The Cyrkle

Formed in Easton, Pennsylvania in 1961, the members of the Cyrkle first came together as Rhondells while they all attended Lafayette College. Founded by Don Dannemann (guitar and vocals), Tom Dawes (guitar and vocals), and Jim Maiella (drums), the band played covers at college frat parties before they began performing at off-campus venues. Discovered by attorney Nathan Weiss while they were performing in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Weiss introduced them to his business partner Brian Epstein who was also the Beatles’ manager. After hearing recordings by the band, he decided to manage them and had them changer their name to the Circle, but John Lennon intervened and suggested the unique Cyrkle spelling. With new drummer Marty Fried, the band signed to Columbia Records and went into the studio with producer John Simon. Their debut single, “Red Rubber Ball” - written by Paul Simon and Bruce Woodley (the Seekers) – was a smash hit and rose to number 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The song also reached the top of the charts in Canada. Their next single, “Turn Down Day,” was a Top 20 hit. Both tracks were taken from their 1966 debut album Red Rubber Ball, which hit number 47 on the Billboard 200. Thanks to their connection with Brian Epstein, the Cyrkle played several dates with the Beatles on their final tour in the summer of ’66, which boosted sales of their records. They released their second album, Neon, in 1967 but it failed to match the success of the debut. With manager Brian Epstein trying to focus on the Beatles’ new direction now that they had stopped touring, he was not able to focus on the Cyrkle’s career. Epstein’s death on August 27, 1967, cast a dark shadow on all the acts he managed. Fortunately, the Beatles were able to keep going for several more years, but the Cyrkle were lost in the shuffle. After recording the soundtrack to an underground film called The Minx in 1967, the band knew the writing was on the wall. With The Minx soundtrack postponed, the Cyrkle recorded a few more singles in 1968 and then broke up. The Minx was eventually released in 1970 but there was no longer a band to promote it. Both Tom Dawes and Don Dannemann went on to have successful careers as jingle writers in the 1970s. Dawes died on October 19, 2007, at the age of 63. Marty Fried passed away on September 1, 2021, at the age of 77. In 2016, Don Dannemann and late period keyboardist Michael Losekamp reformed the Cyrkle and began playing live again and performed on several oldies package tours. They released the album Revival in 2024.

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