Biography
Born in 1950 as David Cole Idema, the Michigan singer/songwriter first gained notice by landing a Top 5 single in 1975 with the teenage tragedy gem "Run Joey Run." He took his stage surname from Geddes Road in Ann Arbor, the college town where he had studied, and during his early years in music he performed as a drummer under his birth name with the cult band the Fredric. Once he switched to the adopted moniker, he pursued a solo path that produced several major-label singles without any chart success. Discouraged, he resumed his studies and enrolled in law school at Wayne State University in Detroit. Producer Paul Vance, recalling the expressive quality of Geddes’s prior recordings, contacted the semi-retired artist with an offer to cut a new composition. That track, "Run Joey Run," climbed to number four in October 1975, prompting Geddes to abandon his legal training and reenter the music industry. A follow-up country hit, "The Last Game of the Season (A Blind Man in the Bleachers)," reached the Top 20, while "House on Holly Road"—issued under his legal name—enjoyed only modest airplay, yet nothing matched the commercial impact of the earlier breakthrough.
Albums