"One of Cleveland’s key rock and roll pioneers, Tom King, died Saturday at the age of 68 in Wickliffe.

Tom King & the Starfires were one of a number of primarily instrumental combos that formed in the area in the late ’50s and early ’60s, and dominated the local club scene with their superlative chops. But they became better known as the Outsiders after signing a deal with Capitol Records in 1965 and changing their name to sound more contemporary in the post-British Invasion music scene. The Outsiders had a top 5 hit with “Time Won’t Let Me” in early 1966, a song co-written by King, and went on to release four albums for Capitol in less than three years.

Although the band broke up in 1968, both King and vocalist Sonny Geraci attempted to keep the Outsiders momentum going, and Geraci had a post-Outsiders hit with “Precious and Few” in 1971/1972. But the King-led Starfires/Outsiders were the most prominent Cleveland band to weather a decade’s worth of rapid-fire rock-music changes, bridging R&B-influenced ’50s rock, Beatlesque power pop, and even the psychedelic era. The band’s lineup over the years included more than two dozen top area musicians including James Gang founder Jimmy Fox and songwriter Walt Nims who penned “Precious and Few,” but King served as its anchor for a decade."

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

http://themusicsover.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/tom-king/


Rest easy, Mr King.

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Another icon gone.



"Time Won't Let Me" was one of the reasons I added a 12-string Strat to my herd.

And I just heard that Phoebe Snow of "Poetry Man" fame has passed today.

RIP, both.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

It's so sad that hardly a week goes by that we don't lose a star from our past-especially the 60s.The Outsider's "Time Won't Let Me" is on 6 or 7 compilation 60s hits I have.They really came into promenance with that song.Phoebe Snow was also another folk hero of the 60s who will be missed.God Bless them both.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Just heard about Phoebe too...age 60...way too young!

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Time Won't Let Me has always been a huge favorite of mine, high up in my personal Top 10 - took me a long time to finally get The Outsiders on CD: The Outsiders Collectors Series - Capitol 1991, but I finally filled that gap.

It's my understanding that The Outsiders were offered the chance to record Bend Me, Shape Me, but turned it down, only to have it go to #1 when it was released by The American Breed. They suffered from a few other timing gaffs, too, that kept them from being bigger than they were.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

they both will be missed. r.i.p.

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Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancin'

R.I.P. Phoebe Snow and R.I.P. Tom King

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

R.I.P. Mr King, Ms Snow.