| "The Rubberband Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by the Spinners | ||||
| from the album Happiness Is Being with the Spinners | ||||
| B-side | "Now That We're Together" | |||
| Released | August 1976 | |||
| Studio | Sigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Thom Bell, Linda Creed | |||
| Producer(s) | Thom Bell | |||
| The Spinners singles chronology | ||||
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"The Rubberband Man" is a song recorded by American vocal group the Spinners. The song, written by producer Thom Bell and singer-songwriter Linda Creed, is about Bell's son Mark, who was being teased by his classmates for being overweight. Intended to improve his son's self-image, the song eventually evolved from being about "The Fat Man" to "The Rubberband Man".[1]
The last major hit by the Spinners to feature Philippé Wynne on lead vocals, "The Rubberband Man" spent three weeks at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (blocked from the top spot by Rod Stewart's massive hit single "Tonight's the Night") and topped the U.S. R&B chart at the end of 1976.[2] It was also a top-20 hit in the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 16 in October 1976.[3]
The song was included in the Detroit Free Press's "Detroit's 100 Greatest Songs" list, ranking 70th.[4]
- ^ Feldman, Christopher G. (2000). The Billboard Book of No. 2 Hits. Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-7695-4.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 545.
- ^ "The Detroit Spinners: The Rubberband Man". 45cat.com.
- ^ "Detroit's 100 Greatest Songs". Retrieved May 10, 2018.