1976 Top Ten Songs: The Rubberband Man (#4)

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Time for the old joke: “it’s the plumber, he’s come to fix the sink.” But while waiting for the plumber I will take you back 50 years to another great song from 1976. Here’s the next song on the list, and it’s another that was also on my 100 favorites list. #4: The Rubberband Man - The Spinners Yeah! Definitely music to make you dance without being disco. What’s not to love about this. Songwriter Thom Bell started this song to present a positive image for his son, who was being bullied at school for being overweight (“I saw this short fat guy stretch a band between his toes”). It evolved into something else, a classic song in R&B and pop, topping the soul chart and making it to #2 on the Billboard hot 100 list. And, as I’ve mentioned before, there’s always that use of it in the movie Stripes during the mud wrestling scene. Fun fact: the exteriors of that scene were filmed on Jefferson Street here in Louisville. None of those bars had to be “made up,” because they were all sleazy places. None of them are standing anymore: there’s a hotel and convention center there now. So you get a good song AND movie history in one discussion! The Rubberband Man Written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed Recorded by the Spinners From Happiness is Being With the Spinners, 1976 Guaranteed to blow your mind: