The band Savoy Brown confirmed the passing of Kim Simmonds at the age of 75. The band revealed on Facebook on Thursday that Simmonds passed away on Tuesday. Over 55 years have passed since the group first came together.
In 1992, according to Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard archives, Simmonds relocated to Oswego County. He’s from Wales initially.
With his bands Savoy Brown and Blues Express, he sang, played guitar and harmonica, and played harmonica. Sometimes he played by himself.
In 1967, Savoy Brown was established in London. The band later reunited in Oswego with additional Central New York members after moving away.
Simmonds announced on the band’s website in August that he had stage 4 colon cancer and had to postpone the balance of the year’s shows. He added that the band would shortly release a new record.
The best albums by Savoy Brown are Going to the Delta, Street Corner Talking, and Hellbound Train. Over 10 million people have listened to the band’s song “Hellbound Train” on Spotify. Over two million people have listened to “Tell Mama” and “I’m Tired – Where Am I.”
According to the band’s website, they have performed in prestigious venues like London’s Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Fillmore East, and the Fillmore West. On some of the band’s national tours, Kiss, ZZ Top, and The Doobie Brothers served as the opening acts.
Simmonds referred to the Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse as a “hell-raising place” and claimed he loves performing there. He and the band also frequently attended Oswego’s Harborfest and the New York State Budweiser Rhythm & Blues Festival.
In 2019, he told Forbes, “Upstate New York offered me my new life and let me escape the nuttiness of life.”
“Winter never ends, but love overcomes all. We’ve been blissfully married for 28 years since I fell in love with my wife, who is local,” he remarked. Eve, his daughter, was born to him and his wife Deborah.
He claimed that the rain in Oswego County’s climate was pleasant since it made him think of Wales. He started cross-country skiing and became a Central New Yorker. He claimed that downhill skiing was too unsafe.
He claimed that on his first winter here he understood how dangerous winter gigs may be due to the icy road conditions. He constructed a recording studio behind his house. He used to travel there on snowshoes. According to his posts on the band’s website, he also painted in the studio.
Simmonds declared to The Post-Standard in 1992 that his time spent hanging out with music icon Willie Dixon was “the best experience of my life.”
He claimed in 1997 that if no one liked his music, he could always get employment at Nestle’s.
Prior to relocating to Central New York, Syracuse was always on his mind.
“I’ve always thought of Syracuse. That Holiday Inn was shaped like a circle. That ought to remain. Not many people are like that. When traveling, it distinguishes the city from all the others, he told a publication in 1997.
Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Jimmy Page, and Mick Fleetwood were all acquaintances of Simmons. He was admitted to Hollywood’s Rockwalk in 1998.
Dan Akroyd, a fellow citizen of the British Commonwealth, introduced Savoy Brown at the New York State Blues Fest in 2009 by teaching the audience some history before joking, “the band I failed college to!”
