{"artistName":"Starfire","artistId":116927,"artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/188/188c5120e21365c2fe6e37159d3fbdc7_xl.jpg","srcset":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/188/188c5120e21365c2fe6e37159d3fbdc7_sm.jpg 50w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/188/188c5120e21365c2fe6e37159d3fbdc7_md.jpg 80w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/188/188c5120e21365c2fe6e37159d3fbdc7_lg.jpg 200w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/188/188c5120e21365c2fe6e37159d3fbdc7_xl.jpg 340w","artistBio":"\u003cp\u003eThe Starfires is an American rock and roll band, founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1958, by Tom King 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; however, it was only at the insistence of Capitol Records 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, a 1960s Los Angeles garage rock band best known for their track, \"I Never Loved Her\".) \n History\nThe 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 instrumentals, 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 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 for Ajax Laundry Detergent. After a tonsillectomy, King's vocal abilities became limited, so he added a new lead singer, Sonny Geraci and changed the band's sound somewhat to match the musical tastes of the period. This led to the eventual creation of the Outsiders. \n Post break-up\nTom King, Sonny Geraci, Mert Madsen, Al Austin, Richard Kriss and Ronnie Harkai 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\" \nWalter Nims, Jimmy Fox and Richard D'Amato all performed with the Outsiders at a later time. \nGeraci and Nims were among the founding members of Climax. Jimmy (Jim) Fox and Richard Kriss's brother, Tommy Kriss, were the founders of the James Gang. Harkai was a member of The Pilgrims a popular Cleveland rock band in the early to mid 1960s, prior to joining The Starfires. \n Band members\n\nTom King, guitarist, vocals, \nWalter Nims, lead guitar, \nHoward Blank, drums, \nDennis Slifko, saxophone, \nMert Madsen, bass guitar, hamonica, \nTony Sawyer, saxophone (joined in the early 1960s), \nRay Miller, lead guitar (early 1964), \nJimmy Fox, drums (joined in the early 1960s), \nSonny Geraci, lead vocals (joined in 1964), \nRonnie Harkai, drums (joined in 1964)\u003c/p\u003e","musicPath":"/music/Starfire","playStationPath":"/stations/283168219/play","stationId":283168219,"bioPath":"/music/Starfire/_full_bio","similars":[{"musicPath":"/music/Majic+ship","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/c00/c001ae26aa563e3b365c5e8fb5647b4a_md.jpg","artistName":"Majic ship","artistId":114671,"station_id":282639680},{"musicPath":"/music/Brief+Encounter","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/45e/45e72979e9990bd5822c100619be9894_md.jpg","artistName":"Brief Encounter","artistId":4906,"station_id":115678666},{"musicPath":"/music/Ebony+Rhythm+Band","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/259/25919f9863ee93c0d049c0d4507e0770_md.jpg","artistName":"Ebony Rhythm Band","artistId":113371,"station_id":282569269},{"musicPath":"/music/Bobby+Thurston","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/c38/c38c905920fd3e50ce4663e1e9b3179d_md.jpg","artistName":"Bobby Thurston","artistId":112517,"station_id":282360176},{"musicPath":"/music/Space+Farm","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/cf4/cf4066dea38dab92b7bc9f5a05b99c06_md.jpg","artistName":"Space Farm","artistId":441129,"station_id":400915546},{"musicPath":"/music/Fresh+Air","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/937/937fe9199746353dacf79169c48274ec_md.jpg","artistName":"Fresh Air","artistId":113394,"station_id":304065551},{"musicPath":"/music/Truth+and+Janey","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/e53/e53056e759a55672ea1bfe0041e9faa9_md.jpg","artistName":"Truth and Janey","artistId":119565,"station_id":283329149},{"musicPath":"/music/Human+Instinct","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/92a/92afbd6d2a293e5300756d7a978667f5_md.jpg","artistName":"Human Instinct","artistId":110730,"station_id":282142233},{"musicPath":"/music/Grace+Slick+The+Great+Society","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/aaa/aaa86d5ada0a9e06d1052d9f346a2bda_md.jpg","artistName":"Grace Slick \u0026 The Great Society","artistId":109077,"station_id":281863559},{"musicPath":"/music/Tucky+Buzzard","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/7ed/7ed43231ed2616d20cccb6fa07c688d4_md.jpg","artistName":"Tucky Buzzard","artistId":107884,"station_id":282140137},{"musicPath":"/music/Fuzzy+Duck","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/328/328557ad38ae7ea6c176a4b8803395f0_md.jpg","artistName":"Fuzzy Duck","artistId":131800,"station_id":285397890},{"musicPath":"/music/KAK","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/b4e/b4eb55d74e771860beaf4d3869312bc5_md.jpg","artistName":"KAK","artistId":112908,"station_id":282284997},{"musicPath":"/music/Granicus","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/2a1/2a1feac37dc5f96b9440d94d8c248432_md.jpg","artistName":"Granicus","artistId":139118,"station_id":287143563},{"musicPath":"/music/Stark+Naked","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/71b/71b91e2710abc2c75491e7162f4b8cf0_md.jpg","artistName":"Stark Naked","artistId":112425,"station_id":282360134},{"musicPath":"/music/Blonde+on+Blonde","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/d5f/d5f183ca1fafc3d6634f3d3c3f5e1740_md.jpg","artistName":"Blonde on Blonde","artistId":131530,"station_id":285397740},{"musicPath":"/music/Vicki+Anderson","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/80b/80b5b0612826e5ede70db6c253b4f4f2_md.jpg","artistName":"Vicki Anderson","artistId":113177,"station_id":282569178},{"musicPath":"/music/La+Revolucion+De+Emiliano+Zapata","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/729/729e3aa7c80d5e95bea91437e263ff98_md.jpg","artistName":"La Revolucion De Emiliano Zapata","artistId":118322,"station_id":283168891},{"musicPath":"/music/General+Crook","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/7a9/7a9b3bb361f44ce737ca87d9418d8fd3_md.jpg","artistName":"General Crook","artistId":133424,"station_id":399289729}]}