Late Friday afternoon, I got word that local legendary West Wyoming native singer/songwriter Bill Kelly of The Buoys passed away after a lingering illness at the age of 74.
A lot of his older friends called him Billy, others referred to him as Kelly, including what he called his “Brother in Arms” and bandmate, the late Jerry Hludzik.
If you are in the 60-to-75-year-old range, you know all about Bill Kelly and there are probably a few thousand in Greater Pittston alone that are really super sad over hearing of his passing.
He and his voice have been woven in the fabric of our lives growing up, that I could guarantee.
Kelly was a Wyoming Area graduate and the most successful musical entertainer to graduate from the school district.
He was the lead singer of The Buoys that played frequently in and around Wyoming Valley for high school dances, proms, or those famous West Pittston Armory and St. John’s dances.
The Buoys hit the big time in 1971 when they recorded a Rupert Holmes song titled “Timothy” which got as high as #17 on the American Billboard Top 100 chart.
“Timothy” was a bizarre song about three coal miners trapped in a mine and when they were rescued only two of them surfaced. As the song says, “Nobody ever got around to find him… Timothy.”
According to song legend, the two miners cannibalized Timothy. Yeah, it’s crazy and who would have thought it could be a Top 20 song?
It was a remarkable accomplishment but with Bill and his amazing voice and range, he was destined to do great things including making “Timothy” a smash hit.
The first time I met Kelly was right after “Timothy” charted and he stopped by our family home to visit my musician brother Frank. Back then; I wasn’t too much interested in music so much as I was playing baseball and football, so when Billy showed up, it wasn’t a big deal.
Eventually, Billy and Frank pulled out the guitars and when I heard Kelly sing, it was like holy moly. He didn’t sound anywhere near the way my brother sang, in fact, he didn’t sound like anyone I ever heard.
His range in the early days was off the charts and in a few of the songs he sang, like “Give Up Your Guns,” he hit such a high note, glass would break.
I really believe his visit to our home was the first time I really started to pay attention to music and his voice was everlasting in my mind; it was truly transforming.
I had the privilege of going to many Buoys dances throughout my high school days with my best memories coming out of the St. John’s gym on William St, Pittston.
Back then, it was $2 to go to a dance, but on the nights when The Buoys played, it was $3 to get in, if you were able to get it. They packed the gym floor every single time they played at the Pittston location as well as West Pittston’s Armory along Susquehanna Ave.
As I mentioned, Billy’s Brother in Arms, Jerry Hludzik teamed up after the demise of The Buoys to form the Jerry-Kelly Band, then the more successful band Dakota.
Even after his partnership Hludzik faded, Kelly always kept his hand in music.
He eventually made his way to Nashville playing plenty of gigs and even touring with a Nashville act.
Eventually he found the Lord, which led him to another singing partner named Jennifer Kane. They formed Kane & Kelly but this time around, the music wasn’t rock it was Christian music and the duo scored a number-one song, “The Storm” on the Christian Country chart earning them a nominations of Vocal Duo/Performance of the Year and New Artist of the Year for 2020 by the Inspirational Country Music Association.
Kelly made it back to Greater Pittston when he was invited to play the Pittston Tomato Festival in 2021 and this time around, Jennifer made her way north for the first time to perform with him. They mixed in the old songs that made him famous as well as a few of their Christian hits.
Billy had a great musical career that included that Top 20 hit, to Dakota opening up for Queen for 20 dates, to ending up with a No.1 Christian Country song. He did it all, he saw it all, and he lived the dream.
I got to see him last year when The Buoys were inducted into the Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame. He wasn’t in the best of health then and performed seated in a chair.
When he got off stage, he was concerned about his performance because he wanted to do his best for the audience and he whispered in my ear, “How did I sound?” “You sounded great, just like the old days,” I said, and he did, I wasn’t lying to him to make him feel good.
In my interview with Billy in 2021, he said, “When you create music that resonates with people from high school age to whatever, it’s not mine anymore. Those songs belong to our fans and the crowd that came to the Heartstone Pub and to the people that made the trek to Madison Square Garden to see us. It’s their music. It’s a part of their growing up.”
He was right, all of his music was a part of my growing up, a part of my history and I know I’m not alone.
He will be greatly missed and never forgotten. My sincere condolences got out to his wife Ann and his family, brothers and sister.
