Surfin’ Bird – The Trashmen | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop(#4), 1964
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
It’s January, 1964. Much of the U.S. is in the frozen grip of winter, both literally and figuratively. Just a few weeks earlier, President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated, and a pall hangs over the nation.
Relief arrives in the form of four lads from Liverpool. Yet, in the very same week The Beatles first hit the Top 10 – at #3 – the #4 position is occupied by a bizarre surf/novelty record cut by a quartet from landlocked Minneapolis: The Trashmen (naturally the album cover shot featured the group and appropriate truck).
Surfin’ Bird was cobbled together from two songs released in 1962 and 1963 by The Rivingtons, and in its own small way helped lift spirits during those sad days so long ago.
This content and the Song Meaning article was created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2025 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Jack Bates
Lyrics Written by:
- Al Frazier
- Carl White
- Sonny Harris
- Turner Wilson Jr.
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).