Sonny Geraci obit

Sonny Geraci, lead singer of legendary Cleveland rock group The Outsiders, dead at 69

 

He was not on the list.

Sonny Geraci, the Cleveland-born pop singer who scored national hits as lead singer of The Outsiders in the 1960s and Climax in the 1970s, has died, according to multiple reports. He was 69, and had been in ill health since suffering a brain aneurysm in 2012.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Sonny Geraci, the Cleveland-born pop singer who scored national hits as lead singer of The Outsiders in the 1960s and Climax in the 1970s, has died, according to multiple media reports. He was 69, and had been in ill health since suffering a brain aneurysm in 2012.

Geraci, a graduate of John Adams High School, became lead singer of The Starfires in 1964. The band, founded by guitarist and songwriter Tom King soon changed its name to The Outsiders and put four singles on the U.S. pop charts during the late 1960s, including "Time Won't Let Me," "Girl in Love," "Help Me Girl" and "Respectable (What Kind of Girl Is This)," a remake of the Isley Brothers tune.

Geraci left the band in 1970, striking out on his own and eventually forming the band Climax with Walter Nims, who had been a member of both the Starfires and The Outsiders. That group later scored a Top 3 single with "Precious and Few," written by Nims. Climax disbanded in 1975.

Geraci left the music business in the early 1980s, but tried a comeback, under the pseudonym Peter Emmett, in 1983, releasing an unsuccessful album on MCA. Later, he played the oldies circuit, performed for a time with the Grass Roots and toured from 2007-2012 as Sonny Geraci and the Outsiders.

In 1983, Geraci assumed the pseudonym Peter Emmett for an MCA project called "The Peter Emmett Story". Intended as a comeback vehicle for Geraci, he was backed in the studio by Donnie Iris's band, The Cruisers. A band called North Coast, pictured on the album sleeve, was put together after the recording had been made with The Cruisers. The band played shows in the Cleveland/Akron area before disbanding a few years later. In 2002, he filled in for his friend Rob Grill as lead vocalist for The Grass Roots and became an honorary member of the band.

After 25 years away from the music industry, Geraci started to perform again and in 2007 toured under the name "Sonny Geraci and The Outsiders". In April 2012, Geraci suffered a brain aneurysm (specifically, a cerebral arteriovenous malformation), requiring intensive care.

From November 15–16, 2013, a benefit concert for Geraci was held at the Z-Plex at Stringz 'N Wingz in Streetsboro, Ohio. The benefit concert featured several musicians and groups including The Rip Chords, Dennis Tufano, Gary Lewis, Frank Stallone, Gary DeCarlo, Joey Molland, Terry Sylvester, Billy Joe Royal, Ron Dante, Pat Upton, Jim Gold, The Shadows of Knight, The Michael Weber Show, Johnny Farina, The Vogues, and the 1910 Fruitgum Company.