Tommy James & the Shondells
Sunday, August 17, 2008 @ 7p
Mayo Park
The music of Tommy James is played continuously, everyday, in every country in the world, and has been for over a generation. His songs have become so ingrained in modern culture, it's difficult to go for more than a couple of days without hearing one of them on the radio, TV, in films, or one of the 300 plus cover versions of his songs by other artists. He is one of the "most listened to" artists of all time! 23 gold singles, 9 gold and platinum albums, and over 100 million records sold worldwide. 24 Top 40 hits, including: "Crimson And Clover”, "Mony Mony", "Hanky Panky", "Crystal Blue Persuasion", "I Think We're Alone Now", "Draggin' The Line" and many more.
Tommy James and The Shondells were also one of the first acts to experiment with Music Videos of their hits starting with "Mony Mony" in 1968, thirteen years before MTV.
By the mid-80’s, Tommy's songs, now considered classics, were being covered all over the world by everyone from punk rockers like Joan Jett and the Blackhearts to symphony orchestras like The Boston Pops. At one point in 1987, Tiffany and Billy Idol, with their versions of I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW and MONY MONY, fought it out for the top spot on the charts for a solid month, each eventually going number one. It was the first time in music history that two cover versions of songs by the same artist went number one back-to-back.
In the 90's Tommy's music has been played on countless movie soundtracks including: “Forrest Gump,” the Oliver Stone movie “Heaven And Earth", "Cape Fear" "Pontiac Moon", "Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead", "Off And Running", "Vice Versa". I n 1999 REM's cover of DRAGGIN' THE LINE was one of the high points in the summer blockbuster "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me", while the film "A Walk On The Moon" featured Cher singing CRIMSON AND CLOVER and Morcheeba doing CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION. Recently three major Hollywood movies have used Tommy’s songs: “We Are Marshall” DRAGGIN THE LINE, “Zodiac” and “The Nanny Diaries” both using CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION.
Tommy James has left an indelible mark on his industry and his generation with credits and longevity as an artist, songwriter, and performer that few have equaled. With the ever increasing popularity of his music, there seems to be no end in sight.
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