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The Cyrkle began their musical life in 1961 as just another college frat band. Calling themselves the Rhondells, the group made up of bassist tom Dawes, guitarist Don Danneman, keyboardist Earle Pickens, and drummer Marty Fried played Top 40 covers around Easton, Pennsylvania while students at nearby Lafayette College. Although their material was not unique, it soon became clear that their talent was, and they began to snag gigs all around the northeast seaboard. Of particular note were the harmonies of Dawes and Danneman which grew out of Dawes' close study of the vocal arrangements of the Everly Brothers, Beach Boys, and Four Seasons.

Warren Covington, the conductor of the Tommy Dorsey Band, heard the group and asked them to appear as the rhythm section of Dorsey's 'big band' show in Atlantic City and also to perform top "teen" tunes while the 40s-era band was on break. The Rhondells followed up with performances at another Atlantic City club, the Alibi Lounge, where well-connected entertainment lawyer Nat Weiss caught a performance and offered to help book them in some more prestigious venues. About this time, ABC-Paramount was interested enough to have them record a single called "Parkin' at the Kokomo", but it went nowhere.

After graduation in 1965, the guys were performing at a club in New York where Paul Simon was in the audience. He was impressed with what he heard, and when Don Danneman's stint with the Coast Guard put the band on temporary hiatus, Simon asked Tom Dawes to go on tour with Simon and Garfunkel as their bassist. He eagerly accepted, and one night while they were hanging out, Paul played him a tune he had just written with Bruce Woodley of the Seekers called "Red Rubber Ball". He offered it to the Rhondells, along with with a few more of his songs, including "CLoudy" and "I Wish You Could Be Here".

Meanwhile, Nat Weiss had brought the band to the attention of the Beatles manager Brian Epstein, who had made it known that he was looking for a new project. Epstein had even interviewed the Velvet Underground as a possible band to take under his wing but came to the inevitable conclusion the he would be more comfortable with the Rhondells. First, however, a name change was in order. "Rhondells" sounded too outdated for that emerging hip sensibilities, and the input of John Lennon was reportedly sought to come up with a more "with it" tag. "The Cyrkle" was chosen, and Brian shepherded the guys into a record deal with Columbia. He even held a press conference at a Manhattan hotel to introduce the band. Tom Dawes later recalled, "Epstein by that time was the man with the most clout in the world, so Columbia too this unknown band and the next thing we knew, we got a full page ad in the inside cover of Billboard.

Soon the group recorded the first of their two albums for Columbia, and "Red Rubber Ball: was released as a single in April of 1966. The next month, they were booked to appear for a series of shows at The Downtown in Greenwhich Village, and Billboard magazine wrote: "The Cyrkle returned to Greewhich Village's Downtown discotheque Monday night, and the clean -cut folk rockers packed the club with devotees of the current dance styles. The quartet of college graduates has a clean sound to match their appearance, a unique quality in today's pop music scene of shaggy-haired, shaggy-voice groups...The boys, all capable instrumentalists, more than hold their own vocally, having a close, four-part harmony that resembles the Beatles' sound...When they perform their own material, penned by Danneman and guitarist Tom Dawes, the Cyrkle have a unique vocal style."

WIth Epstein pulling the strings, the Cyrkle was tapped as an opening act for the Beatles on their '66 American tour, and the high-profile exposure helped "Red Rubber Ball" hit #2 on the TOp 100 early that summer. The guys got to hang out backstage with the Fab Four, playing cards and smoking pot, sith Danneman remarking about the Beatles: "They weren't snooty to us at all". Paul McCartney even expressed his admiration for their unique take on "I'm Just Happy to Dance With You:.

Paul Simon offered the Cyrkle another of his tunes, "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin; Groovy)", but the band turned it down. Of course, it was then recorded by Harper's Bizarre and was a big hit, but the Cyrkle almost bested its chart performance with the song that did become their second single, "Turn Down Day", which had the same "sunshine" feel as the SImon composition. It was also one of the first pop singles to prominently feature a sitar (played by Tom Dawes).

Just a year after the Cyrkle had been riding high with a hit record and traveling the US with the Beatles, word came the Brian Epstein had died. The energy behind and within the group began to dissipate, their second album, Neon, didn't produce any hits, and in 1968 the band began to fall apart. At about that same time, Tom Dawes sold a jingle he had written for an advertising agency. His five-figure display dwarfed what he had been making with the band, so the die was cast. He went on to be highly successful writing jingles, penning the famous "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz" for Alka-Seltzer, "7-Up, the UnCola", "Our L'eggs Fit Your Legs", "Coke Is It", "You're the One" for McDonald's and many others. Don Danneman followed suit and scored big with jingles for Continental Airlines and Swanson Food. Both men eventually headed up their own advertising firms. Tom also produced two albums for the hard rock group Foghat, and he and his wife published three books aimed at collectors of antique jewelry. Marty Fried went on to earn his law degree and Earle Pickens became a doctor.

The Cyrkle regrouped briefly in 1986 to play a benefit and then again in 1995 for their 30th anniversary, but that was to be their final outing together. Tom Dawes died in 2007 of complications following surgery.

Shortly before his death, Tom joked in an interview with the Lafayette alumni new website, "Maybe in another ten years, we'll have another reunion to discuss which assisted-living facility we should all move into and play "Red Rubber Ball" on Saturday nights at the Senior Canteen."

Retrieved from: Kim Clark's Records, November 2010.

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