By Frank “Smokin” Truatt
Last week, we had the chance to see Tommy James and the Shondells. It was another great concert that was put on at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, New Jersey. I had never seen him in concert before, although he tours a lot. I remember Tommy James and his hit “Hanky Panky,” a tune that came out when I was just 12 years old. It was a tune that was simple enough to be played by any garage band, as we did in our band back in the late 1960’s. The next two hits released had a long chart stay and have also charted for other artists. “I Think We’re Alone Now” came out a year later and had a second life when Tiffany did a cover version of the song in 1987. She spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The Tiffany version was a more modern dance track version of the song. A year later, the song was immortalized as a parody from “Weird Al” Yankovic when he released “I Think I’m a Clone Now.” Tommy James next big hit was “Mony Mony.” Tommy James came up with the idea for the song spotting a sign for “Mutual of New York” with the acronym MONY. You never know where inspiration for a song is going to come from, with that being one of the strangest ways to develop a hit record. In 1981, Billy Idol’s version became a smash hit. There wasn’t a party that I would DJ where I wouldn’t play that version of the song. It worked every time. The result? A packed dance floor, guaranteed. “Crimson and Clover” was released in 1968 and sold over 5 million copies, making it the biggest hit for the band. It was a song that Joan Jett covered in 1982. It became a top ten hit for her. For those that remember the song “Tighter, Tighter” by Alive ‘N Kickin’, that song was co-written by Tommy James. In a solo career after the Shondells, Tommy James released my favorite called “Draggin’ the Line.” It was released in the summer of 1971 and it always brings back warm memories of that summer down the Jersey shore. Tommy sounded great along with the band he has assembled. He played all the hits and more. He worked his way into the audience at one point and entertained everyone there wanting to hear the hits they grew up with by a true master of hit music.
