"Time Won't Let Me" is a

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

song that was recorded by the Outsiders in September 1965. The song became a major hit in the United States in 1966, reaching #5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the week of April 16 of that year. It is ranked as the 42nd biggest American hit of 1966. In Canada, the song also reached #5 in the weekly charts.

History

Background

In contrast to the numerous American bands that formed in the wake of the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...

, the musicians who became the Outsiders had been active in the

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

music scene since 1958, when fifteen year old guitarist and saxophonist Tom King founded the band as a

rhythm & blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

combo called the Starfires. pg. 52 By early 1965 the band's membership consisted of King on rhythm guitar, Al Austin on lead guitar (later substituted by Bill Bruno), Mert Madsen on bass, and Jim Fox on drums. Later that year, Fox departed for college and was replaced by Ronnie Harkai, who would play drums on "Time Won't Let Me." Around the same time, the band recruited

Sonny Geraci Emmett Peter "Sonny" Geraci ("Jer-ah-see"); November 22, 1946 – February 5, 2017) was an American singer, best known as lead singer of musical groups The Outsiders and Climax. Biography Geraci first became known as the original lead vocal ...

to handle the lead vocals. The group was under contract with Pama Records, which was owned by King's uncle, Patrick Connelly. In late 1965 the band recorded "Time Won't Let Me" locally at

Cleveland Recording Company Cleveland Recording Company was a historic recording studio located in the Carnegie Hall building at 1220 Huron Road in Cleveland, Ohio. The studio produced many hit records in the 1960s and 1970s by artists such as James Gang and Grand Funk Railr ...

for Pama. Sufficiently impressed upon hearing it,

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

signed the band on the strength of the song, and shortly thereafter King changed the band's name from the Starfires to the Outsiders, possibly at the urging of the new label. One account of the change was that King and Kelley had become "outsiders" within the family as a result of the label switch.

Composition

The song was composed by the band's guitarist Tom King and Chet Kelley. A simple, catchy, and danceable tune, the song's basic arrangement is augmented by a horn section, applied in an unobtrusive manner so as not to detract from the band's fundamental sound, which on this occasion features a signature riff from a twelve-string electric guitar. The song also features an electric organ with vibrato, heard in the verses, and a complex counterpoint melody in the other vocals in the coda section, where the scream trumpet is heard before the song's fade. The song's lyrics are about rejecting a love relationship, the lead singer stating that he cannot wait forever, even though his love interest wants him to wait, because time won't let him be involved in the waiting game.

Release

"Time Won't Let Me" was released as a single on Capitol Records in January 1966 and was backed with "Was it Really Real" on the flipside. King produced the record and, along with Tommy Baker, was instrumental in the horn arrangements. The song went on to become a huge nationwide hit for the group, reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the week of April 16. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

—a feat the band would never again be able to match. In 1966 the Outsiders recorded their debut album for Capitol, ''

Time Won't Let Me "Time Won't Let Me" is a garage rock song that was recorded by the Outsiders in September 1965. The song became a major hit in the United States in 1966, reaching #5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the week of April 16 of that year. It is ranke ...

'', titled after the hit song. Produced by Tom King, the album included five original songs written by King and Kelley. They proved to be a formidable songwriting team, and the band was also adept at handling

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

s of R&B songs. Drummer Ronnie Harkai departed shortly after the recording of "Time Won't Let Me" to join the Air Force, and Jim Fox returned briefly to fill in, playing on most of the remaining cuts recorded for the album. Following the recording of the album, Bennie Benson became the group's drummer, later to be replaced by Ricky Baker. The Outsiders promoted their hit single with almost a year of nationwide touring, as "Time Won't Let Me" stayed on the national charts for 15 weeks. The band first toured with

Paul Revere and the Raiders Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolu ...

and then with

Chad and Jeremy Chad & Jeremy were a British musical duo consisting of Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, who began working in 1962 and had their first hit song in the UK with " Yesterday's Gone" (1963). That song became a hit in the United States in the following y ...

, and later were part of a six-week tour of one-night stands headed by

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

, and which included seven or eight other acts, among them

Len Barry Leonard Warren Borisoff (June 12, 1942 – November 5, 2020), known professionally as Len Barry, was an American singer, songwriter, lyricist, record producer, author, and poet. Life and career Born on June 12, 1942 and raised in Philadelphia, ...

B.J. Thomas Billy Joe Thomas (August 7, 1942 – May 29, 2021) was an American singer widely known for his pop, country and Christian hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Popular songs by Thomas include "Hooked on a Feeling" (1968), "Raindrops Keep Fallin' ...

, and

Bobby Goldsboro Robert Charles Goldsboro (born January 18, 1941) is an American pop and country singer and songwriter. He had a string of pop and country hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature No. 1 hit "Honey", which sold over 1 million copies in ...

. Afterwards, the Outsiders joined a four-week tour with several

and

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

bands, such as

the Seeds The Seeds were an American psychedelic garage rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965, best known for their highest charting single " Pushin' Too Hard". The band's classic line-up featured frontman Sky Saxon, guitarist Jan Savag ...

and

the Shadows of Knight The Shadows of Knight were an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, that played a version of British blues influenced by their native city. When they began recording in 1965, the band's self-description was "the Stones, Animals and the Ya ...

. They also made a national television appearance on ''Hullabaloo.''

Personnel

The Outsiders

– lead vocals * Tom King – rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Al Austin – lead guitar * Mert Madsen – bass guitar, backing vocals arrangements * Ronnie Harkai – drums There is also an uncredited electric organist.

Additional session musicians

* Mike Geraci – baritone saxophone *

John Madrid John Madrid (born John R.Madrid, January 2, 1948 - February 21, 1990) was a jazz and pop trumpeter, active mainly from 1966 to 1989. He was most notable professionally as a lead trumpet artist due to his accuracy and endurance.Loza, Steven Joseph ...

– trumpet *Tommy Baker – horns arrangements *Unknown – backing vocals

Discography

Single

*"Time Won't Let Me" b/w "Was it Really Real" (Capitol 5573, January 1966)

Album

*''

'' (Capitol 1966)

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* {{Authority control 1966 songs 1966 singles Eddie and the Hot Rods songs Capitol Records singles