Today’s song about a specific type of man is all about “The Rubberband Man.” The Spinners released this one in August of 1976 and the single went to #3 on the Cash Box Top 100, #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart.
“The Rubberband Man” is a wonderful slice of Philly Soul, written by Philadelphia legends Thom Bell and Linda Creed and produced by Mr. Bell. Players on this one included Thom Bell himself on keyboards, Tony Bell and Bobby Eli on guitars, Motown stalwart Bob Babbitt on bass, Andrew Smith on drums, and Larry Washington on percussion. Lead spinner Philippe Wynne provided the captivating lead vocals.
The song was originally titled “The Fat Man” and was written for Thom Bell’s son Mark, who was being teased by his classmates for being overweight. (“Fat Man” was the nickname the other kids gave him.) Bell wanted to give his boy more confidence to stand up to the bullies and told the story of a big man who becomes a dancing machine when the music starts to play. As Thom Bell explains:
“It was written for big people who were hip, to change the whole idea of a person being large being sloppy, slow.”
To avoid overly embarrassing his son, however, Bell ultimately changed the title (and the lyrics) from “The Fat Man” to “The Rubberband Man.” Accordingly, the Spinners developed an elaborate dance routine, choreographed by Dianne Bland, that involved large rubber bands. Which leads us to today’s daily bonus video of the day, the Spinners singing and dancing to an extended version of “The Rubberband Man” on The Midnight Special in 1976. You’re bound to lose control when the rubberband starts to jam…
