STEVE WAHRER
One of my favorite bands that truly does not deserve the one-hit wonder label is the Minneapolis band the Trashmen. Their 1963 song "Surfin' Bird" is one of my very favorite 1960's songs to this day – and believe me when I tell you that that is saying something! The story is that they were at a gig when drummer Steve Wahrer stopped playing and improvised a growling, spitfire performance of a doo-wop song called "The Bird's the Word" that he had previously heard being performed by a group called the Sorensen Brothers. He then coupled that with a similar performance of another doo-wop song "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" by the Rivingtons – not knowing that "The Bird's the Word" was also originally by that band.
(May 2012)
