The Rivingtons - Doin' the Bird

All Music Guide

Prolific songwriters the Rivingtons -- Al Frazier, John Harris, Turner Wilson, and Carl White -- penned the bulk of their material, including "Papa Oom-Mow-Mow," which reached number 42 pop. Its successors ("Mama Oom-Mow-Mow" and "Kickapoo Joy Juice") failed to improve on the success of "Papa Oom-Mow-Mow." Singles like "The Bird Is the Word," "Little Sally Walker," and "Surfin' Bird," followed. "Love Pill" and "Long Tall Sally" never hit the charts, and other cuts like "Old Time Love," "Standing in Love Line," and "Have Mercy, Mercy Baby" harkened back to their doo-wop days as the Lamplighters and the Sharps. the Rivingtons revised "Papa Oom-Mow-Mow" on Wand Records in 1973.

- Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide