The song featured on the stereo is “Red Rubber Ball” by The Cyrkle.

The Cyrkle had humble beginnings as a “frat rock” band named The Rhondells. That all changed on Labor Day, 1965, when superstar music attorney Nat Weiss heard them play in Atlantic City, NJ. Weiss called his partner, Beatles manager Brian Epstein, who decided to manage the group and change its name (John Lennon provided the unique spelling.) During the summer of 1966, The Cyrcke opened on fourteen concerts for the Beatles’ U.S. Tour.

“Red Rubber Ball” was written by Paul Simon (of Simon and Garfunkel) and Bruce Woodley (of The Seekers). In a recent interview on The Colbert Report, Paul Simon said he wrote “Red Rubber Ball” while living in England to get a £100 advance from The Seekers. Later Simon offered the song to The Cyrkle while they were opening for Simon and Garfunkel on a 1965 tour.

Featuring a rich two-part harmony, a calliope-like electric organ, and haunting, eccentric lyrics, “Red Rubber Ball,” went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was #1 in Canada in 1966. Selling more than one million copies, it was certified as an RIAA Gold Record.

Members of The Cyrkle for “Red Rubber Ball” were Don Dannemann (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Tom Dawes (lead vocals, lead guitar, bass), Earl Pickens (keyboards), and Marty Fried (drums). Dawes and sometimes Fried often do not appear in photographs.

Here are the lyrics to “Red Rubber Ball” by The Cyrkle:

“I should have known you’d bid me farewell
There’s a lesson to be learned from this and I learned it very well
Now I know you’re not the only starfish in the sea
If I never hear your name again, it’s all the same to me

[Chorus]

And I think it’s gonna be all right
Yeah, the worst is over now
The mornin’ sun is shinin’ like a red rubber ball

You never care for secrets I confide
For you I’m just an ornament, somethin’ for your pride
Always runnin’, never carin’, that’s the life you live
Stolen minutes of your time were all you had to give

[Chorus]

The story’s in the past with nothin’ to recall
I’ve got my life to live and I don’t need you at all
The roller-coaster ride we took is nearly at an end
I bought my ticket with my tears, that’s all I’m gonna spend

[Chorus]

Oh, oh, oh
I think it’s gonna be all right
Yeah, the worst is over now
The mornin’ sun is shinin’ like a red rubber ball”

Check Out The Groove Pad for More 1960s Music

The Pass the Paisley Groove Pad is a resting stop, a place to chill out and listen to the featured song on the stereo. If the mood strikes you, click on the juke box to access and listen to the 50+ free online songs there. The TV has several channels, with selections updated twice a week. Every now and then, Pass the Paisley hosts an all-request of 1960s and 1970s songs for a Be-In at the juke box in the Groove Pad. Keep on truckin’. Hope you enjoyed “Red Rubber Ball” by The Cyrkle.