MIKE GERACI
Back in 1958, Tom King, at the tender age of 15, started things off with a rhythm and blues band that he formed called the Starfires. Their repertoire was mostly instrumentals, with occasional vocals by Tom King; they were local favorites, playing up to six shows per week, and had a minor local hit based on the popular TV commercial, “Stronger than Dirt” for Ajax laundry detergent. (Ajax had basically invented advertising jingles years earlier). When Tom King began to lose his voice, he brought in Sonny Geraci and his brother Mike Geraci; and the band quickly began to transition to the more modern sounds being ushered in by Motown and the nascent British Invasion. Their legacy as a hard-working R&B band helped them successfully compete against the Brits.
(February 2010)
