Tommy James & The Shondells

Here’s the story of Tommy James & the Shondells for the music fan on the go. Tommy James started a band in Michigan when he was eleven and had a local hit with their cover of “Hanky Panky” in ‘64. In 1965 a Pittsburgh DJ played the song and it became a hit there too. So Tommy moved to Pittsburgh and started a new band over there and a year later the song was a number one hit and they became the biggest thing in bubblegum pop history at the time. My personal favorite Tommy James & The Shondells song is “Mony Mony”. I don’t know what mony means, but damn that song is still catchier than a cold.

Fun fact of the day: Before the Pittsburgh version of The Shondells were picked by Tommy to be his backing band they were called The Raconteurs.

   Tommy James & The Shondells - Mony Mony