Tom Dawes
Tom Dawes | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Thomas Webster Dawes |
| Born | July 25, 1943 Albany, New York, USA |
| Died | October 13, 2007 (aged 64) New York City, New York, USA |
| Genres | pop |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instrument(s) |
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| Years active | 1961-2007 |
| Formerly of | The Cyrkle |
Thomas Webster Dawes[1] (July 25, 1943 – October 13, 2007) was an American musician, Jingle writer, and producer. He was both the guitarist and bass guitarist for The Cyrkle.
Career[edit]
Thomas Webster Dawes was born in Albany, New York in 1943. As a teenager, he played guitar and banjo in local bands.[1]
Dawes formed The Rhondells in 1961 in Lafayette College, Pennsylvania. They signed to Brian Epstein in 1966, were renamed to The Cyrkle by him[2] (the unique spelling of the name being done by John Lennon) and released their highest-selling song "Red Rubber Ball" (written by Paul Simon) the same year. The song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. They were the only non-English band Epstein managed, and they toured with The Beatles during their final tour.[3] In 1966, Dawes toured with Simon & Garfunkel as a bassist.[1][4] He was the main songwriter for the Cyrkle along with Don Dannemann.
He played a Multi-neck guitar that had both a six-string and a bass guitar attached, and could be seen on a 1966 appearance on Hullabaloo consistently switching between the two guitars during their lip-synced performance. The band had one more hit "Turn-Down Day" and then disbanded. He and Dannemann both worked as jingle writers in the 1970s. Dawes wrote the "plop plop fizz fizz" jingle for Alka-Seltzer.[5] It is said that Dawes wrote around 30-40 jingles for different companies.[6] He also produced two albums for Foghat ("Rock & Roll" in 1973, and "Energized" in 1974) and penned their song "Wild Cherry".[7]
Dawes retired from jingle writing in the 1990s.[1] In 2004, he and his wife penned the book "Talk of the Town", and wrote the music and lyrics for its musical.[6] It was about the members of the Algonquin Round Table and had a two-year run at the "Bank street theatre" before moving to the Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel as a cabaret show.[6]
Death[edit]
Dawes was married to Ginny Redington Dawes, who was also a jingle writer in 1978.[1][6] He died in New York City on October 13, 2007, aged 64. His wife announced his cause of death as "a stroke after carotid artery surgery".[6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e "Thomas W. Dawes, 64; musician, jingle writer". Los Angeles Times. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
- ^ Beatles' Manager To Handle U.S. Group, Port Arthur, Texas News, June 8, 1966, p. 34.
- ^ Beatles Show Acts Listed, Los Angeles Times, August 11, 1966, p. D13.
- ^ "1966 The Cyrkle – Turn Down Day". What Was Left In. 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
- ^ Mikkelson, David (2002-12-30). "Alka-Seltzer Marketing". Snopes. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
- ^ a b c d e Peterson, Alison J. (2007-11-02). "Thomas Dawes, Musician and Jingle Writer, Dies at 64". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
- ^ On The Scene, Pacific Stars and Stripes (newspaper), Wednesday, March 9, 1977, p. 16.