That Thing You Do! (song)
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"That Thing You Do" is the titular song appearing in the 1996 film of the same name. Written by
Adam Schlesinger Adam Lyons Schlesinger (October 31, 1967 – April 1, 2020) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He was a founding member of the bands Fountains of Wayne, Ivy, and Tinted Windows, and was also a member of the ban ...
, the song is performed by the fictional 1960s band the Wonders, who are the focus of the film. The song peaked at No. 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was nominated for an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
and a
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
for Best Original Song in 1997.


In the film

"That Thing You Do" is written and first performed in 1964 by
Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...
-based band The Oneders (meant to be a
homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning or in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (past tense of "rise"), or spelled differently, a ...
of "Wonders", but pronounced "Oh-nee-ders" by nearly everyone). Written by guitarist/vocalist Jimmy Mattingly II (though lead guitarist Lenny Haise claims co-authorship), it is originally crafted as a ballad, but during its first live performance at a local talent show, newly-recruited drummer Guy Patterson produces a much more up-tempo beat, turning the song from a ballad into an upbeat,
Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
-esque pop-rock number. They win the talent show, and from there, the band is picked up by a local manager who helps them get more shows in the area and gets the song onto the radio. The band is signed to Play-Tone Records (changing their name to the more accessible The Wonders), and under new manager Amos White's guidance, the song becomes the quickest-charting song ever on Play-Tone Records, racing up to No. 7. Despite their success, Jimmy walks out on the band before they can produce another record, leaving them
one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...
s. In the film, the song is performed by James "Jimmy" Mattingly II on lead vocals and guitar, Leonard "Lenny" Haise on
lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
and backing vocals, "T.B. Player" on
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
and backing vocals, and Guy "Shades" Patterson on drums. For their live performance of the song on ''The Hollywood Television Showcase'', studio bassist Scott "Wolfman" Pell replaced T.B. Player on bass and backing vocals. In the fictitious "mockumentary" liner notes from the film soundtrack CD, it is stated that "That Thing You Do" peaked at number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 during the summer of 1964.


In reality

The song was written by
Adam Schlesinger Adam Lyons Schlesinger (October 31, 1967 – April 1, 2020) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He was a founding member of the bands Fountains of Wayne, Ivy, and Tinted Windows, and was also a member of the ban ...
, the bassist of the
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
group
Fountains of Wayne Fountains of Wayne is an American Rock music, rock band that formed in New York City in 1995. The band included founding members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter, and Brian Young (drummer), Brian Young. They released six album ...
. Schlesinger did not expect his song to be chosen, but tried as "a personal exercise." Performers include
Mike Viola Michael Anthony Viola (born September 26, 1966) is an American producer, musician, songwriter, and singer, best known for his work with Panic! at the Disco, Andrew Bird, Ryan Adams, J.S. Ondara, Mandy Moore, and Jenny Lewis. His original music h ...
on vocals with Schlesinger on backup vocals. The song was released as a single, and although not as successful as was depicted in the film, the track still did moderately well in the US, peaking for three weeks at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 1996. (It also reached number 22 on the
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
chart, number 18 on the
Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...
, and number 24 on the
Top 40 Mainstream Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the U ...
chart.)That Tune You Do- Writing The Music For THAT THING YOU DO
The song also reached number 50 in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. The song was a bigger hit outside of the US, reaching number 31 in Canada in December 1996, and number 22 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1997. The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the
69th Academy Awards The 69th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) took place on March 24, 1997, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremo ...
as well as Best Original Song at the
54th Golden Globe Awards The 54th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1996, were held on January 19, 1997 at the The Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hilton. The nominations were announced on December 19, 1996. Winners and nominees ...
, losing out on both occasions to
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
's "
You Must Love Me "You Must Love Me" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, for the 1996 film adaptation of the musical, '' Evita'', based on the life of Argentinian leader Eva Perón. Th ...
" (written by
Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus C ...
and
Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...
) from the musical '' Evita''. On April 25, 2017, three quarters of the actors who played the Wonders—
Tom Everett Scott Thomas Everett Scott (born September 7, 1970) is an American actor. His film work includes a starring role as drummer Guy Patterson in the film '' That Thing You Do!'', the protagonist in '' An American Werewolf in Paris'', and notable roles i ...
(Guy "Shades" Patterson),
Johnathon Schaech Johnathon Schaech ( ; born September 10, 1969) is an American actor and screenwriter. He made his film debut in Franco Zeffirelli's '' Sparrow'' (1993) before his breakout with starring roles in the black comedy thriller film ''The Doom Generat ...
(Jimmy Mattingly II) and
Ethan Embry Ethan Embry (born June 13, 1978), credited early in his career as Ethan Randall, is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, starring roles in the films '' Dutch'' (1991), '' All I Want for Christmas'' (1991), and '' A Far Off Pl ...
("T.B. Player")—performed the song live during a surprise appearance at the Roxy in Los Angeles. The occasion was the ''Goddamn Comedy Jam'', a live show series in which comedians tell funny stories about a meaningful song and then perform it with a live band. Comedian and show creator Josh Adam Meyers persuaded the actors to perform the song with him. After initial hesitation on Scott's part, Meyers managed to persuade him with help from ''The After Jam'' producer Jason Gallagher, who happened to be Scott's brother-in-law. The other actors soon followed suit, with Gallagher helping them learn how to play the instruments.
Steve Zahn Steven James Zahn ( ; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor. In film, Zahn is best known for his lead roles in '' That Thing You Do!'' (1996), '' Happy, Texas'' (1999), '' Joy Ride'' (2001), ''National Security'' (2003), '' A Perfect Geta ...
(Lenny Haise) was unable to participate due to living in Kentucky; comedian Jeremiah Watkins took his place on lead guitar while wearing a cut-out mask of Zahn's face. On April 10, 2017, Embry posted a video of himself playing the song's bass line; it is now apparent that the video was a teaser for the event two weeks later.


Charts


Cover versions

*
The Knack The Knack was an American power pop band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1978 by Doug Fieger (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Berton Averre (lead guitar, backing vocals), Prescott Niles (bass) and Bruce Gary (drums). Spearheaded by the succes ...
included a version on their 1998 compilation album ''Proof - The Very Best of The Knack.'' * In 2010, the song was parodied by The Fringemunks to recap ''
Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts and music * "The Fringe", or Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * Purple fri ...
'' episode 3.03, "The Plateau." *
Pentatonix Pentatonix (abbreviated PTX) are an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, consisting of vocalists Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstin Maldonado, Matt Sallee, and Kevin Olusola. Characterized by their pop-style arrangements wit ...
performed the song at the 2014
Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to Culture of the United States, American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in ...
, paying tribute to
Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
, the writer and director of ''
That Thing You Do! ''That Thing You Do!'' is a 1996 American musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Tom Hanks, in his feature writing and directorial debut. Set in 1960s rock and roll culture, it chronicles the rise and fall of a fictional one-hit won ...
''. *
Billie Joe Armstrong Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972) is an American musician and actor. He is best known for being the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. He is als ...
recorded a version for his 2020 album ''No Fun Mondays''.


Notes


References

{{Authority control 1996 songs 1996 singles American power pop songs Epic Records singles Songs written for films Songs written by Adam Schlesinger The Knack songs