The Rivingtons

The Rivingtons were a 1960s doo-wop group. The members were lead vocalist Carl White (died January 7, 1980), tenor Al Frazier (died 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.

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". They also recorded on Warner Brothers Records as The Crenshaws in 1961.

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. "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).

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. In fact, it was just a medley of the Rivington's choruses minus the verses. The Rivingtons' manager reported it to their lawyers, and the Trashmen were ordered to add the surnames of the Rivingtons to the credits. 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 and the Cramps.

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