Thomas Coley from Parson recently sent me the following email:
"I came across the blog while searching for a music group from Wilkes-Barre who were a one hit wonder in the late 60's early 70's.
"I went through the blog archives and did not see any reference to The Buoys who had a controversial hit with Timothy in 1971. I remembered them, as they used to practice some times a block from my home in Parsons, and always liked the song."
"I went through the blog archives and did not see any reference to The Buoys who had a controversial hit with Timothy in 1971. I remembered them, as they used to practice some times a block from my home in Parsons, and always liked the song."
The Buoys was a progressive rock band from the early 1970s. Based in Wilkes-Barre, band members included Bill Kelly (later of the 1990s group Dakota), Fran Brozena, Jerry Hludzik, Carl Siracuse, Chris Hanlon, and Sally Rosoff. Many of their songs (including their major hit Timothy), were written by and featured piano by Rupert Holmes, best known for the 1979 hit Escape (The Pina Colada Song) and the Tony-winning musicals The Mystery Of Edwin Drood and Curtains.
The Buoys are primarily know as a one-hit wonder for their 1971 hit Timothy, which reached number 17 on the Billboard charts. Set against a groovy beat, Timothy tells the story of three men stuck in a mine after a cave-in. At the conclusion of the song, only two men leave the mine alive--with full stomachs--and Timothy is never heard from again.
When released in 1971, those listeners who thought Timothy was just a song with a good beat were quite shocked when they discovered the theme of cannibalism in the lyrics.
To read the complete lyrics of Timothy, click here.
There is a certain enigma and mystery about Timothy, due to several rumors--from Rupert Holmes being inspired to write the song after reading about a mine cave-in in Sheppton, to Holmes's primary intention in writing the song was specifically to get it banned from radio. Information about the history and theories of Timothy can be found by clicking here.
Though The Bouys also had a huge hit in Europe with their song Give Up Your Guns, The Buoys are primarily known in the US as a one-hit wonder for Timothy; The Buoys broke up in the early 1970s.
Timothy was released on a CD compilation titled Have A Nice Day: Volume 6. To place a hold on the CD, click here.
I could find very little published information on The Buoys; so anyone has any other facts or information about the group or their song Timothy, please email me.
A great big Thank You again to Thomas Coley for this Wilkes-Barre reference.
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