The Starfires is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 band, founded in Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

 in 1958, by Tom King

Tom King (musician)

Thomas R. King was an American songwriter, guitarist, and arranger. He founded the 1960s rock band The Outsiders, and co-wrote the band's biggest hit song, "Time Won't Let Me".-Life and career:...

 when he was aged 15. The band is sometimes identified as Tom King and the Starfires. King is best known as the original bandleader of the Outsiders

The Outsiders (American band)

The Outsiders was an American rock and roll band from Cleveland, Ohio, that was founded and led by guitarist Tom King. The band is best known for its Top 5 hit "Time Won't Let Me" in early 1966, which peaked at #5 in the US, but the band had three other hit singles in 1966 and released a total of...

; however, it was only at the insistence of Capitol Records

Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...

 that the band's name was changed when they created their breakout hit "Time Won't Let Me". (This is not the same band as the Starfires

The Starfires

The Starfires was an American garage rock band from Los Angeles, that is best known for one of the most sought-after singles of the mid-1960s, "I Never Loved Her", which can command prices of $1000 or more...

, a 1960s Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 garage rock

Garage rock

Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...

 band best known for their track, "I Never Loved Her".)

History

The Starfires were formed by Tom King at Shaw High School in Cleveland in 1958, and remained a popular local band through the mid-1960s. Their forte was rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 instrumental

Instrumental

An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....

s, with occasional vocals by King. Also, his uncle, Patrick Connelly owned a record company, Pama Records; and the band (along with at least one single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 by Tom King individually) produced several sides over this period, notably "Stronger than Dirt" (which charted locally) that was based on a well-known jingle

Jingle

A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...

 for Ajax Laundry Detergent. After a tonsillectomy

Tonsillectomy

A tonsillectomy is a 3,000-year-old surgical procedure in which the tonsils are removed from either side of the throat. The procedure is performed in response to cases of repeated occurrence of acute tonsillitis or adenoiditis, obstructive sleep apnea, nasal airway obstruction, snoring, or...

, King's vocal abilities became limited, so he added a new lead singer, Sonny Geraci

Sonny Geraci

Sonny Geraci is an American musician and singer, best known as the former lead singer of musical groups The Outsiders and Climax.Geraci first became known as the original lead vocalist with The Outsiders, a band from Cleveland, Ohio...

 and changed the band's sound somewhat to match the musical tastes of the period. This led to the eventual creation of the Outsiders.

Post break-up

Tom King, Sonny Geraci, Mert Madsen, Al Austin, Richard Kriss and Ronnie Harkai

Ronald Harkai

Ronald Harkai , often known by the nickname Ronnie, is a musician best known as the drummer on the top-five single “Time Won’t Let Me,” by Cleveland-based rock band The Outsiders....

 were the members of the Starfires when the name was changed to the Outsiders in 1965. All performed on the original recording "Time Won't Let Me" by "The Outsiders"

Walter Nims, Jimmy Fox and Richard D'Amato all performed with the Outsiders at a later time.

Geraci and Nims were among the founding members of Climax

Climax (band)

Climax was an American band formed in 1970 in Los Angeles, California, most noted for their 1971-1972 hit song "Precious and Few," which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and #1 on Cashbox magazine's Top 100 singles chart...

. Jimmy (Jim) Fox and Richard Kriss's brother, Tommy Kriss, were the founders of the James Gang

James Gang

The James Gang was a rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. Though the band was not a huge commercial success, except in the Northeast Ohio area, the fame garnered by guitarist Joe Walsh has since made the group more notable.- History :...

. Harkai was a member of The Pilgrims a popular Cleveland rock band in the early to mid 1960s, prior to joining The Starfires.

Band members

• Tom King, guitarist, vocals
• Walter Nims, lead guitar
• Howard Blank, drums
• Dennis Slifko, saxophone
• Mert Madsen, bass guitar, hamonica
• Tony Sawyer, saxophone (joined in the early 1960s)
• Ray Miller, lead guitar (early 1964)
• Jimmy Fox, drums (joined in the early 1960s)
• Sonny Geraci, lead vocals (joined in 1964)
• Ronnie Harkai
  Ronald Harkai
  Ronald Harkai , often known by the nickname Ronnie, is a musician best known as the drummer on the top-five single “Time Won’t Let Me,” by Cleveland-based rock band The Outsiders....
  
  , drums (joined in 1964)