May 21, 2021 —– Chart #92
Hello Musical Friends,
Welcome to Friday and the 92nd edition of Chart of the Day. Today we are going back to 1966 and a band that had only one real hit. “Time Won’t Let Me” is a garage rock song that was recorded by the Outsiders, from Cleveland, Ohio, in September 1965, and which became a major hit in the United States in 1966, reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week of April 16 of that year. It is ranked as the 42nd biggest American hit of 1966. In Canada, the song also reached #5 in the weekly charts.
The song was composed by the band’s guitarist Tom King along with Chet Kelley. Its basic arrangement was augmented by a horn section, applied in an unobtrusive manner so as not to detract from the band’s fundamental sound, which on this occasion features a signature riff from a twelve string electric guitar. The song also features an electric organ with a vibrato, heard in the verses. The song also features a complex counterpoint melody in the other vocals in the coda section, where the scream trumpet is heard before the song’s fade. Lead vocals were provided by Sonny Geraci, who also sang lead on the 1972 hit, “Precious and Few” by his later band, Climax (not Climax Blues Band).
Leading up to the success of “Time Won’t Let Me,” the Outsiders had an advantage over the numerous American bands that formed in the wake of the British Invasion in that they had been active in the Cleveland scene for years, starting in 1958 as a rhythm & blues combo called the Starfires. They were founded that year by guitarist and saxophonist Tom King who at the time was only fifteen. By early 1965 the band’s membership consisted of King on rhythm guitar, Al Austin, who was later substituted by Bill Bruno, on lead guitar, Mert Madsen on bass, and Jim Fox (later of the James Gang) on drums. Later that year, Fox departed for college and was replaced by Ronnie Harkai, who would play on “Time Won’t Let Me.” Also in 1965 they brought in Sonny Gerachi, later in Climax, to handle the lead vocals.
The group was under contract with Pama Records, which was owned by King’s uncle, Patrick Connelly, and in late 1965 they recorded “Time Won’t Let Me” for the label. Sufficiently impressed upon hearing it, Capitol Records signed the band on the strength of the song, and shortly thereafter King changed the band’s name from the Starfires to the Outsiders, possibly at the urging of the new label. One account of the change was that King and Kelley had become “outsiders” within the family as a result of the label switch.
Enjoy this one-hit wonder!
Better audio quality on this one: https://youtu.be/7n7tXxodPaU
As covered by The Smithereens: https://youtu.be/Ljyt_45I6nw
This one cracked me up. Reminds me of BYO musicians. Check out these cool band outfits: https://youtu.be/tNvqU6u1Qv0
Check out these girls from Lubbock covering the song less than 9 months after its initial release: https://youtu.be/BJiJSZZ58oc
Keep rockin’ my friends,
Stan