"Red Rubber Ball" is a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

song written by

Bruce Woodley Bruce William Woodley (born 25 July 1942) is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. He was a founding member of the successful folk-pop group the Seekers, and co-composer of the songs " I Am Australian," "Red Rubber Ball," and Simon & G ...

The Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk music, folk-influenced pop music, pop group originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the Unit ...

and

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

, recorded by

The Cyrkle The Cyrkle is an American rock band active from the early to late-1960s, and since 2016. The group has charted two Top 40 hits, "Red Rubber Ball" and "Turn-Down Day". Career The band was formed by guitarists and lead singers Don Dannemann and T ...

, whose version reached 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and in South Africa and New Zealand. In Canada, the song reached No. 1.

Synopsis

"Red Rubber Ball" is sung from the perspective of a person whose relationship has just been ended by their partner. As they work through their resentment they come to realize that it is perhaps for the best as "there are other starfish in the sea".

Recordings

According to Cyrkle

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

Tom Dawes, Simon offered "Red Rubber Ball" to the band when they were opening for Simon and Garfunkel on tour. The song's tracks were recorded in

stereo Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...

, with the bass, lead guitar, and percussion on the right track, acoustic guitar and electric organ on left, and the vocals on both. The Columbia picture sleeve issued with the "Red Rubber Ball" single is a very rare and oft-sought item amongst record collectors; near-mint copies are said to fetch three figures. The Seekers also recorded "Red Rubber Ball" for their 1966 album ''

Come the Day ''Come the Day'' is the fifth studio album by Australian group the Seekers. The album was released in 1966. In North America, the album was titled ''Georgy Girl''. The album peaked at number 10 in the ''Billboard'' albums chart and number 3 in ...

'' (called ''Georgy Girl'' in the USA). It also appears on the CD

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

''The Seekers Complete''. In an interview on ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late night television, late-night Late-night talk show, talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December ...

'', Paul Simon said he wrote "Red Rubber Ball" while living in England to get a £100 advance from The Seekers. This came in response to Colbert's request for Simon to name a song that was "on the cusp" when it came to being included in his songbook ''Lyrics 1964–2008''. In the US, "Red Rubber Ball" spent a single week at No. 2 on the ''

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

'' pop singles chart at the same time "

Paperback Writer "Paperback Writer" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, the song was released as the A-side of their eleventh single in May 1966. It topped sing ...

" by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

was at No. 1, during the week ending July 9, 1966. It was the fifth week during 1966 in which songs written by Simon and by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

were simultaneously at No. 1 and No. 2 on the chart.

Cover versions

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

on his 1966 debut album ''

The Feel of Neil Diamond ''The Feel of Neil Diamond'' is Neil Diamond's debut album, released on Bang Records in the US, London Records in the UK, and Stateside Records in Australia. It includes his first three big hits, " Solitary Man" (#55), " Cherry, Cherry" (#6), a ...

''. *

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

for his 1968 film soundtrack ''

Two a Penny ''Two a Penny'' is a 1967 British film, released nationally in 1968, directed by James F. Collier and starring Cliff Richard. It was produced by Frank R. Jacobson for Billy Graham's film distribution and production company World Wide Pictures T ...

''. *

on their 1966 album ''

'' *

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one ''Billboard'' hit " Runaway", which was covered la ...

on his 1966 album ''Total Commitment''. *

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roa ...

on his 1966 album '' Right Now!'' *

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her singles "A ...

on her 1969 album '' Surround Yourself with Cilla''. *Canadian

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

group The Diodes had it as the first track on their debut album, ''The Diodes'' (1977). According to the liner notes of the 1998 Diodes anthology, ''Tired of Waking Up Tired'', the band recorded the cover because Paul Simon had been vocal in his disapproval of punk rock music. *The short-lived bluegrass supergroup Spectrum (

Bela Fleck Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India *Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India *Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara * Bela, Dang, in Nepal * Bela, Janakpur ...

Jimmy Gaudreau James Arnott “Jimmy” Gaudreau is a singer and mandolinist playing traditional and progressive bluegrass music. He is best known for his solo albums, and his work with The Country Gentlemen, Tony Rice, and J. D. Crowe. Biography Early life I ...

Mark Schatz Mark L. Schatz (born April 23, 1955) is an American double bass, bassist, banjoist, mandolinist, acoustic guitar, guitarist, clogging, clogger, and Juba dance, hambone performer who has recorded on albums for and toured with artists including Be ...

, and Glenn Lawson) on their 1980 debut ''Opening Roll''. *

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

recorded a live version in 1967 that was not released until their 1997 compilation album '' Old Friends''. *Grammy nominated Polka music artist, Lenny Gomulka, recorded a cover with his award winning Polka band, Lenny Gomulka and Chicago Push, on their 1998 album ''Push It To The Limit''. *Eggchair recorded a version that was played in the 2004 movie, '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story''. *American

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...

group

Streetlight Manifesto Streetlight Manifesto is an American ska punk band from New Brunswick Township, New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, formed in 2002. They released their debut album, ''Everything Goes Numb'', through Victory Records on August 26, 2003. The ban ...

for their 2010 album, '' 99 Songs of Revolution''. *

Nellie McKay Eleanora Marie McKay (born April 13, 1982) is an English–American singer and songwriter. She made her Broadway debut in ''The Threepenny Opera#United States 2, The Threepenny Opera'' (2006). Early life and education McKay was born in London ...

on her 2015 album ''My Weekly Reader''.

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
{{The Cyrkle 1966 songs 1966 singles Songs written by Paul Simon Songs written by Bruce Woodley The Cyrkle songs Mel Tormé songs Neil Diamond songs Cilla Black songs Simon & Garfunkel songs Del Shannon songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Columbia Records singles