Tom Dawes

Although pop music annals record Tom Dawes as a member of folk-pop combo <a href="spotify:artist:4qnb4cn5aykCACoyuCirGg">the Cyrkle</a>, which scored a 1966 smash with the classic "Red Rubber Ball," he enjoyed even more memorable moments as an advertising jingle writer, most notably composing Alka-Seltzer's immortal "Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz" theme. Born in Albany, NY, on July 25, 1943, Dawes co-founded <a href="spotify:artist:4qnb4cn5aykCACoyuCirGg">the Cyrkle</a> while a student at Lafayette College in Easton, PA. Originally dubbed the Rhondells, the group (which also included singer/guitarist Don Danneman, keyboardist <a href="spotify:artist:62tLZARlGTuDrqHWkXAP2r">Earl Pickens</a>, and drummer Marty Fried) emerged as a fraternity circuit favorite, and while playing a Labor Day 1965 gig in Atlantic City captured the attention of New York City attorney Nathan Weiss, who recommended them to his business partner, famed <a href="spotify:artist:3WrFJ7ztbogyGnTHbHJFl2">Beatles</a> manager <a href="spotify:artist:2A3KGd7NkgkLzqudWj7jbc">Brian Epstein</a>. No less than <a href="spotify:artist:4x1nvY2FN8jxqAFA0DA02H">John Lennon</a> suggested the name "the Cyrkle," and in mid-1966 the group opened for the Fab Four on its final U.S. tour. Co-written by <a href="spotify:artist:2CvCyf1gEVhI0mX6aFXmVI">Paul Simon</a> and Bruce Woodley, "Red Rubber Ball" climbed to number two on the Billboard pop charts in 1966. The follow-up, "Turn Down Day," also cracked the Top 20, but subsequent singles fared poorly and in early 1968 <a href="spotify:artist:4qnb4cn5aykCACoyuCirGg">the Cyrkle</a> split. Dawes and Danneman both pursued careers in advertising, each heading his own Madison Avenue firm. In addition to Alka-Seltzer, he wrote jingles for 7Up, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, L'eggs, and American Airlines, and in the early '70s briefly returned to pop music, producing boogie rock unit <a href="spotify:artist:6x33CmZWo2Ve4hxYl2Craq">Foghat</a>. In 1994, Dawes and wife <a href="spotify:artist:2CrDfNoA91L5LkBVYpXi6k">Ginny Redington</a> collaborated on Talk of the Town, a stage musical inspired by the members of the legendary Algonquin Round Table. Dawes died October 13, 2007, following complications from heart surgery; he was 64. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi