#27: Goin’ Away by the Fireballs

City: Fredericton, NB
Radio Station: CFNB
Peak Month: May 1968
Peak Position in Fredericton: #2
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #79
YouTube: “Goin’ Away”
Lyrics: “Goin’ Away”

The Fireballs were formed in Raton, New Mexico, in 1957 and got their start as an instrumental group featuring the distinctive lead guitar of George Tomsco. Born in 1940 in Raton (NM), Tomsco learned to play guitar. Another founding member, Stan Lark, was also born in 1940 in Raton (NM). In liner notes of one of their albums, it states “Stan Lark plays electric bass… is as tall as a house and eats like a horse.”  They recorded at Norman Petty’s studio in Clovis, New Mexico. According to group founders Tomsco and Lark, they took their name after their standing ovation performance of Jerry Lee  Lewis‘s “Great Balls of Fire”, at the Raton High School PTA talent contest in New Mexico, U.S. They reached the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959 with the singles “Torquay” (#39), and “Bulldog” (#24). “Torquay” climbed to #6 in Calgary (AB). “Vaquero (Cowboy)” peaked at #7 in Calgary in 1960. “Quite a Party” peaked at #27 on the Hot 100 and #29 in the UK Singles chart in August 1961. There were lineup changes in the early 1960s when the Fireballs added Doug Roberts on drums, plus Petty Studio singer Jimmy Gilmer (born September 15, 1940, in Chicago and raised in Amarillo, Texas) to the group.

In September 1963, The Fireballs “Torquay Two” peaked at #8 in Calgary. Soon after, they were billed as Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs. The group switched to Dot Records and morphed from being an instrumental guitar band to a group with a vocalist. With Jimmy Gilmer, the Fireballs reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Sugar Shack”. The lyrics concerned a guy who hangs out at a Sugar Shack where a cute gal works there who has “black leotards and her feet are bare.” He determines that he’s going to drink a lot of coffee and make her fall in love with him. The song remained at number-one for five weeks on the Hot 100 in 1963. It became the number-one song of the year for 1963 on the Billboard pop charts. The single also reached #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart. In Canada the single topped the pop charts in Belleville (ON), Calgary, Chilliwack (BC), Hamilton (ON), Kingston (ON), Montreal, Ottawa, Saskatoon (SK), Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg.

A followup with Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs was “Daisy Petal Pickin'”. The single reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. It topped the pop chart in Edmonton (AB), and Grande Prairie (AB), and reached the Top 5 in Saskatoon (SK) in early 1964.

In 1967 the Fireballs moved on to the Atco label. They released “Bottle Of Wine”, about a guy who asks “Bottle of wine, fruit of the vine, when you gonna let me get sober? Leave me alone. Let me go home. Let me go home and start over.” The song charted to #3 in South Africa, #5 in Canada and #9 in the USA. It was the title track from the album Bottle Of Wine credited to The Fireballs featuring Jimmy Gilmer. In Canada, the song had its best chart runs in Edmonton (AB) at number-one, and at #2 in Vancouver (BC).

At this point, the lineup of The Fireballs consisted of Jimmy Gilmer on vocals, George Tomsco on lead guitar, Stan Lark on bass guitar, and Doug Roberts (born June 1941) on drums.

Another track from the album was “Goin’ Away”.

“Goin’ Away” is a song about a guy who needs to spend time with himself on his own “to find the one who lives inside of me.” When he accomplishes his task, he’ll send for his sweetheart to come and live with him. Until then, he has some figuring out to do.

“Goin’ Away” peaked at #1 in Beverly (MA), #2 in Fredericton (NB), #3 in Tuscon (AZ), #5 in Fresno (CA), #8 in Billings (MT), Albuquerque (NM), and Tulsa (OK), #9 in Denver, Pittsburgh, and Salt Lake City, #10 in Madison (WI), and #11 in Toronto. On the Billboard Hot 100 the single stalled at #79.

In 1969, the Fireballs’ “Long Green” reached #3 in Edmonton (AB). The Fireballs disbanded in 1969.

Drummer Doug Roberts died in 1981. He was 40 years of age.

The Fireballs reunited in 1989 for the Clovis Music Festival, then continued performing with original members George Tomsco, Stan Lark, and Chuck Tharp until 2006, when Tharp died of cancer. Gilmer returned as lead vocalist in 2007. Lark retired from the group in 2016. Stan Lark died in 2021, at age 81 in Amarillo, Texas.

George Tomsco continued to release CDs of new material using The Fireballs name and did the occasional show as a “solo Fireball” and also with Jimmy Gilmer. Their final show together was at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, on February 5, 2022. After suffering from Alzheimer’s for two years, Jimmy Gilmer died at the age of 83 in Amarillo, on September 7, 2024, eight days before his 84th birthday.

The Fireballs songs are heard in the soundtracks of the following films: Forrest Gump, Mermaids, Congo, Dogfight, From Dusk Till Dawn, Stealing Sinatra, Box Of Moonlight, and The Real Blonde.

August 2, 2025
Ray McGinnis

References:
“The Fireballs,” New Mexico Music Commission, 2015.
Grant McGee, “Fireballs vocalist Jimmy Gilmer dies at 83,” Eastern New Mexico News, September 11, 2024.
Gary James, “Gary James’ Interview With George Tomsco Of The Fireballs,” classic bands.com.
“Stanley Lark Obituary,” Legacy.com, August 6, 2021.

CFNB 550-AM Fredericton (NB) Top Ten | May 25, 1968