Tommy James...

Tommy James is an American pop-rock musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, widely known as leader of the 1960s rock band Tommy James and the Shondells. His music was widely known and enjoyed by many of us during our WHS years. Tommy sat down with us recently to share his story of musical success. First question to Tommy was "Why would you agree to take time out of your schedule to contribute to our high school blog?" "Actually Rich I took a moment to view your site and was sincerely impressed that you and your class have gone to the extent that all of you have in order to stay close with each other. I was flattered to think that you felt our music was a part of your high school days and I am happy to lend any effort to support your class along with my appreciation for their support throughout the years. I say this because have attended some of my high school reunions and in fact, I have a few tight buddies from high school that we speak weekly.

Successfully combining the bubblegum with the psychedelic Tommy James and the Shondells held a huge presence with their music of the late sixties. Offering up the right blend of  rock ‘n’ roll and pop Tommy sold more singles than any other artist during that period. We’re talking about 14 top 40 hits between 1967 and 1969, many of which, 45 years later, are still played on the radio. Hits like Mony Mony, Crimson and Clover, I Think We're Alone Now, Crystal Blue Persuasion and Hanky Panky are just a few to mention. All of these songs, which epitomize great pop music of the late 1960s, are now widely used in television and film and have been covered by a diverse group of artists from Billy Idol to Tiffany to R.E.M. Just as compelling as the music itself is the life Tommy James lived while making it.

His life and career is chronicled in the new book; Me, the Mob and the Music. James announced that deals are in hand to turn the story into both a film and a Broadway play. Martin Scorsese approached James about making a movie of the book shortly after its publication with Barbara De Fina producing the film. It was evident when James first met Morris Levy, the head of Roulette Records, that he 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. Tommy estimates the company owed him $30–40 million in royalties he never received. Roulette was a front for organized crime, also functioning as a money laundering operation. In the early 1970s, Levy was at the wrong end of a mob war. Tommy had to leave New York for a while to avoid a mob hit, which explained why he recorded an album in Nashville in 1972. He 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 and Rhino Records partnership, the music publishing company to Windswept Pacific Music which was later sold to EMI) that James began to receive the appropriate royalty checks from sales of his records.

In speaking with Tommy I asked if we could address some of the less publicized notes of interest along the way and he welcomed my request. Some insight that some may not be aware of is Crystal Blue Persuasion was inspired by not a psychedelic trip one evening but rather by a poem handed to Tommy by a young fan in Atlanta. It was a Christian poem inspired by the Book of Revelation and contained the phrase "crystal blue persuasion." I knew I wanted to use the it somehow in a song and Eddie Gray came up with the opening riff and it was exactly what I wanted, airy and ethereal with a Latin feel. Crystal Blue was the hardest record we ever made and one I am most proud of.

Realizing that I am a photographer Tommy said "I have a story that you could appreciate. We just finished our second album (It's Only Love) and our manager told us he had scheduled a studio photo shoot for us with a young lady just starting out and we would be her first subjects in a studio setting. He cautioned us to be patient with her and he was doing it as a favor for a mutual friend. The young lady, Linda Eastman, did a fine job and we used her work as planned. Little did I know that some fifty years later I would be speaking with her former husband and sharing that story with him for the first time. As it turns out, last month I opened the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction show with Joan Jett. During the reception afterwards I met with him and shared the tale...you see, her husband just happened to be Sir Paul McCartney and the late Linda Eastman eventually married Sir Paul and we all know the rest of the story.

One more story involved his appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Touring with the Beach Boys at the time Tommy sat with several of them one Sunday evening a week before Tommy's first appearance with Ed. The Beach Boys having preformed on his show many times were invaluable in sharing insight to Tommy on what to expect...what they were not prepared for was as they watched together at the end of the telecast Ed promoted the next week's headliner and said, And next week on our show, for all you youngsters...Tony Jones and the Spondells. We hit the fall laughing but internally I was scared to death not knowing what the coming week would bring. Ed had his routine and that consisted of sitting off stage throughout the show with a small B&W monitor and a glass of scotch that was continually refilled. Eventually we performed our new hit "Crimson and Clover" without a hitch. We took a deep breath and realized we had reached a major milestone by appearing on that iconic show.

Tommy still tours and will be at the PNC Performing Center September 15th. "Rich, I look forward to meeting some of your classmates after the performance as my guests." I asked him what music does he listen to today..."that's easy, jazz. My beautiful wife Lynda and I enjoy living in Cedar Grove so I can relate to your Jersey roots. I am familiar with Woodbridge and I can understand the continued pride you and your classmates share having shared that school experience during those memorable years back then.” 
I’d like us to be remembered for being experimenters. We connected with the fans. Fans and the good Lord have allowed my career to go into four-plus decades. This is an industry that maybe gives you two or three years. I look out at a concert crowd now, and I see three generations of people. I’m very proud of the Shondells and what they did, and what we were able to do together to make music that has lasted all this time.

In closing, Tommy shared with me that his white leather boots and Nehru jacket is on display at Cleveland's Rock n Roll Hall of Fame but the membership list does not include Tommy and the Shondells. The more we learn of this gentleman and his body of work we have to believe it's just a matter of time before he is inducted into the Hall. Tommy, we thank you for your music and your time shared with us.