Outsiders - Gimme Bass
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). The band's name was changed in early 1966. Reasons for the name change are 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]
Outsiders - Gimme Bass
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. 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. 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 (rhythm guitar) and Madsen (bass, harmonica) from the original Starfires along with Geraci (vocals) forming the core of the band in the early years. After 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 (a.k.a. Ricky Baker, a stage name given to him because the managers felt Biagiola was too ethnic). With Harkai having departed prior to sessions for the first album, Time Won't Let Me, 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, which included another King/Kelley-written top 40 hit, the ballad "Girl in Love". 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 Number 2, along with Ricky Biagiola. Ricky Biagiola toured with the band for almost 3 years, and was part of 4 LPs and several singles released, until returning home to Cleveland to continue his education.
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".
Besides the funky ferocity of his bass playing, Jamaaladeen Tacuma is famous for his eclectic sartorial ensembles. As the curator of the Outsiders Improvised & Creative Music Festival in Philadelphia over the last five years, Tacuma has presented combinations of musicians that are as colorful and unexpected as his flashy wardrobe tends to be.
Pe baza acestor versuri, "Gimme Bass" de Outsiders pare să fie despre dorința cântăreței de a avea companie umană, în special un bărbat cu care să își petreacă seara. Versurile de început stabilesc o scenă melancolică, cu cântărețul simțindu-se deprimat și singur în apartamentul lor într-o seară întunecată de toamnă. Tânjesc după cineva care să le asculte rugăciunea pentru a avea companie și pentru a alunga umbrele singurătății. Refrenul repetat "gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme a man after midnight" subliniază disperarea cântărețului pentru un partener romantic care să îl ducă prin întuneric și să îl ducă la lumina zilei. În general, cântecul transmite un sentiment de dor și dorință romantică pentru dragoste și companie. 041b061a72