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The Trashmen

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The Trashmen
The Trashmen live in 2008
The Trashmen live in 2008
Background information
OriginMinneapolis, Minnesota
Genres
Years active1962–1967, 1982–2016
LabelsSoma, Major Label Records
Past members

The Trashmen were an American rock band formed in Minneapolis in 1962[1] and are best known for their biggest hit, 1963's "Surfin' Bird",[1] which reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The original line-up of the group featured guitarists Tony Andreason and Dal Winslow, bassist Bob Reed, and drummer Steve Wahrer.

Along with Colorado-based contemporaries the Astronauts, the Trashmen have been described as "the premier landlocked Midwestern surf group of the '60s."[2] The band took their name from "Trashman's Blues", a song written and recorded in 1961 by Minneapolis musician Kai Ray (Richard Caire, 1935–2017), who later wrote songs for the band.[3]

History

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Pre-Trashmen

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Tony Andreason and Mike Jann were friends who learned and played guitar together, starting in 1955.[4] They primarily played country music. In 1957, at the Crystal Coliseum, Tony and Mike met drummer Steve Wahrer (who was born in Keokuk, Iowa, and lived there until his family relocated to Minnesota prior to his freshman year of high school; while in Iowa, he worked as a bat boy for the 1955 champion minor league baseball team Keokuk Kernels),[5] Dallas "Dal" Winslow, a guitar player, and a saxophone player. Tony, Steve, Dal, and the saxophone player played as The String Kings for a brief time period.[4] Mike Jann was not part of the group, due to his primary interest in country music.

Tony met Jim Thaxter through Steve and Dal. Jim was a singer who was looking to front a band. "Jim Thaxter and the Travelers" was then formed with the following line-up: Jim Thaxter on lead vocals and guitar (tuned to a bass register); Tony Andreason on lead guitar; Dal Winslow on rhythm guitar; Tom Diehl on piano; and Steve Wahrer on drums.[4] In Spring 1961, the group took a hiatus as Tony and Jim had to enter military service, during which time Wahrer briefly played with Anoka-based band The Trespassers.[4][6] In early 1962, Tony and Jim returned from their duties, but disagreements on musical direction caused Tony to leave the band, with Steve and Dal following him.[4]

Early Trashmen

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Don (Woody) Wood, a bass player, joined the group.[4] Steve made the decision to call the band "The Trashmen" when they discovered the 1961 single "Trashman's Blues" by Minneapolis guitarist Kai Ray.[4] The group was primarily an instrumental act, with Steve gradually taking over more lead vocals. Don Wood soon departed to join his brother's band, The Startones, and was replaced by Bob Reed after an audition.[4]

The group gained an interest in surf rock after listening to Dick Dale and taking a road trip to Southern California to study the surf music scene in Newport Beach.[4] During this era, lead guitarist Tony Andreason conceived and wrote the instrumental track "On the Move" as a filler track while in Wisconsin; however, legally and on the single's credits, the songwriting rights were equally credited to all four band members (Winslow, Reed, Andreason, and Wahrer). Due to typographical errors in some official publishing registries and digital distribution databases (such as K-tel and Virgin Music), Wahrer is still occasionally miscredited as "Steve Ward".

"Surfin' Bird" as first success

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Cover of the 1995 reissue of the album featuring the hit single

The Trashmen's biggest hit was 1963's "Surfin' Bird",[1] which reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the latter part of that year. The song was a combination of two R&B hits by the Rivingtons, "The Bird's the Word" and "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow".[7] The song was recorded at Kay Bank Studios in Minneapolis.[8] Early pressings of the single credit the Trashmen's drummer and vocalist Steve Wahrer as the composer, but following a threat from The Rivingtons' legal counsel, the writing credit was removed from Wahrer and transferred to the members of The Rivingtons.[9]

The song was later covered by the Ramones, the Cramps, Silverchair, The Psychotic Petunias, Pee-wee Herman, Equipe 84, and the thrash metal band Sodom. It has also been featured in several films, including Full Metal Jacket, Fred Claus, Pink Flamingos, Back to the Beach, and The Big Year.

"Surfin' Bird" was the subject of the episode "I Dream of Jesus" of the television series Family Guy, sending the song to No. 8 on the iTunes Top 10 Rock songs chart and No. 50 on the UK Singles Chart in 2009. It has since become a running gag on the show.[who?]

In 2010, a Facebook campaign was launched to send the song to No. 1 in the UK over the Christmas season; this was largely intended (as with Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name", in 2009) as a protest against the takeover of the Christmas No. 1 spot by The X Factor winner's song. The track debuted in the UK Top Ten for the first time on December 19, at No. 3.

It was also featured in the video game Battlefield Vietnam.

Disbanding

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Beyond "Surfin' Bird", The Trashmen experienced limited success. In 1964, "Bird Dance Beat" reached No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States[10] and was a top 10 hit in Canada. The group disbanded in 1967. A four-CD box set of their work was released by Sundazed Music.[11]

At the height of their success in late 1964, entertainment columnist Will Jones published a satirical rumor in his newspaper column, joking that The Beatles and The Trashmen were planning to merge into a massive pop supergroup named "The Litterbugs". The widely circulated joke reflected the band's prominent status in American youth culture and media exposure at the time.[12]

Reunion

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The group made sporadic reunions in the 1970s and 1980s, performing together until Steve Wahrer died of throat cancer in 1989.[13][14] Later, Tony Andreason's brother Mark replaced Wahrer as drummer. Reed's son Robin joined as a touring member in 2009 on drums, filling in for Mark Andreason.

In 1999, the Trashmen played at the Las Vegas Grind. They also performed in Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Spain in 2007 and 2008.

The Trashmen toured Europe in 2008 and in 2010, performing in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

The band recorded four tracks at Custom Recording Studios in Golden Valley, Minnesota, with longtime fan and guitarist Deke Dickerson, for the record label Major Label, releasing the 7-inch EP I'm a Trashman in March 2013. A full-length follow-up LP, Bringing Back the Trash, was released in April 2014. After several 2015 shows in the band's hometown of Minneapolis, the band re-entered retirement.[15]

Members

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Classic line-up

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  • Tony Andreason – lead guitar, vocals (1962–1967, 1970s, 1982–2016)
  • Dal Winslow – rhythm guitar, vocals (1962–1967, 1970s, 1982–2016)
  • Bob Reed – bass guitar, vocals (1962–1967, 1970s, 1982–2016)
  • Steve Wahrer – drums, lead vocals (1962–1967, 1970s, 1982–1988)

Other members

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  • Don Woody – bass guitar (1962); replaced by Bob Reed
  • Mark Andreason – drums, backing vocals (1989 – 2009)
  • Robin Reed – drums, backing vocals (2009–2016)
  • Deke Dickerson – guitar (2013–2014)

Discography

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Albums

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Year Album Label Reissue US 200
1963 Surfin' Bird Garrett Sundazed (1995) 48[16]
1965 Bird Dance Beat Garrett Soma (1996±)
1989 Comic Book Collector NPR
1994 The Great Lost Trashmen Album!
2014 Deke Dickerson and the Trashmen: Bringing Back the Trash Major Label Records

Compilations, live albums, and EPs

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Year Album Label
1990 Live Bird '65–'67 Sundazed
1992 Tube City!: The Best of the Trashmen
1998 Bird Call!: The Twin City Stomp of the Trashmen
2009 Teen Trot: Live At Ellsworth, WI, August 22, 1965
2013 I'm a Trashman

Singles

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Year Single B-side Peak positions Album
US AUS CAN NZ UK
1963 "Surfin' Bird" "King of the Surf" 4 7 2[17] 5 3 Surfin' Bird
1964 "Louie, Louie" — — — 6 — Non-album single
"Bird Dance Beat" "A-Bone" 30 66 12[18] — — Bird Dance Beat
"Bad News" "On the Move" 124 — — — —
"Peppermint Man" "New Generation" — — — — —
"Whoa Dad" "Walking My Baby" — — — — —
"Dancing with Santa" "Real Live Doll" — — — — —
1965 "Hanging on Me" "Same Lines" — — — — —
"Bird '65" "Ubangi Stomp" — — — — —
"Keep Your Hands Off My Baby" "Lost Angel" — — — — — Non-album singles
1967 "Green, Green Backs Back Home" "Address Enclosed" — — — — —

References

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  1. 1 2 3 Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music. Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 33. ISBN 1-904041-96-5.
  2. ↑ Unterberger, Richie. "The Astronauts Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  3. ↑ Miguel Otárola, "Richard Caire, rock 'n' roll musician known as Kai-Ray, dies at 81", Star Tribune, June 24, 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2019
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "The Trashmen Biography". MinniePaulMusic.com. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
  5. ↑ Cameron, Brad (August 13, 2004). "Remembering the Keokuk Kernels 1955 team considered one of best minor league teams of all-time". Mississippi Valley Publishing. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
  6. ↑ Campbell, Tom. "The Trespassers (1959–1965) History". MinniePaulMusic.com. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
  7. ↑ Scholtes, Peter S. (October 14, 1998). "Birdland Revisited". City Pages. Archived from the original on May 21, 2001.
  8. ↑ "Kay Bank Studio – Twin Cities Music Highlights".
  9. ↑ "The Trashmen – Surfin' Bird" at Discogs
  10. ↑ Koda, Cub. "The Trashmen Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  11. ↑ "The Trashmen – Bird Call". Sundazed Music. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  12. ↑ Andersen, Jeanne. "The Trashmen History". Twin Cities Music Highlights. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Trashmen Drummer Steve Wahrer Dies At 47". AP News. Associated Press. January 23, 1989.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  14. ↑ Simmonds, Jeremy (2008). The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches. Chicago Review Press. p. 252. ISBN 978-1556527548. Steve Wahrer (born November 22, 1941 in Minnesota – January 21, 1989)
  15. ↑ "The Trashmen Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  16. ↑ "The Trashmen | Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010.
  17. ↑ "CHUM Hit Parade - January 27, 1964".
  18. ↑ "CHUM Hit Parade - March 23, 1964".
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