The Outsiders (American band)

The Outsiders were a continuation of the Starfires (see article); Tom King, Sonny Geraci, Mert Madsen, Richard Kriss, Al Austin and Howard Blank, (who was replaced by Ronnie Harkai before the recording of "Time Won't Let Me"). The name was changed to The Outsiders after the recording of "Time Won't Let Me." After that at various times a total of five former Starfires were members of the Outsiders at one time or another performing on various studio sessions and traveling on the road. The band was signed to Capitol Records on the strength of their late 1965 recording of "Time Won't Let Me" (written by King and his brother-in-law, Chet Kelley), leaving a local recording label headed by King's uncle, Patrick Connelly (Pama Records); at this time, the band's name was changed in early 1966. (Most of the band's original songs were written by King and Kelley, although another songwriter, Bob Turek was working with the band by 1967.) Reasons for the name change were unclear, although most sources state that it was at the insistence of their new record label.[1] One popular story about the new name was that King and Kelley had become "outsiders" within the family as a result of the label shift.[2] "Time Won't Let Me" sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.[3]

The Outsiders had a built-in advantage over the numerous American bands that formed in the wake of the British Invasion. Rather than being neophytes, The Starfires had been a very active rhythm and blues band in the Cleveland scene since 1958, often playing six shows a week. King and Kelley proved to be a formidable songwriting team, and the band was also adept at handling covers of R&B standards. King also headed the band's horn section and served as the arranger and sometime producer.

The Outsiders promoted their hit single with about a year of nationwide touring, as "Time Won't Let Me" stayed on the national charts for 15 weeks (although their music was released in other countries, the band never toured overseas). The band first toured with Paul Revere and the Raiders and then with Chad and Jeremy. Later, the Outsiders were part of a six-week tour of one-night stands headed by Gene Pitney, and which included seven or eight other acts, among them Len Barry, B.J. Thomas and Bobby Goldsboro. Afterwards, the Outsiders joined a four-week tour with several garage rock and psychedelic rock bands, as recalled by Geraci:

"[W]e did a tour after Pitney with the McCoys, ourselves and ? and the Mysterians, the Shadows of Knight and a group from the west coast called the Seeds...A guy called Pete Shelton from England joined us on bass for this tour. Pete stayed with us until we could find a replacement...he then stayed on for a short while as 'Tour Manager'. There were five rock bands. Was that a crazy tour!"[4]

There were several line-up changes over the years, with King and Madsen from the original Starfires along with vocalist Sonny Geraci forming the core of the band in the early years. After drummer Ronnie Harkai left to join the Air Force, Denny Benson briefly handled drumming duties for the band. Tom King then invited Ricky Biagiola to join the band (aka Ricky Baker, a stage name given to him because the managers felt Biagiola was too ethnic). With Ronnie Harkai having departed prior to sessions for the first album, former Starfire Jimmy Fox (who had left the earlier band to go to college) was brought in by King to be the drummer for the remaining tracks of Time Won't Let Me. Following these sessions, Fox decided to return to the music world and founded a band in 1966 called the James Gang that would enjoy considerable success over the coming decade.[1] Ronnie Harkai returned to record cuts on the second album Album No. 2, along with Ricky Biagiola. Ricky Biagiola toured with the band for almost 3 years, and was part of 4 LP's and several singles released, until returning home to Cleveland to continue his education.

A short-lived but memorable cover of the Isley Brothers' "Respectable" from Album No. 2 reached No. 15 in early September 1966. The Outsiders had performed "Respectable" during their earlier years as the Starfires.[4]

A single by outside songwriters, "Help Me Girl" (from The Outsiders In), had to compete with a version released in the same time period by the Animals. By some accounts, the Animals had already recorded their version, although they assured The Outsiders that they had not.[4] The Outsiders' version peaked at No. 37. They recorded another track by the same songwriters for their third album, but it was not released as a single. The song, "Bend Me, Shape Me", became a major hit on both sides of the Atlantic in early 1968 when it was covered by the American Breed in the US and by Amen Corner in the UK.

After Mert Madsen left the Outsiders to get married, two other ex-Starfires, Walter Nims and Richard D'Amato, plus Richie D'Angelo on drums joined the band. Other session players were brought in to beef up the band's recordings, among them drummer Hal Blaine and bassist Carol Kaye of the Wrecking Crew; also, some recordings were produced by Richard Delvy, who had worked with Sonny and Cher.[4] Joe Kelley (no relation to Chet Kelley), lead guitarist for the Shadows of Knight, made a guest appearance on the 1967 single "Gotta Leave Us Alone".

Capitol gave tentative approval for a fourth album, which was to have been named after this single, Leave Us Alone. However, the project was abandoned midway through, in favor of a faux live album called Happening Live!, where crowd noises plus song and bandmember introductions by Sonny Geraci were added to stripped-down studio renditions of older recordings, along with some recordings by the new line-up. Not long thereafter, the group disbanded.

The Outsiders were one of the early white American soul-influenced bands.[2] In fact, the band's "Lonely Man" was bootlegged by a small British label and released in the UK, miscredited to Northern Soul band the Detroit Shakers and retitled "Help Me Find My Way."[5] The sound they first created, combining Mersey Rock & Motown, can be felt in the later hits of the Buckinghams and Chicago. Jim Guercio, who would manage both of these Chicago groups, had toured with the Outsiders as a musician on the Gene Pitney Caravan.

[1][6]

• Sonny Geraci, lead vocals
• John Madrid, trumpet
• Al Austin, lead guitar
• Gayle Guhde, keyboards
• Tom King, rhythm guitar, backing vocals, tenor saxophone
• Mert Madsen, bass, harmonica
• Ronnie Harkai, drums

[1][6]

• Tom King, rhythm guitar, tenor saxophone, vocals
• Sonny Geraci, lead vocals
• Mert Madsen, bass guitar, harmonica
• Bill Bruno, lead guitar
• Rick Biagiola, drums
• Jeff Silber, bass guitar

[1]

• Tom King, rhythm guitar, tenor saxophone, vocals
• Sonny Geraci, lead vocals
• Richard D'Amato, bass guitar
• Walter Nims, lead guitar
• Ricky Biagiola, drums

• Tom King, guitar, background vocals
• Walter Nims, guitar, background vocals
• Rob Mitchell, vocals, bass guitar
• Eddie Soto, vocals
• Ted Sikora, guitar, background vocals
• Dave Hershy, horns
• Joe Potnicky, keyboards
• Dan King, drums
• Rusty Schmidt, vocals
• Nick Farcas, keyboards
• Scott Ingram, bass guitar

[11]

• "Time Won't Let Me" b/w "Was It Really Real" – Capitol 5573, (Second pressing on the red/orange target label with target logo)
• "Time Won't Let Me" b/w "Girl In Love" – Capitol Starline 6165 (Released on the red/white, tan and purple label variations)

• "Time Won't Let Me" b/w "Was It Really Real" – Capitol #K 23187; rel. 1966 in West Germany, violet label
• "Respectable" b/w "Lost In My World" – Jolly #J-20387; rel. in 1966 in Italy

• "Time Won't Let Me" and "Listen People" b/w "Girl In Love" and "Rockin' Robin" - Capitol #EAP4-2501; rel. 1966 in Mexico, 7"
• "Listen People" and "Keep on Running" b/w "Time Won't Let Me" and "Maybe Baby" – Capitol #EAP-4-2501; rel. 1967 in Brazil, 7"
• "Gotta Leave Us Alone" and "I Just Can't See You Anymore" b/w "I'll See You In The Summertime" and "And Now You Want My Sympathy" - Capitol #EAP1-20984; rel. 1967 in Mexico, 7"
• "Keep on Running" and "My Girl" b/w "Time Won't Let Me" and "Was it Really Real" – American #TK-45, black and yellow label; 7"

• Time Won't Let Me – Capitol #T-2501/#ST-2501; rel. 5/1966 (#37)
• Album No. 2 – Capitol #T-2568/#ST-2568; rel. 9/1966 (#90)
• The Outsiders In – Capitol #T-2636/#ST-2636; rel. 1/1967 (Did not chart)
• Leave Us Alone – Capitol (No catalogue number, cancelled before release. However, a tentative album cover slick for this release is shown in the "collage" of The Outsiders' "Capitol Collectors Series" CD booklet)

• Happening Live! – Capitol #T-2745/#ST-2745; rel. 8/1967 (#103)
• 30 Years Live – Collectables; rel. 1996

• Happening Live! – Capitol #POP 672; rel. 1985 in Mexico
• Time Won't Let Me and Album No. 2 (plus bonus tracks); two-fer CD reissue – Liberty Bell #PCD 4365 (unofficial disc)
• The Outsiders In! and Happening Live! (plus bonus tracks); two-fer CD reissue – Liberty Bell #PCD 4366 (unofficial disc)

• Capitol Collectors Series – Capitol; rel. 1991
• Best of the Outsiders – Rhino #RNLP 70132 / #RNC 70132; rel. 1986
• Collectors Series – Collectables; rel. 1996

[12]

• Time Won't Let Me

1. Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968 (box set)
2. Nuggets from Nuggets (CD)
3. Nuggets, Volume 3 (LP)
4. Pride from Cleveland Past (LP)

"Time Won't Let Me" has also been included on many other compilation albums that are aimed at mainstream audiences; Allmusic lists more than 40 such albums.

• I'm Not Trying to Hurt You

1. Pebbles, Volume 9 (LP)

• Lost in My World

1. Nuggets, Volume 4 (LP)

• And Now You Want My Sympathy

1. Psychedelic Archives – USA Garage, Volume 1 (Cassette)