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
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
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
- ^ 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.