The Cyrkle

 

Artist: The Cyrkle

LP: Red Rubber Ball

Song: "Red Rubber Ball"

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Song: "Cloudy"

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The morning sun was shining like a red rubber ball in Seattle yesterday, but when I looked outside today, I saw that the sky had turned...cloudy. Both of these songs were written by Paul Simon at around the time Cyrkle bassist Tom Dawes was on tour with Simon and Garfunkel. "Red Rubber Ball" became The Cyrkle's first hit syngle, making it all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in 1966. With their jaunty melodies and clean-cut good looks (see video clip below), The Cyrkle seemed destined for the big time after band manager Brian Epstein got them a gig playing 14 shows with The Beatles on their 1966 US tour. Sadly, the hits stopped for The Cyrkle just as suddenly as they had begun and the group called it quits at the end of 1967. (Tom Dawes did have one last hit of sorts with the "plop-plop-fizz-fizz" Alka-Seltzer jingle in the 1970s.) You can read more about The Cyrkle here and here and the cheeky "Red Rubber Ball" LP liner notes are included below.

The Cyrkle on YouTube:
[ "Red Rubber Ball" ]
from "Hullabaloo" TV show—April, 1966