Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post provides information about and YouTube examples of the 1963 song "The Bird's The Word" by The Rivingtons.
The Addendum to this song showcases The Trashmen's cover of this song and another song by The Rivington song.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to The Rivingtons for their musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of the videos that are embedded in this post.
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INFORMATION ABOUT "THE BIRD'S THE WORD" SONG AND SAYING
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rivingtons
The Rivingtons were a 1960s doo-wop group, known for their 1962 hit novelty record "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow". The members were lead vocalist Carl White (died January 7, 1980), tenor Al Frazier (d. November 13, 2005), baritone Sonny Harris, and bass singer Turner "Rocky" Wilson, Jr.. Frazier was replaced by Madero White for a period in the late 1970s.[1]
History
The Rivingtons had originally been known as the Sharps and had had success in the charts with Thurston Harris's "Little Bitty Pretty One" in 1957. They then appeared on several Duane Eddy recordings whenever extraneous sounds of rebel yells were required, including Eddy's 1958 hit "Rebel Rouser".[1] They also recorded on Warner Brothers Records as The Crenshaws in 1961.[1]
Their first hit as the Rivingtons was "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" (Liberty #55427, 1962). Like many such songs, it began with the bass chanting nonsense syllables (in this case the title), followed by the tenor singing over repetitions of it.[citation needed] "Mama-Oom-Mow-Mow", an even more baroque rewrite of the theme, failed to sell, but they returned to the charts the following year with "The Bird's the Word". The B-side of "Mama-Oom-Mow-Mow" was "Waiting" (Liberty #55528).[1]
After their two hit singles, the Rivingtons struggled to hit the charts. However, "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and "The Bird's the Word" were revived in 1963, thanks to a Minnesota-based group called the Trashmen recording the "Surfin' Bird", made up from the Rivington's songs' nonsense syllables. The Trashmen made it in a record shop and passed it off as their own.[2] In fact, it was just a medley of the Rivington's choruses minus the verses.[3][4][5] The Rivingtons' manager reported it to their lawyers, and the Trashmen were ordered to add the surnames of the Rivingtons to the credits.[6] Because of the publicity in Billboard, the Trashmen had to share the writing credits on the recording and a later version as a sign of good faith. "Surfin' Bird" itself was revived in the 1970s by the Ramones[7] and the Cramps.[8]"...
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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Rivingtons - The Bird's the Word
finetunesTV, Published on Feb 15, 2015
The Bird's the Word by Rivingtons from the album Street Corner Symphonies - The Complete Story of Doo Wop Vol. 15: 1963
Released 2014-01-10 on Bear Family Records GmbH
Doo-Wop is one of the foundation stones of Rock 'n' Roll."...
-snip-
The Rivingtons was an African American group.
The Trashmen White American group. The Rivington's songs 1962 "The Bird's The Word" and 1963 “Papa Oom Mow Wow” served as the blueprints for the Trashmen’s hit 1963 record “Surfin' Bird”.
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LYRICS: THE BIRD'S THE WORD
(written by The Rivingtons: Al Frazier, Carl White, Sonny Harris, and Turner Wilson Jr.)
Swingin' this dance now to hit the scene
It's got the latest groove and it's really clean
Haven't you heard about the bird?
Don't you know that the bird's the word?
Come on, jump here and get on your knees
And get to flappin' your wings in the west or the east
Haven't you heard about the bird?
Don't you know that the bird's the word?
Bird, bird, bird, bird, bird
Well, they're dancin' this bird in the east and the west
Make this dance and you'll look the best
Haven't you heard about the bird?
Don't you know that the bird's the word?
Source: https://genius.com/The-rivingtons-birds-the-word-lyrics
-snip-
Click https://genius.com/The-rivingtons-papa-oom-mow-mow-lyrics for the lyrics to "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfwnWgVOL9E for a YouTube example of that record.
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ADDENDUM: "SURFING BIRD" BY THE TRASHMEN
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfin%27_Bird
"Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by American surf rock band the Trashmen, and it is also the name of the album that featured this hit single.
The song was released in 1963 and reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] It is a combination of two R&B hits by the Rivingtons: "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and "The Bird's the Word".[2]
[...]
[Steve] Wahrer was originally credited as the song's writer, but that was changed to the Rivingtons (Al Frazier, Carl White, Sonny Harris, and Turner Wilson Jr.) after the group successfully sued the Trashmen for plagiarism.[3]"...
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SHOWCASE VIDEO: The Trashmen - Surfin Bird - Bird Is The Word Original Video - Peter Griffin Favorite!
Genjuro T., Published on Mar 28, 2013
Title Surfin' Bird
Performed by The Trashmen in 1963
All rights are with the owners of this song/clip, but I want to show it to the curious people who maybe did not even know this song.
Lyrics
A well a everybody's heard about the bird
b-b-b-bird bird bird b-bird's the word
a well a bird bird bird the brid is the word
a well a bird bird bird well the bird is the word
a well a bird bird bird b-bird's the word
a well a bird bird bird well the brid is the word
a well a bird bird b-bird's the word
a well a bird bird brid b-bird's the word
a well a bird bird bird well the brid is the word
a well a bird bird b-bird's the word
a well a don't you know about the bird
well everybody knows that the bird is the word
a well a bird bird b-bird's the word
a well a...
A well a everybody's heard about the bird
bird bird bird b-bird's the word
a well a bird bird bird b-bird's the word
a well a bird bird bird b-bird's the word
a well a bird bird b-bird's the word
a well a bird bird bird b-bird's the word
a well a bird bird bird b-bird's the word
a well a bird bird bird b-bird's the word
a well a bird bird bird b-bird's the word
a well a don't you know about the bird
well everybody's talking about the bird
a well a bird bird b-bird's the word
a well a bird...
Well don't you know about the bird
well everybody knows that the bird is the word
a well a bird bird b-bird's the word
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/01/online-excerpts-about-african-american.html for Part I of this series. Part I provides excerpts from two online discussion threads about the African American Vernacular English originated sayings "Word", "Word up!", "Word as born" and "Word to the mother".
In The Rivingtons' and The Trashmen's songs "the word" meant "the best"; "cool", "hip". In contrast, in the 1980s-1990s, the "word" sayings meant "I really agree [with what you just said] ".
Here's more information about the meaning of "the bird" and "the word"
from https://www.dictionary.com/e/pop-culture/bird-is-the-word/
"In their 1963 single “Surfin’ Bird,” surf-rock garage band The Trashmen sing repeatedly:
“A well a don’t you know about the bird?
Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word!
A well a bird, bird, b-bird’s the word.”
The song was inspired by two contemporary songs by the doo-wop group The Rivingtons: “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow” and “Bird is the Word.” The bird refers to a dance craze in the 1960s. The Trashmen noticed the two songs sounded alike, so they mashed them together in a live performance. A DJ at the show brought them into the studio to record the mashup under the title “Surfin’ Bird.”
While The Trashmen’s inspiration for “Surfin’ Bird” is well-documented, the exact origin and meaning of the saying bird is the word is less clear. Bird has carried many slang connotations throughout its history, from “prostitute” to “the middle finger.” In the context of the song, and in subsequent contexts, bird is the word characterizes something as good, cool, or new and revolutionary."...
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Visitor comments are welcome.
I remember chanting "What's the word? Thunderbird" in the 1960s.(Atlantic City, New Jersey)
ReplyDeleteI think that rhyming chant was created as a result of "The Bird's The Word" song.
I don't recall trying to figure out what "the word" meant in that chant- the rhyming word "thunderbird" (with its somewhat risque reference) was the focus of that chant. I
"Thunderbird" was the brand name of a very cheap bottle of wine.
If I had to give a meaning for "the word" in that chant, I'd say it meant "your favorite [word]".
Does anyone else remember this chant?
Lazy Fred - the real origin of "The Bird's The Word" (song history & meaning)
ReplyDeleteIn 1963 charts there was a popular dance song "Surfin Bird" by The Trashmen. Younger people know it mostly from the cartoon series Family Guy, but it came out first in 1962 as "The Bird's The Word" and the melodically very similar precursor "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" - both by the Rivingtons. The lyrics was a wicked mixture of apparent nonsense words (even more in the Trashmen version) and yet nobody told how it came into being.
Some years ago on a holiday trip I talked to an old bartender who spoke about the origin of this song and played on his blues guitar. I don't know if I remember everything correctly, but it was in 1962 when the Rivingtons handed out test recordings of Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow to disc jockeys in L.A. to check the audience before release in record stores. After a gig, the band slept in a hostel dormitory, traveling together with an roadie of the name Fred Parish. Fred was a skinny white man, and because he had a creaky voice and by his color blindness wore clothing in inappropriately combined colors, his nickname was Parrot. As a kind of helper for everything Fred introduced the band to whites, gave small tips for tweaking arrangements and also did warm-up comedy before the Rivingtons played. But he tended to booze excessively, and with hangover he refused to get up next morning and was of little use to the musicians. Sometimes he read novels in bed instead of getting up. When they rang a handbell and dragged him out of the bed, Fred (as the only white man in the dormitory) shouted racist swear words across the room. So the band pranked Parrot several times, finally by hiding a water hose in the bunk bed above him. Fred flew into a rage and got fired.
(The story is longer, so for part 2 see next post.)
(2nd part)
ReplyDeleteAfter a week, Fred had heard by someone that the Rivingtons had exchanged the lyrics of their new song "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" into a mockery about him, and the music hall audience was swept of their feet because "The Lazy Fred" was an even greater success than the somewhat sweetish precursor. (Was this also broadcast on radio stations in 1962? - Please tell if you remember.) The experimental performance started with 2 handbell clangs and first time featured on stage a military snare drummer and a sax player. With its driving beat this came closer to the Trashmen song than any other Rivingtons versions, so at least the Sorensen Brothers may have known it. No records exist, but the lyrics were roughly like this:
(DING! DING!) Raise everybody's head above the bed!
b-b-b-b-b-bed, b-b b-bed
b-b-b-bed, b-bed, b-b b-bed
Is now everybody's head out of the bed?
Raise everybody's head above the bed!
b-b-b-bed, b-bed, b-b b-bed
b-b-b-bed, b-bed, b-b b-bed
Only Lazy Fred is still in bed.
How to get Fred out of the bed?
b-b-b-b-b-bed b-b b-b-bed
b-b-b-b-b-bed b-b b-b-bed
Hear him snore, he's so dead-drunk
no earthquake force can shake him out of his bunk
a-hoo - he's sleeping yet
a-hoo - so deep in bed!
{background chorus:}
in da bed, b-bed, bed bed b-bed
in da bed, b-bed, bed bed b-bed
...
{While the others keep singing the bass line, the lead singer pretends to ask the audience in a rap-like manner: "How can we get Fred out of the bed? - Come on! - Shall we make some noise!?" They rang the handbell and the sax played a siren tone. "louder!" Bass chorus sings "But he's still in bed!"}
No alarm clock build in hell
can wake him with its jarring bell
(ticke-tocke-tock a-hoo!)
He stays in bed -
not waking yet.
{saxophone solo}
Lazy Fred jumped off the bed:
WHO INSTALLED THAT SHOWER HEAD?!!
above my bed, my bed, my bed is so wet!
ba-ba-ba-ba bed, bed is so wet!
From heel to head he got so wet
with his ugly parrot voice he yelled so bad:
my ba-ba-bed, da bed, da bed is so wet
ba-ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba bed is so wet.
bed-bed-bed, the bed is so wet
{Here was plenty of rhythmical syllable staccato like in the Trashmen song. The bartender with guitar could only sketch what it had sounded like.}
Up to the entrance hall we heard him scream,
everybody in the house should know what I mean
My ba my bed, my bed, my bed is so wet
My ba ba ba ba ba bed is so wet
my bed bed bed, bed is so wet
ba-ba-ba-brrrrrrrrrrrr!!!
To get a lazy Fred out of the bed,
do install a shower head
above the bed, to make da bed so wet
ba ba bed - bed - bed so wet
{rhythmical snare pattern with drum-rolls}
{2 lines sung in high pitched soul voice}
But he is out of bed!
(Fred's bed's so wet)
He's out of bed!
(Fred's bed is so wet)
(The song ended here, but not what happened to it. For the rest see below.)
(3rd part)
ReplyDeleteBut the fired Fred Parish did not find this funny at all, and filed a lawsuit to ban their defamatory song "The Lazy Fred" and eliminate from lyrics any use of possibly recognizable references to Fred, his nickname Parrot, laziness, alcohol and bed pranks by the band. As you can imagine (we are in 1962), having white skin color was threatening enough to win a lawsuit (possibly by extra-judicial settlement - memories fade). So "Lazy Fred" disappeared and the Rivingtons were forced to write a 3rd variant with phonetically similar catchy syllables but different words. The producer also threw out the drum solo and sax part, which he considered too novel for the band's targeted audience. The result became "The Bird's The Word", but as a last act of revenge it got written in a way that listeners who knew the song "The Lazy Fred" would immediately recognize the many allusions to it. So of course "the word" for the bird meant "Parrot". Eventually also the reworked song became such an instant hit (not least by The Trashmen, those initially not even credited Rivingtons properly) that it certainly would have been a better choice for the unknown comedian Fred to keep the fame of his name in it instead of falling with the song into oblivion. People said he later died of cirrhosis; in L.A. Fred was never seen on stage again. Also the Rivingtons tried to make further variants of their "Bird" songs, but without much success. But so it was - the strange story behind "The Bird's The Word".
I've always thought about the Trashmen's version as being spiritual. Because after being baptized Jesus came up out of the water and a bird descended on him as a dove. The bird was the spirit of God and God is the Word. Jesus is the Word made flesh.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your comment, Bruce St.Louis.
DeleteI hadn't thought of that.