Tommy James & the Shondells
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tommy James and the Shondells | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Origin | Niles, MI (1963) |
| Years active | 1963-1965, 1966-1970, 1990-present |
| Genres | Rock and roll (notably including Pop Rock, Bubblegum pop, and Psychedelic rock), and Rhythm-and-blues |
| Labels | Snap, Roulette, Aura |
| Past members | 1966-1970 Tommy James Eddie Gray Mike Vale Ronnie Rosman Peter Lucia, Jr. (pre-1966) Joseph "Joe" Kessler Larry Wright Larry Coverdale Vincent Pietropaoli James Payne Craig Villeneuve George D. Magura |
Tommy James and the Shondells were a rock and roll group, initially formed in 1959 as Tom and the Tornadoes, with the then only 12-year-old James as lead singer. In 1963, he renamed the band The Shondells, after one of James's idols, guitarist Troy Shondell. Later in 1963, they recorded the Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich song "Hanky Panky" (originally by The Raindrops), which failed to chart. The Shondells disbanded thereafter, until James reformed them early 1966 with Gray, Vale, Rosman and Lucia. Their first single was a re-recording of "Hanky Panky", which surprisingly became a national number one hit in June 1966. At first, Tommy James and his Shondells played straightforward rock and roll (as their first hit proves) but soon became involved in the budding bubblegum music movement. One of their main songwriters these days was Ritchie Cordell who gave them the hits "I Think We're Alone Now" (later a hit for Tiffany) and "Mirage" in 1967.
From 1968, the group members tried themselves as songwriters, with James and Lucia penning the psychedelic classic "Crimson and Clover". The song was also completely recorded and mixed by the two of them, with James taking over vocal duties and playing all instruments, and features the then remarkable use of electronic gadgetry such as vocoders and phasers. Further hits included "Crystal Blue Persuasion", "Sweet Cherry Wine", and "Mony Mony" (1968), written by James (together with Vale) and allegedly inspired by the sign for Mutual Of New York that hung outside his office window. The group carried on with constant success until early 1970, when James became exhausted from the strenuous touring and decided to drop out. His four bandmates carried on for a short while under the name of Hog Heaven but disbanded soon afterwards.
James launched a solo career in '71 which yielded at least two major hits over a 10yr span; "Draggin' the Line" 1971 and "Three Times In Love" 1980. During the 80s the group's songbook resulted in hits for several other artists over the years, including Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' "Crimson And Clover" (1982) and Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now" and Billy Idol's "Mony Mony" (both 1987). In fact, Idol's version of "Mony Mony" replaced Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now" at #1 in the U.S. toward the end of 1987.
In 1990, Tommy started releasing more new music with the album "HiFi", and, in 1993, founded his own recording label "Aura Records Inc." Tommy James & The Shondells have toured steadily throughout the 90s and 00s. They released their 1996 performance at the "Bitter End" in New York City on DVD in 1997; "Live At The Bitter End". Tommy continues to record new music and have success on the charts today. The single "Isn't That The Guy" climbed to #4 on the charts in 2005, followed by "Love Words" which topped the charts at #1 in August 2006. Both are part of his latest studio album released in 2006; "Hold The Fire".
They also produced "Sugar on Sunday", later covered by The Clique.
