In 1963, a battle of the bands competition launched America’s most annoying song. It has been streamed 77,000,000 times

The Trashmen’s ‘Surfin’ Bird’ grew out of a battle of the bands performance in 1963, where the audience’s response helped turn a borrowed tune into a hit. The story shows how local competitions could give emerging musicians a route to record deals and wider recognition.

The song combined material from The Rivingtons’ ‘Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow’ and ‘The Bird’s the Word’, which the band had encountered through the Sorensen Brothers. Drummer and vocalist Steve Wahrer improvised its distinctive middle section during the first performance; disc jockey Bill Diehl then helped the group record it and entered it in competitions in Minneapolis and Chicago, where it won. It reportedly sold 30,000 copies in its first weekend and reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100, later appearing in films and television.