Spinners – The Rubberband Man

I was so surprised, I was hypnotized
By the sound this cat’s puttin’ down

I had this single in the late seventies. I bought it at the dime store in a discount rack for 10 cents. I didn’t know what I was buying but it was the best dime I ever spent. The song has had a resurgence in popularity recently with the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack. It’s a great piece of 1970s soul music. 

The Rubberband Man peaked at #2 in the Billboard 100, #7 in Canada, and #16 in the UK in 1976. The Spinners had 7 top ten hits and one #1 with Then Came You. Once you hear it…it sticks with you.

The Spinners’ producer, Thom Bell, wrote this song for his son with help from his songwriting partner Linda Creed. Bell wrote theme songs for all of his children, although this is the only one that was ever recorded. “The Fat Man is what it was called at first since his son Mark was rather large, and that’s what his schoolmates called him.

Bell wanted to change the perception of this nickname, so he wrote a song about a big man who could really move. He’s the guy everyone waits for at the party since it can really get going when he arrives.

Thom Bell: “It was written for big people who were hip, to change the whole idea of a person being large being sloppy, slow.”

The Rubberman Man

Hand me down my walkin’ cane
Hand me down my hat
Hurry now and don’t be late
‘Cause we ain’t got time to chat
You and me we’re goin’ out
To catch the latest sounds
Guaranteed to blow your mind
So high you won’t come down

Hey, y’all prepare yourself
For the rubberband man
You never heard a sound
Like the rubberband man
You’re bound to lose control
When the rubberband starts to jam

Oh, Lord this dude is outta sight
Everything he does
Seems to come out right

Once I went to hear them play
At a club outside of town
I was so surprised, I was hypnotized
By the sound this cat’s puttin’ down
When I saw this short fat guy
Stretched a band between his toes
Hey, I laughed so hard ’cause the man got down
When he finally reached his goal

Hey, y’all prepare yourself
For the rubberband man
You never heard a sound
Like the rubberband man
You’re bound to lose control
When the rubberband starts to jam

Got that rubberband
Up on his toes
And then he wriggled it up
All around his nose

Guaranteed to blow your mind
Playin’ all that music, yet keepin’ time
Where in the world did he learn that, oh, Lord
Lord, help him get away

Hey, y’all prepare yourself
For the rubberband man
You never heard a sound
Like the rubberband man
You’re bound to lose control
When the rubberband starts to jam

Rubberband man, rubberband man
How much of this stuff do he think we can stand
So much rhythm, grace and debonair from one man, Lord
And then he had the nerve to wiggle his left toe
To his knee, got the feelin’ in his head, y’all
Ah, come on baby

Hey, y’all prepare yourself
For the rubberband man
You never heard a sound
Like the rubberband man
You’re bound to lose control (and he likes to jam)
When the rubberband starts to jam

Rubberband man starts to jam
Movin’ up and down across the land
Got people all in his ways
Everything about him seems out of place
Just a movin’, just a movin’, just a move-move-movin’
Just a, a rubberband, rubberband man
Just a movin’, just a movin’, just a move-move-movin’
Just a rubberband, rubberband man

Get down
Oh, get down lover
Uh-huh

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

41 thoughts on “Spinners – The Rubberband Man”

  1. I had a friend from Philadelphia when this came out. He loved this song. I was not a big fan of Philly Soul at the time. His claim to fame was appearing on American Bandstand as a teen. I’m not sure if he was telling the truth, though he was 16 when the show moved to LA.

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    1. That would have been a badge of honor. I had a cousin to appear on Bozo and she still talks about it to this day. I like the early seventies soul more than the Philly sound but I do like it.

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  2. Max, whenever I hear a Spinners tune from that period (’72-’77) I go back to when my late Dad would rush to the record store & get the new Spinners albums when they came out (he actually got 8-track tapes always so that he could play ’em in the car) & my brother who is your age listened to them every time that we were in the car with he & our Mother for months after that. We knew every word to all of those songs. Linda Creed wrote most of those songs with Tom Bell & it was a part of the classic ‘Philly Sound’. So well produced & written & performed. Like that ‘L.A. Pop’ they had their moment in time & it was about 5 years (Philly Sound).

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    1. Oh this one was one of the best singles I ever bought. I was a kid and I didn’t get it until the mid to late 70s but I saw the name…and I had to take a chance. These guys sounded so good and tight…
      Such a cool memory for you to remember.

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      2. Oh Carl…you had me until then lol. I never liked the 80s synth sound…I did like some of the 90s though… The 80s declared war on regular rock bands….although yes there was some good music in the 80s…but I sure love the 60s-70s.

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      3. Lol…ya’, we disagree on ‘Synth Pop’ & New Wave but that’s what will make for good dialogue on a potential show. Hopefully, things will work out for me there & I can convince my publisher that a music/sports YouTube show could work from that location with a couple of older ‘Gen X’rs’ talkin’ about 60’s-early 2000’s pop/rock/country/funk music. Give me a few months Max.

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  8. “it was the best dime I ever spent.” Love this, Max. I really had no idea what this song was about until now. I just remember loving the sound of it, the rhythm, and the chorus. Thanks for once again educating me on old gold. Happy Friday.

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  9. I have The Best of the Spinners on LP. I find myself returning to it again and again. I’ll be Around, Then Came You, Could it be I’m Falling in Love are so lush and vibrant…I love the Philadelphia Sound. Musically, I like Rubberband Man but I could never get past it’s “silly” lyrics. Now that I know Thom Bell wrote it for his children, I have a new appreciation for it. Thanks Max.

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  10. this one hits hard. My younger brother (RIP) had this on a 45 when he was a kid. Every time I hear it, all I see in my head is my brother dancing around our small apartment until he fell down. Between this and car wash, I’m sure he was a closet spinner or a back up pip. thanks so much for the memory, sad though it is.

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    1. That is funny. I don’t know much about them but yes…it’s a good track. The guys from my old band…we get together sometimes and play…I asked him to learn this for a guitar-bass-drum arrangement….that should be interesting.

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