oom-mow-mow", is most closely associated with the song Surfin' Bird by The Trashmen, which was released in 1963. Surfin' Bird was regularly played when I was a youngest in the 80s, and going to dark and dingy alternative clubs. Downstairs you'd The Cramps version blasted out, in among The Cure and the Smiths. Upstairs, the cooler rockabilly and garage dudes were rocking out to The Trashmen version, alongside 50s rockabilly and 60s garage rarities. But that b-b-b-b-b-b-build-up and repeat of papa-oom-mow-mow, didn't originate with The Trashmen. Neither did the rest of the song for that matter, as the rest of Surfin' Bird, the much covered song, was a cover itself.
This is the story of why "The Bird's The Word" and how "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" has become an oft copied nonsensical lyric. And it all started with a 60s doo-wop group called The Rivingtons. They'd had minor success in the late 50s, but there first hit was the nonsensically entitled "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" in 1962. Like many such songs, it began with the bass chanting the nonsense syllables, followed by the tenor singing over repetitions of it. |
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Thus was born not a novelty song that spawned many covers and variations, but one of the most well known of nonsensical lyrics in music. The reached number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100. Then in January 1963 the group released the single "Mama-Oom-Mow-Mow" (The Bird) which was not only an unoriginal follow-up, but failed to make the charts, reaching only 106. The subtitle of the song however, made reference to a popular dance craze of the time. (Or was it? More on that in a bit.) In March that year they released "The Bird's The Word", making not only a direct mention of the dance, they mention it repeatedly throughout the song. And again, for a group that's pretty much forgotten in history, creating one of the most well known (and repeated) lyrics in music.
"The Bird's The Word" was influenced by R&B tenor saxophonist Red Prysock's instrumental track from 1957 "What's the word? Thunderbird!" The track featured recording studio banter at the start that among other things asked "What's the word?" |
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The banter, and the title of the track made reference to the fortified wine Thunderbird. The banter is based on a radio call and response jingle of the period, that asked "What's the word?", with the answer "Thunderbird!" Then asked "What's the price?" ... "Thirty twice!" Though it's more likely that Red Prysock's early R&B track was an influence on The Rivington's, there was also another Thunderbird related track released by the Casual-Aires in 1958. It came out a few months after the number 1 hit "Tequila" by The Champs, and sounds very much like it. However at the beginning of the track and throughout, there is a echo effected call of "What's the word?" Followed by a deep echoing bass response of "Thunderbird!" Reminiscent of the call of "Surfin' Bird!", midway into famous 1963 The Trashmen single, before it starts the repeat of "papa-oom-mow-mow" And so finally we have made it to the infamous and often covered song, Surfin' Bird.
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The Trashmen were a surf-rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1962. Sometime during 1963 they heard a band called The Sorensen Brothers doing a cover of "The Bird's The Word", and decided to add it to their live set that very night. During the performance, vocalist Steve Wahrer stopped playing and ad-libbed the infamous middle section, with his repeat use of "papa-oom-mow-mow". Unaware that they were covering The Rivingtons song, but aware of the similarity to the song "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" by The Rivingtons that had charted in 1962.
A local disc jockey, Bill Diehl, was at the gig and convinced the band to record the track. The popularity of the recording gained The Trashmen a record deal with Garrett Records. The company quickly made large pressings of the single and released, reportedly selling 30,000 copies in the first weekend. The success of the single gave The Trashmen a number 4 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. This lead to the Rivingtons hearing the single, and subsequently suing for plagiarism. The early pressings of the single credited Steve Wahrer as the song writer, but was later changed to credit the four members of The Rivingtons. |
The Trashmen would have a follow-up hit in 1964 with "Bird Dance Beat", which reached number 30 in the Billboard Hot 100. The song was melodically identical to "Surfin' Bird", and even featured the repeat lyric of "papa-oom-mow-mow" throughout. In 1965, The Beach Boys would record a cover of The Rivingtons "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" for their tenth studio album, The Beach Boys' Party! Other covers of "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" include, the top ten hit in Ireland for The Freshmen, and in the UK in 1975 both The Sharonettes and Gary Glitter made the Top 40.
Meanwhile, The Trashmen's "Surfin' Bird" has been covered on numerous occasions. The earliest cover was in 1963, when The Centurions recorded it for their Surfers' Pajama Party album. One of the most well known covers was recorded by The Cramps as their first single release in 1978, and also appeared on their Gravest Hits EP, released in 1979. A year before The Cramps, the Ramones did a cover version for their 1977 album Rocket to Russia. And there have been many, many more cover versions over the years. The song being brought to the attention of a whole new generation when it was featured in the 2008 episode of Family Guy called "I Dream of Jesus". In the episode Peter Griffin can't stop singing and dancing to the song. Following the first showing of the episode in the UK in April 2009, "Surfin' Bird" entered the charts for the first time (having failed to chart when first released there in 1964). In 2010 there was an Internet campaign to get the song to Christmas number 1 in the UK charts. Via support from a BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills, and a sustained facebook campaign, the song charted at number 3 in the UK charts of Christmas week.
Meanwhile, The Trashmen's "Surfin' Bird" has been covered on numerous occasions. The earliest cover was in 1963, when The Centurions recorded it for their Surfers' Pajama Party album. One of the most well known covers was recorded by The Cramps as their first single release in 1978, and also appeared on their Gravest Hits EP, released in 1979. A year before The Cramps, the Ramones did a cover version for their 1977 album Rocket to Russia. And there have been many, many more cover versions over the years. The song being brought to the attention of a whole new generation when it was featured in the 2008 episode of Family Guy called "I Dream of Jesus". In the episode Peter Griffin can't stop singing and dancing to the song. Following the first showing of the episode in the UK in April 2009, "Surfin' Bird" entered the charts for the first time (having failed to chart when first released there in 1964). In 2010 there was an Internet campaign to get the song to Christmas number 1 in the UK charts. Via support from a BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills, and a sustained facebook campaign, the song charted at number 3 in the UK charts of Christmas week.
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