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TL;DR:

  • The Beatles’ “Paperback Writer” competed with one of Paul Simon’s songs on the charts.
  • A band besides Simon & Garfunkel recorded the hit version of the song.
  • Simon’s song influenced a lot of listeners.
Paul Simon holding a guitar
Paul Simon | Keystone/Getty Images

The Beatles‘ “Paperback Writer” competed with a song written by Paul Simon on the charts. Subsequently, “Paperback Writer” performed better in the United States. Notably, Simon’s hit was not recorded by Simon & Garfunkel.

1 of Paul Simon’s songs helped a listener get through a divorce

Simon co-wrote “Red Rubber Ball” with Bruce Woodley of The Seekers. A rock band called The Cyrkle recorded the song. During a 2019 interview with Goldmine, The Cyrkle’s Don Dannemann discussed the reaction to the song.

“I hear so often at our concerts’ meet and greet sessions that ‘Red Rubber Ball’ was such a major influence for them at the time,” he said. “I am so pleased to be able to meet these fans and know that I was part of this song that had an influence on them.

“One guy shook my hand, thanked me, and told me that ‘Red Rubber Ball’ got him through his divorce,” he said. “He said, ‘It was such a positive song. I would wake up every morning, play the record and hear, ‘I think it’s going to be all right. Yeah, the worst is over now.’ So, thank you.”

The Beatles’ ‘Paperback Writer’ ‘and ‘Yellow Submarine’ went up against The Cyrkle’s ‘Red Rubber Ball’ and ‘Turn-Down Day’

Dannemann discussed a connection between The Cyrkle’s music and The Beatles’ music. “In concerts, I know you have heard me talk about ‘Red Rubber Ball’ being No. 2 when The Beatles’ ‘Paperback Writer’ was No. 1 with ‘Rain‘ on the flip side and then [The Cyrkle’s other hit] ‘Turn-Down Day’ was out when ‘Yellow Submarine‘ was on the charts with ‘Day Tripper‘ as its flip side that summer.”

Dannemann is only partly correct. The B-side of “Yellow Submarine” was “Eleanor Rigby,” not “Day Tripper.” “Day Tripper” was the B-side to “We Can Work It Out.”

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How ‘Paperback Writer’ and ‘Red Rubber Ball’ performed on the pop charts in the United States

“Paperback Writer” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, staying on the chart for a total of 10 weeks. The tune appeared on the compilation album 1962-1966, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 175 weeks.

On the other hand, Woodley and Simon’s “Red Rubber Ball” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. While the song didn’t chart as highly as “Paperback Writer,” it inspired quite a few covers. Neil Diamond, Mel Tormé, and Cliff Richard each recorded covers of the tune.

The Cyrkle wasn’t as big as The Beatles but they provide an interesting connection between Simon and the Fab Four.

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