For the football player of the same name see Tommy James (football player). Thomas L "Tommy" James Jr (born September 16, 1923 in Canton Ohio, died February 7, 2007) was a former professional
Tommy James (born Thomas Gregory Jackson, 29 April 1947, Dayton, Ohio) is an American pop-rock musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as leader of the 1960s rock band Tommy James and the Shondells. Events 1429 - Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Dayton is a city in southwestern Ohio, United States. It is the County seat and largest city of Montgomery County. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Pop rock is a hybrid of Pop music and Rock music that uses catchy pop style with light lyrics over top of guitar-based songs A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing Tommy James and the Shondells was a 1960s American Rock and roll group. Tommy currently resides in Monroe, Wisconsin. There are also two towns named Monroe in Wisconsin Monroe, known as the Swiss Cheese Capital of the USA is a city in
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Early life and career
In 1958, when Tommy was eleven, his family moved to Niles, Michigan. Niles is a city near South Bend, Indiana in Berrien County in the U Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. In 1959, when he was twelve, James formed his first band called Tom and the Tornadoes. A musical ensemble is a group of two or more Musicians who perform instrumental or vocal Music. In 1963, the band changed their name to The Shondells. Tommy James and the Shondells was a 1960s American Rock and roll group. By 1964, a local DJ at WNIL radio station in Niles formed his own record label, Snap Records. A disc jockey (also known as DJ or deejay) is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience WNIL (Hometown 1290 is an AM Radio station located in Niles Michigan and broadcasting to the Niles- Buchanan region airing a Talk radio This article is about radio broadcasting for other uses see Radio (disambiguation. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music The Shondells were one of the local bands the DJ recorded at WNIL studios. One of the songs was the Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich ditty "Hanky Panky," which was recorded as The Raindrops. Jeff Barry (born April 3, 1938) is an American pop music Songwriter, Singer, and Record producer. Eleanor Louise Greenwich known as Ellie Greenwich (born October 23, 1940, Brooklyn, New York) is an American pop The song was a hit locally, but the label had no resources to promote it nationally and was soon forgotten. In Popular music, a chart-topper is an extremely popular recording, identified by its inclusion in a ranked list&mdasha Chart &mdashof top
In 1965, a DJ in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, found a copy of "Hanky Panky" and played it as a station "exclusive. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. " Listener response was positive, with many wanting to know where they could get a copy of the "new" single. Another DJ started playing the song at local dance parties. Meeting the demand, a local bootlegger taped the song off the radio and began pressing copies of it. A bootleg recording is an audio and/or Video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. Eventual sales of the bootleg were estimated at 80,000. Pittsburgh DJ "Mad Mike" Metro tracked down Tommy James and informed him that his record was number one in the city. James almost hung up on the DJ, but was convinced to come to Pennsylvania and make appearances promoting the no-longer-forgotten single. Soon, James was in New York, selling the original master of "Hanky Panky" to Roulette Records. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Roulette Records is a Record label which was founded in late 1956 by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Khals, with By the late summer of 1966, it was the top-selling single in the nation.
Tommy James and the Shondells
The Shondells had long since broken up, and did not wish to reform in order to travel to Pittsburgh. James flew there solo, and hired a local band named The Raconteurs to become the replacement Shondells. The group needed a follow-up and selected a song called "Say I Am (What I Am)". Although not as successful as "Hanky Panky", it reached #21 on the charts later in the same year. Record chart are a method of ranking Music according to Popularity during a given period of time
Roulette assigned songwriters Richie Cordell and Bo Gentry the task of writing songs for Tommy James & The Shondells. Tommy James and the Shondells was a 1960s American Rock and roll group. From 1967 to 1969, the group turned out hit after hit on the Roulette label, including six more that made it to the top ten: "I Think We're Alone Now", "Mirage", "Mony Mony", "Crimson and Clover" (the group's second and final U.S. #1 hit), "Sweet Cherry Wine", and "Crystal Blue Persuasion". " I Think We're Alone Now " is a song written by Ritchie Cordell " Crimson and Clover " is a song by Tommy James and the Shondells. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the " Crystal Blue Persuasion " is a song originally recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells and composed by Eddie Gray Tommy James and Mike Vale
Solo
Tommy James and The Shondells broke up in 1970. James went solo and had two further chart hits with "Draggin' the Line" (#4 in 1971) and "Three Times In Love" (#19 (Adult Contemporary #1) in 1980). In Music, a solo (from the Italian solo, meaning alone) is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer James has had twenty three gold singles, and nine gold and platinum albums. He also wrote and produced the million-selling 1970 hit "Tighter, Tighter" for the group Alive 'N Kickin'. Alive N Kickin’ (known originally as Alive and Kicking) is a Brooklyn band, led by Singers Pepe Cardona and Sandy Toder known mainly for their
In October 2007, Tommy James and the original Shondells reunited in a New Jersey studio to record once again.
Miscellany
The song "Mirage" uses the chords and structure of "I Think We're Alone Now" in reverse. It was created when the original was played backwards during a writing session.
The song "Smokey Roads" on their 1968 album Crimson and Clover (album) begins with a backwards masked quotation from An Address by Elder George A. Smith, Delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Aug. Crimson and Clover is a 1968 hit album by Tommy James and the Shondells, which featured the No George Albert Smith ( June 26 1817 &ndash September 1 1875) (commonly known as George A 12, 1855. Played in reverse, one hears: "Extricate the quadruped from the vehicle, and constabulate him to something nutritious, and when the aurora rises in the heavens, I will return and compensate thee amply. "
Tommy James and the Shondells' "It's Only Love" album cover was the first professional photo shoot by Linda Eastman McCartney in 1966. An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially-released audio recording product or Album. Linda Louise McCartney (née Eastman, formerly See, September 24 1941 – April 17 1998 was an American Photographer, Musician and
Tommy James and the Shondells declined an invitation to play at the Woodstock Festival on the advice of their agent, who felt it would be a career killer.
Several bands have covered James' hits. Joan Jett (managed by former Shondell Kenny Laguna) had a top ten with "Crimson and Clover" in 1982. Joan Jett (born September 22 1958, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania) is an American rock Guitarist, Singer The Top Forty or Top 40 is a music industry shorthand for the currently most-popular songs in a particular genre. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) In November of 1987, Tiffany and Billy Idol had back-to-back #1 hits with their respective cover versions of "I Think We're Alone Now" and "Mony Mony. Tiffany Renee Darwish (born October 2 1971) known popularly as Tiffany, is an American Singer who had a number of Teen Billy Idol (born William Michael Albert Broad, 30 November 1955, Stanmore, Middlesex) is an English rock In Popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition ( Performance or Recording) of a previously recorded commercially released "
In 1987, "Hanky Panky" resurfaced in the parody "Homer Hanky," released during the Minnesota Twins' run to the World Series. The Official Star Tribune Minnesota Twins Homer Hanky (or "Homer Hanky" for short is a Handkerchief printed with a (usually red Baseball The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For other events named "World Series" see World Series (disambiguation.
More recently, in 2006 Finnish garage rock trio The Micragirls included a cover of one of The Shondells' lesser-known recordings 'Go Go Gorilla' on their LP 'Feeling Dizzy Honey'. The terms Finns and Finnish people ( Finnish: suomalaiset, Swedish: finländare) are used in English to
When James went solo in 1970, Shondells bass player Mike Vale and Shondells drummer Pete Lucia formed Hog Heaven, and released one album for Roulette Records. An album or record album is a collection of related audio or Music tracks distributed to the public
Solo discography
1970 Tommy James
1971 Christian of the World
1972 My Head, My Bed & My Red Guitar
1976 In Touch
1977 Midnight Rider
1980 Three Times in Love
1989 Tommy James - The Solo Years
1990 Hi-Fi
1993 Discography: Deals and Demos
1996 A Night in Big City
1997 "Tommy James Greatest Hits Live!"
2005 Sweet Cherry Wine (CD single)
2005 "Isn't that the Guy" (CD single)
2006 "Lupe & Joe" (MP3 single)
2006 "Love Words" (CD Single)
2006 "Hold the Fire"
James himself had thirteen charting solo singles, with the three highest-charting being 1971's "Draggin' the Line" (#4), 1980's "Three Times in Love" (#19), and 1971's "I'm Comin' Home" (#40).
External links
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