TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELLS

written by Ritchie Cordell

produced by Bo Gentry

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Tommy James & The Shondells are an American group based in

Michigan. They’re my favorite oldies group, and pretty much always

have been—at least that is the way I’ve classified them, even though I

think most would consider the bulk of my preferred music oldies by

this point. Heck, they would’ve called them oldies twenty years ago.

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Tommy James—who was going by Tommy Jackson in the early days, though his birth name was in fact James—started very very young (we’re talking Michael Jackson in the Jackson 5 young), singing in a group called The Echoes, which turned into The Tornadoes, closing the ’50s. In 1964 they recorded a song written by The Raindrops, called “Hanky Panky,” which kicked the Shondells into gear with some radio airplay and soon heavy demand. It was released on their debut album of the same name in ’66.

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The band, which covered a wealth of musical territory in their opening era and helped shape the genre of bubblegum pop, enjoyed five peak years from 1966-71. Each year and record gradually elevated their collective profile in the eyes and ears of the public. Following the kickoff of ’66, Tommy James & The Shondells put forth not one but three albums in 1967. The second one was I Think We’re Alone Now, including and opening with the super-smash title track.

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We’ll cover “Alone Now” itself soon enough, but today we’re focusing on another selection from that acclaimed album, called “Mirage.” And this song has a fun story, as it turns out. The Shondells had the recording of “Alone Now” in the can, and were still writing material for its album. One day, producer Bo Gentry put on “Alone Now” reel-to-reel, but backwards. Instead of turning it off when they realized it, the band listened to the song in reverse. “Alone Now” bears a very distinctive and evenly spaced chord progression, and when the band heard the progression in reverse, they instantly enjoyed it and decided it needed to be its own song. And so with the bulk of the music already taken care of, Shondells chief songwriter Ritchie Cordell—who had also written “Alone Now” and most of the album’s material—penned some fresh lyrics. Et voilà: “Mirage” was born. When the album was sequenced and tracked, “Alone Now” opened side one, “Mirage” side two. Added bonus: both songs were released as singles on the exact same day in January 1967, backed with other tracks from the record.

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The Shondells were on the rise, with a brighter and brighter-looking future. They’d not even struck gold with the chart-topping mega-hits “Mony Mony” and “Crimson And Clover” yet. And they’re still performing, well into the 21st century.

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Have notes to add? Let me know!

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YT:

full version

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Tommy & The Shondells’ official website