The Cyrkle Come Back Around
THE CYRKLE is one of those nearly forgotten bands that were almost lost to history. Although they only had two hits to their credit — “Red Rubber Ball,” co-written by Paul Simon (and one of Simon’s few outside contributions beyond the realms of Simon & Garfunkel) and “Turn Down Day,” it’s sole successful follow-up — the band’s connection to The Beatles makes them the stuff of legend. Discovered by Nat Weiss, an associate of Beatles manager Brian Epstein, they were given the unusual spelling of their name by none other than John Lennon. They went on to receive the dubious distinction for opening for The Beatles during 14 dates on the Fab Four’s 1966 American tour.
The original band — Don Dannemann (vocals, guitar), Tom Dawes (vocals, guitar, sitar, harmonica, bass), Marty Fried (drums, percussion), Earl Pickens (keyboards, later replaced by Mike Losekamp) — broke up in late 1967 after releasing three albums (Red Rubber Ball, Neon, and a soundtrack titled The Minx). Dawes and Dannemann went into writing commercial jingles, among them such well known staples as Alka-Seltzer’s “plop. plop, fizz, fizz,” as well as ditties for Continental Airlines and Swanson Foods.
The saga could have ended there were it not for the), a website ( and a new lease on life that includes a growing number of live concerts every year since 2016. The group currently includes Dannemann, Losekamp and McLoughlin, along with new recruits Don White (guitar), Scott Langley (drums), Mike Rouseculp (bass) and occasional substitute bassist Mike Shoah.
