Jimy Sohns was the lead singer of the pioneering Chicago garage rock band The Shadows of Knight, known for their hit song “Gloria.”
- Died: Friday, July 29, 2022. (Who else died on July 29?)
- Details of death: Died from complications of a stroke at the age of 75.
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Garage Rock Legend
Jimy Sohns started the band Shadows of the Knight as a teenager with friends from Prospect High School in the Chicago suburbs in 1964. The name of the band was from the Prospect High nickname “Home of the Knights.” The garage rock pioneers had a huge hit song in 1966 with the Chicago blues influenced rocker “Gloria.” The song was written by Van Morrison which he recorded with his band Them. “Gloria” features Sohns strong vocals shouting out the initials “G-L-O-R-I-A.” The band performed on American Bandstand and toured with the Rolling Stones. He wrote the band’s song “Dark Side,” which was featured in the 2019 movie “Ford v Ferrari.” He was inducted into the Chicago Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. Jimy Sohns continued to perform, including a show shortly before he suffered a stroke.
Changing the lyrics to “Gloria”
Van Morrison wrote the original song for his band Them. Many stations would not play their version of “Gloria” because of the lyric, “She comes to my room,” which was a sign of the times. The Shadows of Knight’s version changed that lyric to “She calls out my name.”
Tributes to Jimy Sohns
Full Obituary: Chicago Sun Times
