Cymarron was an American

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

from the 1970s, most famous for their song "

Rings Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

", a number 17

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in 1971. The recording went to No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number 66 in Australia. "Rings" was also the first single release on Columbia's Entrance

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

. The band released a follow-up single, "Valerie" which was not as successful, peaking at 96 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and 19 on the Adult Contemporary chart. An album, also called "Rings" was released which reached 187 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

album chart. Cymarron was composed of Rick Yancey, Sherrill Parks, and Richard Mainegra. They named their group after ''

Cimarron Strip ''Cimarron Strip'' is an American Western television series starring Stuart Whitman as Marshal Jim Crown. The series was produced by the creators of ''Gunsmoke'', and aired on CBS from September 1967 to March 1968. Reruns of the original show we ...

'' - a short-lived TV

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

from 1967. The band's only top 20 hit, "Rings" was written by outside

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

Eddie Reeves Edward Benton Reeves (November 17, 1939 – November 18, 2018) was an American songwriter, recording artist, music publisher, artist manager, record company executive, and author. He wrote several hit songs including " All I Ever Need Is You" ...

and Alex Harvey, and produced by

Chips Moman Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman (June 12, 1937 – June 13, 2016) was an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for working in R&B, pop music and country music, operating American Sound Studios and producing hit albums lik ...

. Moman had earlier hired Yancey as a

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

. Yancey wrote the flip-side of their popular single, the song "Like Children". The song "Rings" was subsequently

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by both Lobo and Reuben Howell in 1974. Lobo's version was released as a single which reached 43 on the

and number 8 on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart. The song was also recorded in 1983 by

Leo Kottke Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...

for his album, '' Time Step''. Cymarron achieved little other success, despite releasing another

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

and several other singles. In 1991, Yancey and Mainegra joined

Jimmy Griffin James Arthur Griffin (August 10, 1943 – January 11, 2005) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the 1970s soft rock band Bread. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1970 as co-writer ...

in forming the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

band

The Remingtons The Remingtons were an American country music group founded in 1991. They consisted of guitarists and vocalists Jimmy Griffin, Richard Mainegra, and Rick Yancey. Griffin was previously a member of the soft rock group Bread, while Mainegra and Ya ...

. Yancey and Griffin also performed together as GYG until Griffin's death in 2005.

References

External links

Oldies.com BiographyThe song "Rings"
1971 establishments in Tennessee American soft rock music groups Musical groups established in 1971 Musical groups from Memphis, Tennessee {{US-rock-band-stub