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"Surfin' Bird" was the biggest hit to come out of Minnesota in the 1960s — but The Trashmen weren't the only young rock and roll band in town. 

The new book "Everbody's Heard About the Bird: The True Story of 1960s Rock N Roll in Minnesota" by veteran Minnesota journalist 

 tells the story of The Trashmen — and the bands that came before and after.

"Surfin' Bird" was released before the assassination of John F. Kennedy, but didn't become popular until after JFK was killed.

"It was almost like the nation was looking to say, 'I don't want to be this serious any more, I'm looking for something goofy, I'm looking for something fun,'" Shefchik told MPR News' Cathy Wurzer.

Song parody artist Weird Al Yankovic once made the case that The Trashmen 

deserve a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame


Shefchik describes how the presence of the Soma Records label, the Kay Bank recording studio and two Twin Cities rock and roll stations paved the way for a thriving music scene that produced bands like 

.  The latter is considered perhaps the best Minnesota band of the era, but never rose out of the Twin Cities. "They never really caught the brass ring like the Trashmen did," said Shefchik.


The book also portrays the influential figures behind the scenes of Minnesota rock, like 

, founder of Soma Records, and disc jockey 

, the Dick Clark of the Twin Cities.
 
"Everbody's Heard About the Bird: The True Story of 1960s Rock N Roll in Minnesota" is available now on University of Minnesota Press. 

Wednesday at the Electric Fetus record store in Minneapolis, Shefchik  will be joined by members of the Trashmen, the Bops, the Underbeats, the Gestures and the Castaways. Expect to hear some 60s rock, Minnesota-style.

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"Everbody's Heard About the Bird: The True Story of 1960s Rock N Roll in Minnesota" tells the story of The Trashmen, and the bands that came before and after.

How Minnesota rocked in the 60s: The story behind 'Surfin' Bird'

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