"The Cube," a 1982 country hit about the Rubik's Cube

How popular was the Rubik's Cube puzzle toy in the early 1980s? Forbes said in 1981 that it was "possibly the hottest new toy since the Hula Hoop." Reader's Digest declared 1981 "the Year of the Cube." And in 1982, it even became the unlikely topic of a minor country hit.

The label of "The Cube" promo 45.
A stock copy was issued too.

Credited to Bob Jenkins (& 3 Year Old Daughter Mandy), the song, "The Cube," registered on the lower rungs of the Billboard country chart at the same time that "Pac Man Fever" was riding high on the pop chart. But while "Pac Man Fever" went on to become a Top 10 pop hit, "The Cube" dropped off the country chart after three weeks, peaking at a modest #76. On the Cash Box country chart it fared better, spending seven weeks on the chart and reaching #70.

(Interestingly, Buckner & Garcia, the one-hit wonders behind "Pac Man Fever," also had some country-chart success in 1981 as the producers and songwriters of "Footprints in the Sand," a hit for fellow one-hit wonder Edgel Groves. The song isn't the one that Cristy Lane popularized but a different adaptation of the same public-domain poem.)

"The Cube" took a wry look at the Rubik's Cube phenomenon, humorously commenting on how popular, how frustrating, and what a waste of time the toy was. It also touched on the competitive aspect of the puzzle, as people raced to see who could solve it the fastest. (The world record is a mind-blowing 3.47 seconds.) Three-year-old daughter Mandy sings a single line in the song. The chorus goes:

Big kids, little kids, everybody's kids are trying to solve Mr. Rubik's Cube

Oh, it sure seems funny to see a big old dummy got nothin' better to do

If you ever stop tryin' then you'll go to cryin'—nobody wants to lose

Gonna sit right here till I solve Mr. Rubik's Cube

Jenkins performing "The Cube" at an event
for WPNX in Phenix City, Alabama 

Although he never charted as high as they did, Jenkins did one better than Buckner & Garcia and Edgel Groves in that he scored not one but two hits. His second hit debuted on the Billboard county chart just two weeks after "The Cube." Titled "Workin' in a Coalmine," it was an original song, not a remake of the similarly titled "Workin' in the Coal Mine" by Lee Dorsey. 

This song was released on Jenkins' own Picap Records label, which was based in Jenkins' hometown of Hendersonville, Tennessee. It spent two weeks on the chart, peaking at #86. The song was probably released only as a promo for DJs; I've never heard it or even seen a copy of the 45 for sale online.

Jenkins in the 1970s

Jenkins wasn't new to the music business when these two songs became hits. Back in the 1970s he had recorded an album, Bob Jenkins Sings, for 20th Century Records, in a soft country-rock, singer-songwriter style similar to James Taylor or Jonathan Edwards. The album's single, "South Side of the Rio Grande," didn't chart, but the album itself appeared on Billboard's FM Action chart.

After "The Cube" and "Workin' in a Coalmine," Jenkins continued to run his Picap label, which released songs that he produced and often wrote for other artists, such as Steve Mantelli, who charted four minor country hits for Picap in 1982-83—two on the Billboard chart and two completely different songs on the Cash Box chart.

As a songwriter, Jenkins was prolific. He registered nearly 200 songs with ASCAP and BMI, some of which were recorded by major country artists such as Hank Williams Jr., Lynn Anderson, David Houston, Jack Greene, Sandy Posey, Del McCoury, and Cristy Lane. 

He also ran three music publishing companies and a production company called Inside Music City and released a self-titled album that was sold through his website Nashville Country Showcase. That site also has a number of photos of Jenkins with various country, rock, and Hollywood celebrities. 

Jenkins later became an author too, writing a children's book and a memoir about his teenage years in Beverly Hills before passing away in in 2017.

For those who lived through the early 1980s and probably didn't hear "The Cube" at the time, listening to it now is a fun reminder of the intensity of the Rubik's Cube craze as well as the brief eruption of novelty songs about games. Listen to "The Cube" below.