Posted on 04/24/2011 10:09:51 PM PDT by smokingfrog
CLEVELAND, Ohio--Tom King, a homegrown Cleveland rocker who co-wrote the hit song "Time Won't Let Me," died Saturday in a Wickliffe nursing home.
King, 68, had suffered from multiple health problems. He had been at the Wickliffe Country Place nursing home since he fell and injured himself in August. King's death was announced by Kevin King, one of his sons, and confirmed by the nursing home.
"He had been sick for a long time," Kevin King said Sunday.
King and his brother-in-law, Chet Kelley, co-wrote "Time Won't Let Me," which was released in 1966 by his group the Outsiders. It rose up the national charts and sold more than a million copies. King was a guitarist, composer and arranger.
King attended Shaw High School in East Cleveland in the late 1950s. It was there, at age 15, that he formed the Starfires, also know as Tom King & the Starfires.
King formed The Outsiders, a continuation of the Starfires, in 1965. Joining him were Sonny Geraci, Mert Madsen, Richard Kriss, Al Austin, and Ronnie Harkai. They all performed on the original hit recording "Time Won't Let Me."
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.cleveland.com ...
“Ryan, I know this song.” /Ramius
Which one was Tom King in the video?
The people who were the sources of those wonderful songs were mysteries to me; I could never imagine, for example, that Working My Way Back To You was written by a guy who lived about a hundred miles from my house; for me, at that time, 100 miles was the biggest distance I had personal knowledge of; anything bigger might as well have been the distance to the moon.
Another thing I never guessed, at the time, was that the strange and haunting song If I Were A Carpenter was performed by the same guy who sang Mack The Knife. I thought it was sung by one of the Beatles, but I couldn't guess which one.
Another thing I couldn't understand was how Mick Jagger was able to sing As Tears Go By.
Sonny Geraci later claimed additional fame as lead vocalist for Climax ("Precious and Few").
There were a lot of throwaway, best-forgotten pop hits of that era. In contrast, Tom King's "Time Won't Let Me" is one of timeless value.
Clarification: "...the garage band I was in during high school played it...".
The local High School Band did NOT play it. :)
I agree. It’s a really good song that I instantly recognized, but I couldn’t have told you in a million years who did it.
I don’t think he was the singer. The singer went on to ‘Precious and Few’. I think he was the guatorist. One on the left???
I don’t think he was the singer. The singer went on to ‘Precious and Few’. I think he was the guitarist. One on the left???
You may be correct. Sonny Geraci was the Outsider’s lead singer.
It’s amazing how such a band couldn’t make it past their one hit wonder. It’s absolutely perfect in every way. (But they’re not the only ones.)_
Better a good one than lots of crap ones we have today. RIP.
That's also true of They're Coming To Take Me Away.
well done ...
Actually, they were a two hit wonder. Their follow up was a Top 20 hit called “Respectable” originally done by the Isley Bros. It’s a also a great song.
RIP, that is a great song!
I was wrong. They had four hits in the Top 40 as per Wiki.
Ping to a buddy!
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