Outsiders Tickets

Outsiders
If you are one of the millions rock & roll enthusiast, then you must have heard about the song Time Won't Let Me. Hails as one of the all-time favorites of rock & roll, the song came to us from the band that is considered the powerhouse of talent and music.

We are talking about the phenomenal band The Outsiders that rocked the 60s with their extremely wonderful music. Let us take you to the journey of this talented band.

Based in Cleveland, Ohio, this American rock and roll group has gone through many good and bad times, but has never compromised on their quality and commitment to their work. The band was a brainchild of a great guitarist, composer and arranger Tom King who started this band as Tom King And The Starfires.

Founded in 1958, this hard-working band initially became popular locally in Cleveland and adjacent areas. But as they say that music has no boundaries, hence the band popularity soon reached all over America as they delivered some of the most memorable music of 1960s.

Tom King And The Starfires comprised of the perfect blend of amazing musicians; Al Austin on guitars, Met Madsen on bass and Rick Biagiola and Baker on drums. They played as garden-variety bar band till 1965. The year saw the addition of eighteen year old vocalist Sonny Geraci that infused new life in the group and they started working together for Pama Records, a label owned by Toms uncle.

The band made a dozen unreleased tunes for the label until signed by Capitol records for their debut work that is now regarded as one of the masterpieces of rock and roll world.Time Won't Let Me became the claim to fame for The Outsiders. The song was written by Tom and his brother-in-law Chet Kelley. The band recorded the song on their own and blended its core sound with brass and horn sections.

This fairly complex arrangement resulted in a beautiful track that earned them a recording deal by Capitol Records. The only condition that the record laid was the change of bands name and they did it by adopting the new name The Outsiders.

Time Won't Let Me was the first hit single of the band. Released on January 1966, the song brought instant success for the Outsiders. This infectious slice of classic American pop got popular among the masses and classics and reached number five on the national charts. Everybody loved their unique sound and the single sold over a million copies.

The Outsiders then released the second single Girl in Love, that also enjoyed good sales and positive reviews. The single showed another side of the group's sound as this reflective ballad with a lush string accompaniment was perfectly ornamented with electric guitars and beautiful vocals. The single reached number 21 creating enough anticipation for the release of their full-fledge album.

The wait was over in the spring of 1966 when The Time Won't Let Me LP was finally released; containing the two hit songs and many others rock & roll hits. The LP reached number 37 on the charts and gained both commercial and critical acclaim. What makes the debut album even more special was the addition of Jimmy Fox who played guitars on the album on the invitation of Tom King.

Outsiders #2 was the title of the group's second album. The beautiful album contained many notable songs including Respectable that was pegged as their third best single and raised to number fifteen nationally.

Besides this hit version of the Isley Brothers number, the album also boosted of another great melody Help Me Girl that stalled at number 37. The Outsiders released their third album in April 1967. Titled In, the album had a hit single Gotta Leave Us Alone. However, it never reached the top 100 charts nor did any other song form the album.

After working together for three successful albums, the group's line-up started shifting focus on other things. King and Kelley began working with a Cleveland-based songwriter named Bob Turek, Mert Madsen got married and left the band while other the lead singer also started working with others bands.

This resulted in the abandonment of the idea of fourth album and a concert album, entitled Happening Live was released instead. The album enjoyed a decent reputation among some serious '60s music enthusiasts because of the way it was produced.

Rather than simply adding crowd noise to the existing finished recordings, as was the trend then; the producers went back to the multi-tracks of the originals and removed the overdubbed strings, brass, and horns, which allowed listeners to appreciate the groups sound even better.

In 1968, an album called 30 Years Live was released by a re-formed band that featured original guitarist Tom King, but minus Sonny Geraci. This proved the last album by the band till yet as it was followed only by compilation cds.

The first one came in 1985 by Rhino Records while the other in 1991 by Capitol Records gave the group their truly deserving place in the Capitol Collectors Series with a very good 25-song compilation.

Besides being the kings of rock & roll, The Outsiders were also one of the few white American soul-influenced bands of that time. Their work has influenced many of the pop and rock groups of the mid and late 60's. With songs like Girl In Love, Respectable, Help Me Girl and the celebrated masterpiece Time Won't Let Me; the band given a huge variety of quality work in just three years and four albums.

With the news of The Outsiders gearing up again for more albums and concerts are floating around, the 60s music lovers can rejoice again as their ideals are coming back with a bang.

As far as the current generation of music passionates is concerned, they should also watch out for The Outsiders as they may have never seen such great musicians with such great sound. Go for The Outsiders and experience the magic of 60s music.