Tommy James (born Thomas Gregory Jackson; April 29, 1947), also known as Tommy Tadger, is an American musician,
singer, songwriter, and record producer, widely known as frontman of the 1960s rock band
Tommy James and the Shondells
Tommy James and the Shondells are an American pop rock/psychedelic rock band, formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. – " Hanky Panky" (July 1966, their only RIAA Certified Gold record) and "Crimson and Clov ...
,
who were known for their hits including "
Mony Mony
"Mony Mony" is a 1968 single by American pop rock band Tommy James and the Shondells, which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 3 in the U.S. Written by Bobby Bloom, Ritchie Cordell, Bo Gentry and Tommy James, the song has appeared in ...
" and "
Crimson and Clover
"Crimson and Clover" is a 1968 song by American rock band Tommy James and the Shondells. Written by the duo of Tommy James and drummer Peter Lucia Jr., it was intended as a change in direction of the group's sound and composition.
"Crimson and ...
".
Early life and career
Born in
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
, James and his family later moved to
Niles, Michigan
Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near the Indiana border city of South Bend. In 2010, the population was 11,600 according to the 2010 census. It is the larger, by population, of the two principal cities ...
. He was a child model at the age of four.
In 1959, at the age of twelve, he formed the band "The Echoes", which eventually became "Tom and the Tornadoes".[ In 1964 the band changed its name to The Shondells. That same year, Jack Douglas, a local DJ at ]WNIL
WNIL is an AM radio station located in Niles, Michigan and broadcasting to the Niles- Buchanan region airing a soft adult contemporary format. It broadcasts on AM frequency 1290 kHz and 107.5 MHz; it is under ownership of Marion R. Williams.
...
radio station in Niles, formed his own record label, Snap Records. The Shondells were one of the local bands he recorded at WNIL Studios.[ One of the songs was the ]Jeff Barry
Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Do Wah Diddy Diddy", " Da Doo Ron Ron", " Then He Kiss ...
and Ellie Greenwich
Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", " Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" ...
ditty " Hanky Panky", which the pair had recorded under the name The Raindrops.[ The song was a hit locally, but the label had no resources for national promotion, and it was soon forgotten.]
In 1965, a local dance promoter, Bob Mack, found a copy of "Hanky Panky" in a used record bin and started playing it at his Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
dance clubs.[ Soon after, a Pittsburgh area bootlegger made a copy of the song and began pressing copies of it, speeding it up slightly in the process.][ Sales of the bootleg were estimated at 80,000 in ten days.] It became a number one on Pittsburgh radio stations in early 1966.[ Douglas heard about the record's sudden popularity in Pittsburgh because his name and contact information appeared on Snap Records labels.][ Numerous calls from Pittsburgh convinced James to go to Pennsylvania, where he met Mack and Chuck Rubin, who handled the talent bookings for Mack's dance clubs. Before long, all three major music trade papers, '']Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'', '' Cashbox'' and ''Record World
''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...
'', were listing "Hanky Panky" as a regional breakout hit. Rubin, who had music industry connections, said it was a good time for the trio to travel to New York City in search of a record deal.[
The men made the rounds of the major recording labels, getting initial potential offers from most companies they visited. One label, ]Roulette Records
Roulette Records was an American record company and label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Kahl, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed direc ...
, gave no initial response because its head, Morris Levy
Morris Levy (born Moishe Levy; August 27, 1927 – May 21, 1990) was an American entrepreneur in the fields of jazz clubs, music publishing, and the independent record industry. Levy was cofounder and owner of Roulette Records, founding partner ...
, was out of town until that evening; Roulette was one of the last stops on their visit.[ By the next morning, Mack, Rubin, and James were now receiving polite refusals from the major record companies after the enthusiasm for the record the day before. James said, "We didn't know what in the world was going on, and finally ]Jerry Wexler
Jerry may refer to:
Animals
* Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National
* Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...
over at Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
leveled with us and said, 'Look, Morris Levy and Roulette called up all the other record companies and said, "This is my freakin' record." (laughs) and scared 'em all away – even the big corporate labels.'" Their only option would be to sign with Roulette.[
Since the band had broken up two years before, James was the only Shondell left.][ Mack made his dance club bands available to James, but nothing seemed to fit until one of the bands' guitarists took James to the Thunderbird Lounge in ]Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city lies within the Laurel Highlands and the ecoregion of the Western Allegheny Plateau (ecoregion), W ...
. James sang with the house band, the Raconteurs. The Raconteurs became the new Shondells,[ and Jackson acquired the professional name of Tommy James. By the third week of June 1966, "Hanky Panky" had become the top single at WLS. By the third week of July 1966, "Hanky Panky" had become the top single in the United States.][
]
Tommy James and the Shondells
After a few comings and goings of members, the classic lineup of James, Eddie Gray (guitar), Mike Vale (bass), Ron Rosman (keyboards) and Pete Lucia (drums) was formed. The group recorded a follow-up song to "Hanky Panky". When Bob Mack's attempt at finding some Shondells worked out in an inadvertent way, he told James about another record he found in the same used record bin "Hanky Panky" came from: "Say I Am" by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs
The Fireballs, sometimes billed as Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs, were an American rock and roll group, particularly popular at the end of the 1950s and in the early 1960s. The original line-up consisted of George Tomsco (lead guitar), Chuck ...
. The only thing James and his new Shondells were aware of when they entered the recording studio for the first time is that whatever they recorded should sound similar to "Hanky Panky", although the two songs sound nothing alike. Mack played The Fireballs record for the group, and they decided to record their version of the song. Mack was credited as the producer for the group's first album, ''Hanky Panky''.[
Songwriter ]Richie Cordell
Ritchie Cordell (born Richard Joel Rosenblatt; March 10, 1943 – April 13, 2004) was an American songwriter, singer and record producer. He wrote and produced several hits for Tommy James and The Shondells, including "I Think We're Alone No ...
wrote (or co-wrote) and produced many of the group's hits, among them "I Think We're Alone Now
"I Think We're Alone Now" is a song written and composed by Ritchie Cordell that was first recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells. It was a major hit for group, reaching number 4 on the US Hot 100 in April 1967. It finished at No. 12 on ''Bil ...
", "Mirage
A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...
", and "Mony Mony
"Mony Mony" is a 1968 single by American pop rock band Tommy James and the Shondells, which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 3 in the U.S. Written by Bobby Bloom, Ritchie Cordell, Bo Gentry and Tommy James, the song has appeared in ...
". The creation of "Mony Mony" was a group effort involving Cordell, James, Shondells band member Peter Lucia, producer Bo Gentry, and Bobby Bloom
Robert Bloom (January 15, 1946 – February 28, 1974) was an American singer-songwriter. He is known best for being a one-hit wonder with the 1970 song, "Montego Bay", which was co-written with and produced by Jeff Barry.
Biography
Bloom was bo ...
. James and Cordell set out to create a party rock single, working out everything except the song's title, which eluded them even after much effort. When they took a break from their creative endeavors on James' apartment terrace, they looked up at the Mutual of New York Insurance Company's large neon sign bearing the abbreviation for the company: M-O-N-Y, which provided the song's name.[
Tommy James and the Shondells also produced a "Mony Mony" video when the song was a hit. Even though a number of musical groups had already produced videos by that time, there was no market at all for that film in the US. Television stations would not air it, and it was originally shown between double features in movie theaters in Europe. The film was not seen in the US until the creation of ]MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
.[
James was contacted by ]Beatle
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development ...
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
, who was working with a group called Grapefruit
The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink.
Grapefruit is ...
at the time. Harrison and the group had written some songs they wanted James to consider recording. Since the group had made a decision to change their musical style (and would do so with "Crimson and Clover
"Crimson and Clover" is a 1968 song by American rock band Tommy James and the Shondells. Written by the duo of Tommy James and drummer Peter Lucia Jr., it was intended as a change in direction of the group's sound and composition.
"Crimson and ...
": see below) and the material Harrison and Grapefruit provided was in the style of "Mony Mony", James turned down their offer.
The music business changed after the success of "Mony Mony". Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
program formatting, based on 45 RPM single records, drove popular music on the radio. Few stations played cuts from record albums, so radio was, in effect, "selling" single records for the record companies.[ In August 1968, James and the Shondells went on the campaign trail for three months with presidential candidate Vice President ]Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...
. Meanwhile, popular music had become album-driven, displacing many performers whose singles had been top sellers. James realized he and the Shondells needed to become an album-oriented group if they were to survive in the business, necessitating a change in their style.
After working out a marketing strategy for their new sound, James visited WLS when the group was in Chicago to play a concert, bringing along a rough cut of "Crimson and Clover" to the station. WLS secretly recorded the music when James played his tape for them. By the time James was out of the building and in the car, its radio was playing the station's dub of the not-yet-finished song. "Crimson and Clover" had to be pressed the way it was heard on the radio station, and the marketing plan was now wasted time and effort.[
"Crimson and Clover" was a huge success, and the group would have two follow-up hits that also reached the Hot 100's top 10, "]Sweet Cherry Wine
"Sweet Cherry Wine" is a song by Tommy James and the Shondells from their 1969 album, '' Cellophane Symphony''. It hit number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and rose to number six on the Canadian charts. This psychedelic song was released at ...
" and "Crystal Blue Persuasion
"Crystal Blue Persuasion" is a 1969 song originally recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells and composed by Eddie Gray, Tommy James and Mike Vale.
Background
A gentle-tempoed groove, "Crystal Blue Persuasion" was built around a prominent orga ...
". James, who co-wrote all three of those songs, and his band did well enough with the transition to be invited to perform at Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
. James describes Artie Kornfeld
Arthur Lawrence Kornfeld (born 1942) is an American musician, record producer, and music executive. He is best known as the music promoter for the Woodstock Festival held in 1969. Kornfeld is also known for his collaborations with Artie Kaplan. ...
's invitation like this: "Artie was up and asked if you could play at this pig farm up in upstate New York." I said, "What?!?" "Well, they say it's gonna be a lot of people there, and it's gonna be a really important show." At the time James was in Hawaii and was incredulous about being asked to travel 6,000 miles to play a show on an upstate New York pig farm, telling the Roulette Records secretary, "If I'm not there, start without us, will you please?"[
In March 1970, after four more hits, drugs almost killed James when, at a concert, he collapsed, and was pronounced dead. However, he survived, decided to take a break from the recording studio, and moved up into the country to recuperate. The Shondells, without James, recorded two albums under the new group name Hog Heaven (one "self titled" on Roulette Records in 1970 and the second in 1971 but unreleased until 2008), but disbanded soon afterwards.
Tommy James and The Shondells were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends online Hall of Fame in 2006. Four of the band's biggest hits have been voted Legendary Michigan Songs: "Crimson & Clover" in 2010, and "Hanky Panky", "I Think We're Alone Now", and "Mony Mony" in 2011.
]
Solo
James went solo later in 1970 and released his first two solo albums on Roulette, ''Tommy James'' (September 1970) and '' Christian of the World'' (August 1971). He had two further Billboard Hot 100 top 20 chart hits with " Draggin' the Line" (co-written by Bob King) (#4 in 1971) and "Three Times in Love
"Three Times in Love" is a song written by Tommy James and Ron Serota and performed by James. The song was James's first Top 40 hit in eight years and his last in the United States. It reached #1 on the adult contemporary chart, #19 on the ''Bil ...
" (#19 in 1980), plus eleven much smaller Hot 100 chartings. "Hanky Panky" has been James' one RIAA certified gold single. He also wrote and produced the million-selling 1970 hit "Tighter, Tighter
"Tighter, Tighter" is a song written by Bob King and Tommy James. Alive N Kickin' recorded it for their 1970 album, ''Alive N Kickin''. The tune was also produced by King and James. It reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in ...
" for the group Alive 'N Kickin' (co-written by Bob King). In 1971 James spent time in Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
at the recommendation of friends when a "mob war" erupted among organized crime families in New York, and threats against James were intimated due to his connection to Morris Levy. He recorded an album there with top Nashville musicians, ''My Head, My Bed and My Red Guitar'' (January 1972), which received critical acclaim but sold poorly. He left Roulette Records in 1974 and two more albums, ''In Touch'' (July 1976) and ''Midnight Rider'' (January 1978), followed on Fantasy Records
Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...
, with yet another, ''Three Times in Love'', appearing on Millennium Records
Millennium Records is a defunct record label run by record producer Jimmy Ienner from 1976 to 1983. During its RCA-distributed years, a significant portion of its output was content licensed from Canadian record labels.
Hits
The label's best-sell ...
in late 1979. The independent label Aegis Records put out his ''Hi-Fi'' album in the summer of 1990.
To date, over 300 musicians have recorded versions of James' music.[ Covers of three of James' songs went top ten on the Hot 100 (the last two as consecutive No. 1s) in the 1980s: ]Joan Jett
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...
with "Crimson and Clover", Tiffany with "I Think We're Alone Now", and Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...
with "Mony Mony".
In October 2008 James and the three surviving members of the original Shondells (Pete Lucia died in 1987) reunited in a New Jersey studio to record again after 37 years. The group recorded an album, ''I Love Christmas''.
Music and the mob
In February 2010, an autobiography ''Me, The Mob, and The Music'' was published. James announced that deals were in hand to turn the story into both a film and a Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
play.[ ]Barbara De Fina
Barbara De Fina (born 1946) is an American film producer. She has been called an "integral component" who has made "critical contributions" as producer of many of Martin Scorsese's films.
Biography
Her grandfather was from Sicily and her grandm ...
was said to be producing the film.
It was evident when James first met Morris Levy
Morris Levy (born Moishe Levy; August 27, 1927 – May 21, 1990) was an American entrepreneur in the fields of jazz clubs, music publishing, and the independent record industry. Levy was cofounder and owner of Roulette Records, founding partner ...
, the head of Roulette Records
Roulette Records was an American record company and label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Kahl, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed direc ...
, that Levy was willing to strong-arm others when necessary. Those signed to Roulette were there to produce money for the company, having their needs met only when it pleased Levy. Asking to be paid meant intimidation; to survive, those under contract to Roulette needed to find a means of generating income that did not involve the record company, such as personally booked tours.[ While a Roulette artist had great creative control when recording for the company, the lack of payment for those efforts was difficult to take.][
James estimates the company owed him $30 to $40 million in royalties.] Roulette was used as a front for organized crime, also functioning as a money laundering
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
operation, as Levy was closely allied with the Genovese crime family. In the early 1970s, the Genovese outfit found itself in a bloody gang war with the Gambino family, which saw victims not only among mobsters (such as Levy's close friend and business partner Thomas Eboli
Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli (June 13, 1911 Scisciano, Italy – July 16, 1972 Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York) was a New York City mobster who eventually became the acting boss of the Genovese crime family.
Early life
Born in Scisciano, in the P ...
), but increasingly among non-mob figures on the periphery of the organizations. Levy had taken a somewhat fatherly shine to James, and worried that he might be a target for those who wanted to get at the Genovese family through Levy, so he warned James to flee New York for an extended period until the war was over. James settled in Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, where the Mafia had little presence or influence. While there he began jamming with local country music session players, and was inspired to record a country-rock record in 1971.
James did not feel comfortable writing his book until all those deeply involved with the record company had died.[ It was only after Roulette Records and Levy's Big Seven Music publishing company were sold (the record company to an ]EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
and Rhino Records
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
partnership, the music publishing company to Windswept Pacific Music which was later sold to EMI) that James began to receive large royalty checks from sales of his records.
Current career
In February 2018, James became host of weekly radio program 'Gettin Together with Tommy James' on Sirius XM Radio
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
channel 73, 60s Gold
'60s Gold, formerly known as The '60s on 6 or The '60s, is a commercial-free, satellite radio station on the Sirius XM Radio platform. It plays music from the 1960s. Airing on XM since 2001, the channel became available to Sirius subscribers re ...
.
James can also be seen on late-night informercials selling collections of music from the Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
era for Time Life.
Personal life
James moved to Clifton, New Jersey
Clifton is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Criss-crossed by several major highways, the city is a regional commercial hub for North Jersey and is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York Metropolitan Area. As ...
in the mid 1970s and circa 2000 to nearby Cedar Grove. He has been married three times and has one child. On February 23, 2022, his wife Lynda died after a prolonged illness.
Solo discography
Albums
Singles
Bibliography
* The book extensively details James's relationship with Morris Levy
Morris Levy (born Moishe Levy; August 27, 1927 – May 21, 1990) was an American entrepreneur in the fields of jazz clubs, music publishing, and the independent record industry. Levy was cofounder and owner of Roulette Records, founding partner ...
.
References
External links
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Tommy
Living people
American male singers
Singers from Michigan
People from Cedar Grove, New Jersey
People from Clifton, New Jersey
Musicians from Dayton, Ohio
People from Niles, Michigan
Tommy James and the Shondells members
1947 births