669 The Trashmen “Surfin’ Bird” 1963

“Minnesota’s kings of surf. All around age 21 at the time they hit the charts, the Trashmen had been playing together in various bands since attending high school in Robbinsdale and north Minneapolis. After guitarist Tony Anderson got out of the service in 1962, they took a road trip to California to soak up the sunny surf-rock sound just starting to take off—which they brought back and played in local ballrooms and teen centers…They first improvised ‘Surfin’ Bird’ during a performance at Chubb’s Ballroom in Maple Grove over the summer of 1963. Local disc jockey Bill Diehl was there and insisted the band record the messy jam as a single to play on the radio” (Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), 1/22/2015). 

The Trashmen “Surfin’ Bird”