capedcrusader
Mark VII Class
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2015
The legendary lead singer of The Shadows Of Knight passed away earlier today, from a stroke, age 75.
As a teen growing up in Rockford, IL in the mid-'60s, The Shadows were GODS, at least to me. They were the epitome of COOL,
especially for the midwest in 1966. I remember buying the Bad Little Woman 45 with its killer picture sleeve at Kresge's Drugs
in late summer of '66 and being sooo envious of their incredible hair. And then hearing "I'm Gonna Make You Mine' roaring out
of my little transistor radio in the winter of '66 was a musical epiphany; had never heard anything that raw & raucous over the
airwaves. WLS only played it for about 4 weeks before banning it, just as it climbed into their top 20, sad to say.
I met Jim a few times over the decades - in the early '70s when he was fronting a hard rock version of the SofK, doing a 20 minute
version of "Gloria"; in the '90s after getting out of prison, where he had fronted his band JIM SOHNS AND THE CONS; then a
couple more times this century when he would use a local pick-up garage band for his gigs. Always was a friendly dude, always
hustling, always on the prowl, even well into his 60s. Once a rock & roll star, always a rock & roll star, that appeared to be his motto.
Rest in peace, Jimy.
As a teen growing up in Rockford, IL in the mid-'60s, The Shadows were GODS, at least to me. They were the epitome of COOL,
especially for the midwest in 1966. I remember buying the Bad Little Woman 45 with its killer picture sleeve at Kresge's Drugs
in late summer of '66 and being sooo envious of their incredible hair. And then hearing "I'm Gonna Make You Mine' roaring out
of my little transistor radio in the winter of '66 was a musical epiphany; had never heard anything that raw & raucous over the
airwaves. WLS only played it for about 4 weeks before banning it, just as it climbed into their top 20, sad to say.
I met Jim a few times over the decades - in the early '70s when he was fronting a hard rock version of the SofK, doing a 20 minute
version of "Gloria"; in the '90s after getting out of prison, where he had fronted his band JIM SOHNS AND THE CONS; then a
couple more times this century when he would use a local pick-up garage band for his gigs. Always was a friendly dude, always
hustling, always on the prowl, even well into his 60s. Once a rock & roll star, always a rock & roll star, that appeared to be his motto.
Rest in peace, Jimy.
