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| I can think of many worse states of mind, honestly. |
The Hit
Yessir, the One Hit No More project has definitely entered into a personal blind-spot, the space between what one hears on “oldies stations” - say, The Outsiders’ “Time Won’t Let Me” - and a tune like 1971’s chart-topper, “Precious and Few,” by a band called Climax. A sensual ballad that threatens to tumble into sappy for the length of its playing time, built around tones warm as wrapping yourself in a blanket in front of a smoldering fire (those strings, those horns!), the song has a powerfully intimate feel to it. The languor in the vocals suggest either seduction or its aftermath…but even that flirts with parody. Still, it communicates a mood you can’t miss.
I mentioned “Time Won’t Let Me” in the same thought as “Precious and Few” because they came from the same band - or at least members of both. The singer was the same - Sonny Geraci, a Cleveland, Ohio native, who had the (semi-)rare honor of posting chart-toppers with two different bands - and (for lack of a better word) dated as his vocals sound in both projects, that’s a question of phrasing, not quality. Geraci had range to spare…and he looked like a solid showman.
The Rest of the Story
It started in Cleveland and ends in Los Angeles, for one, and with yet another band, The Starfires. Geraci recalls most of that band as “old, older than I – 22, 23 – and tired of the game,” but he heard the promise of a number by Tom King and Chet Kelley (“Time Won’t Let Me,” as it happens). Based on what he told Classic Bands (when? don’t know; those are always undated), he sort of took over the band, replacing the drummer and a guitarist with people who shared his enthusiasm. They released the single as The Outsiders (there’s a fun, minor dispute as to why) and the #5 hit sent them on their way to weeks-long tours, first with Paul Revere and the Raiders, then on one of a Gene Pitney package tours that included bands like ? and the Mysterians, The Shadows of Knight and a west coast act called The Seeds (that was the second of two Pitney tours, both in 1966?).
The Outsiders released four albums, three of which sold well, and they posted a couple more hits (e.g., “Girl in Love” and “Respectable”), but, like a lot of bands from that era, management pinched a little more than its share. Per a quote attributed to Geraci on One Hit Wonders the Book:
“That was our big year, 1966, but it was all over for us. By the end of the year, our manager had a Porsche; we didn’t. We could see that we weren’t getting our money, and it just tore us apart.”
Yessir, the One Hit No More project has definitely entered into a personal blind-spot, the space between what one hears on “oldies stations” - say, The Outsiders’ “Time Won’t Let Me” - and a tune like 1971’s chart-topper, “Precious and Few,” by a band called Climax. A sensual ballad that threatens to tumble into sappy for the length of its playing time, built around tones warm as wrapping yourself in a blanket in front of a smoldering fire (those strings, those horns!), the song has a powerfully intimate feel to it. The languor in the vocals suggest either seduction or its aftermath…but even that flirts with parody. Still, it communicates a mood you can’t miss.
I mentioned “Time Won’t Let Me” in the same thought as “Precious and Few” because they came from the same band - or at least members of both. The singer was the same - Sonny Geraci, a Cleveland, Ohio native, who had the (semi-)rare honor of posting chart-toppers with two different bands - and (for lack of a better word) dated as his vocals sound in both projects, that’s a question of phrasing, not quality. Geraci had range to spare…and he looked like a solid showman.
The Rest of the Story
It started in Cleveland and ends in Los Angeles, for one, and with yet another band, The Starfires. Geraci recalls most of that band as “old, older than I – 22, 23 – and tired of the game,” but he heard the promise of a number by Tom King and Chet Kelley (“Time Won’t Let Me,” as it happens). Based on what he told Classic Bands (when? don’t know; those are always undated), he sort of took over the band, replacing the drummer and a guitarist with people who shared his enthusiasm. They released the single as The Outsiders (there’s a fun, minor dispute as to why) and the #5 hit sent them on their way to weeks-long tours, first with Paul Revere and the Raiders, then on one of a Gene Pitney package tours that included bands like ? and the Mysterians, The Shadows of Knight and a west coast act called The Seeds (that was the second of two Pitney tours, both in 1966?).
The Outsiders released four albums, three of which sold well, and they posted a couple more hits (e.g., “Girl in Love” and “Respectable”), but, like a lot of bands from that era, management pinched a little more than its share. Per a quote attributed to Geraci on One Hit Wonders the Book:
“That was our big year, 1966, but it was all over for us. By the end of the year, our manager had a Porsche; we didn’t. We could see that we weren’t getting our money, and it just tore us apart.”
