Tommy James With and Without the Shondells Quiz

Answer: Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich

In 1964 Barry and Greenwich took 20 minutes during a recording session to write the song as a B-side for their group "The Raindrops". James, then age 17, and his band The Shondells, recorded the song in a Niles, Michigan radio studio and it briefly became a local hit.

In late 1965 a Pittsburgh DJ began playing a pirated copy of the record and it proved popular. James followed up, hired a Pittsburgh band to be the new 'Shondells' and eventually sold the song to Roulette Records. It was number one in the US for two weeks in July of '66.

Answer: Alone

Young lovers escaping prying adult eyes was a great theme for a song in the 50s and 60s. Written by Richie Cordell, a writer and producer for Roulette Records, the song peaked at number four in early 1967. In 1987 teen icon Tiffany took her cover of "I Think We're Alone Now" to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four in the UK.

Answer: Mirage

Tommy James tells interesting stories about the origins of the titles and lyrics of some of his songs. The story behind "Mirage" on the band's website is that during a recording session, writer/producer Richie Cordell put a tape of "I Think We're Alone Now" on the recorder backwards.

When he pushed the 'Play' button, the band liked the sound of the reversed chord progression and used it as the basis for the music for "Mirage" to which Cordell later added lyrics.

Answer: True

"Gettin' Together" marked a turn toward somewhat lighter, happier lyrics for the groups' songs. Still written by Richie Cordell, this song and others on the album of the same name sounded more 'happy, clappy' with lyrics like these:

"Gettin' together is better than ever
Gettin' together never felt like this before
Gettin' together is better than ever
Gettin' together"

Answer: True

The future Lady McCartney began her professional photography career as the house photographer at Bill Graham's Fillmore East Auditorium, a venue that gave her access to most of the top rock stars of the 60s. A photo of Neil Young shot by Eastman in 1968 became the cover of Young's "Sugar Mountain - Live at Canterbury House 1968" album 40 years later.

Answer: An advertising sign for life insurance

The writers were working in James' Manhattan apartment and were stumped for a girl's name to fit the music. James says he looked out the window of his apartment and saw the Mutual of New York building at 1740 Broadway. At the time the building was topped by large, neon letters "M O N Y" and that became the inspiration. "Mony Mony" reached number three in the US but hit the top of the UK charts - the group's only UK hit.

In 1987, Billy Idol released a live version as a single which moved to number one on the US Billboard chart. Oddly, it replaced Tiffany's cover of "I Think We're Alone Now" in the top spot.

Answer: Crimson and Clover

"Crimson and Clover" marked James' attempt to move in the direction of more serious, album-oriented music. Written with bandmates rather than longtime collaborator Richie Cordell, James came up with the title and he and the band wrote a song for it. "Crimson and Clover" has been covered numerous times by artists such as Joan Jett, Prince, Cher, Dolly Parton and Broken Bells.

Answer: Alive And Kicking

The spelling was "Alive And Kicking" on the single. Their album was titled "Alive N Kickin" and that's the spelling the group still uses. As of early 2015 they still perform in the New York City area.

Answer: False

James writes in the liner notes to the 1989 "Anthology" album that the band's secretary called to say that "there's this pig farmer in upstate New York that wants you to play in his field." With an invitation like that, the band turned the offer down.

They joined a list of artists who were invited to perform at Woodstock but opted not to. John Lennon likely couldn't enter the US due to a past marijuana arrest. Bob Dylan's son was sick. Iron Butterfly was stranded at the airport and promoters opted not to pay for a requested helicopter for them. Possibly the worst reason was Joni Mitchell's.

Her manager convinced her to appear on Dick Cavett's TV talk show, forgoing Woodstock.

Answer: Draggin' The Line

Following a 1970 concert, Tommy collapsed and almost died due to an overdose of drugs. He gave up touring in order to rest and recuperate. The Shondells disbanded. The following year, James recorded an album and released a couple of singles with "Draggin' The Line" being the most successful. In 2008 he and the three surviving Shondells recorded a Christmas CD.