Steve Alaimo

Stephen Charles Alaimo (December 6, 1939 – November 30, 2024) was an American singer who was a teen idol[1][dubious – discuss] in the early 1960s.

[5] He entered the music business during his time as a pre-med student at the University of Miami, joining his cousin's instrumental rock band the Redcoats, becoming the guitarist, and eventually, the singer.

The Redcoats broke up in 1960, and under Stone's tutelage, Alaimo became a "blue-eyed soul singer" with an all African-American back-up band.

[6] There, he struck a minor amount of gold in 1963 with his single "Every Day I Have to Cry," written by Muscle Shoals singer-songwriter, Arthur Alexander.

[6] He also briefly tried his hand at acting during this time, appearing in four feature films, such as 1967's Wild Rebels and 1970's exploitation crime drama The Naked Zoo, starring Rita Hayworth.

[7] Most of his films became forgotten fodder, although Wild Rebels received renewed interest after being featured in an episode of TV's, Mystery Science Theater 3000.

[6] In 1974, Harry Wayne Casey and Rick Finch presented a demo to Stone and Alaimo, and they advised having George McCrae sing the final version.

Shortly afterward, the business partnership of Casey, Finch, Alaimo and Stone would achieve their greatest commercial success with the heyday of KC & the Sunshine Band.

TK Records closed in 1981, forcing Henry Stone to seek out Morris Levy for financial relief and forging a new partnership.