In 1958, when Tommy was eleven, his family moved to Niles, Michigan. In 1959, when he was twelve, James formed his first band called Tom and the Tornadoes. In 1963, the band changed their name to The Shondells. By 1964, a local DJ at WNIL radio station in Niles formed his own record label, Snap Records. The Shondells were one of the local bands the DJ recorded at WNIL studios. One of the songs was the Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich ditty "Hanky Panky," which was recorded as The Raindrops. The song was a hit locally, but the label had no resources for national promotion and it was soon forgotten.
In 1965, a DJ in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, found a copy of "Hanky Panky" and played it as a station "exclusive." Listener response was positive, with many wanting to know where they could get a copy of the "new" single. Another DJ started playing the song at local dance parties. Responding to the demand, a local bootlegger taped the song off the radio and began pressing copies of it. Eventual sales of the bootleg were estimated at 80,000. Pittsburgh DJ "Mad Mike" Metro tracked down Tommy James and informed him that his record was No. 1 in the city. James almost hung up on Metro, but was convinced to come to Pennsylvania and make appearances promoting the surprise hit. Soon, James was in New York, selling the original master of "Hanky Panky" to Roulette Records. By the late summer of 1966, it was the top-selling single in the nation.
The Shondells had long since broken up, and did not wish to reform in order to travel to Pittsburgh. James flew there solo, and hired a local band named The Raconteurs to become the replacement Shondells. The group needed a follow-up and selected a song called "Say I Am (What I Am)". Although not as successful as "Hanky Panky", it reached #21 on the charts later in the same year.
Roulette assigned songwriters Richie Cordell and Bob King the task of writing songs for Tommy James & The Shondells. From 1967 to 1969, the group turned out hit after hit on the Roulette label, including six more that made it to the top ten: "I Think We're Alone Now", "Mirage", "Mony Mony", "Crimson and Clover" (the group's second and final U.S. #1 hit), "Sweet Cherry Wine", and "Crystal Blue Persuasion".
Tommy James and The Shondells broke up in 1970. James then went solo and had two further chart hits with "Draggin' the Line" (Written by Bob King) (#4 in 1971) and "Three Times In Love" (#19 (Adult Contemporary #1) in 1980). James has had twenty three gold singles, and nine gold and platinum albums. He also wrote and produced the million-selling 1970 hit "Tighter, Tighter" for the group Alive 'N Kickin' (Written by Bob King).
In October 2007, Tommy James and the original Shondells reunited in a New Jersey studio to record once again.
Mony Mony
Tommy James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well, shoot 'em down, turn around come home, honey
Hey, she gimme love an' I feel alright now
Everybody! You got me tossin' turnin' in the night
Make me feel alright
I say yeah, (yeah), yeah, (yeah)
Yeah, (yeah), yeah, (yeah), yeah
Well you make me feel Mony, Mony
So Mony, Mony
Good Mony, Mony
Yeah, Mony, Mony
So good, Mony, Mony
Oh, yeah, Mony, Mony
Come on, Mony, Mony
All right, baby Mony, Mony
Say yeah, (yeah), yeah, (yeah)
Yeah, (yeah), yeah, (yeah) , yeah (yeah), yeah
Break 'dis, shake 'dis, Mony, Mony
Shot gun, get it done, come on, honey
Don't stop cookin', it feels so good, yeah
Hey! well don't stop now, hey, come on Mony,
Well come on, Mony
I say yeah, (yeah), yeah, (yeah)
Yeah, (yeah), yeah, (yeah), yeah, (yeah)
Well you make me feel Mony, Mony
So Mony, Mony
Good Mony, Mony
Yeah, Mony, Mony
Oh, yeah, Mony, Mony
Come on, Mony, Mony
So good, Mony, Mony
All right, Mony, Mony
I say yeah, (yeah), yeah, (yeah)
Yeah, (yeah), yeah, (yeah), yeah, (yeah)
Oh, I love your Mony, moan, moan, Mony (so good)
Oh, I love your Mony, moan, moan, Mony (so fun)
Oh, I love your Mony, moan, moan, Mony
Oh, I love your Mony, moan, moan, Mony
Yeah, (yeah), yeah, (yeah)
Yeah, (yeah), yeah, (yeah), yeah, (yeah)
Come on! Mony, Mony
Come on! Mony, Mony
Come on! Mony, Mony
Everybody, Mony, Mony
All right, Mony, Mony
Mony, Mony
Mony, Mony
The lyrics of Tommy James and the Shondells' song "Mony Mony" seem to be straightforward at first but upon closer inspection, they don't seem to have a clear meaning. The song starts with the phrase "Here she come down, say Mony Mony" which is repeated throughout the song. The phrase "Mony Mony" is just a nonsense phrase that's meant to be chanted together. The singer also tells someone to "shoot 'em down, turn around come home, honey" which doesn't make any sense in the context of the song. The song seems to be a fun party song rather than having any deep meaning to it.
The lyrics of the song are accompanied by an infectious beat and catchy melodies which make it a classic pop-rock hit. The song features call-and-response lyrics which have added to its popularity. The song has been covered by several other artists, including Billy Idol, who recorded a live version of it that became a hit in the 1980s.
Line by Line Meaning
Here she come down, say Mony Mony
The singer is describing seeing a woman coming towards him and saying "Mony Mony"
Well, shoot 'em down, turn around come home, honey
He encourages the woman to come with him, promising to keep her safe and bring her home
Hey, she gimme love an' I feel alright now
He is expressing his joy at feeling loved by the woman
Everybody! You got me tossin' turnin' in the night
He proclaims to everyone that the woman has him restless and unable to sleep at night
Make me feel alright
He wants the woman to continue making him feel good
I say yeah, (yeah), yeah, (yeah)
The singer is shouting out affirmations of excitement and approval
Well you make me feel Mony, Mony
The woman makes the singer feel like a million dollars, or "Mony Mony"
So Mony, Mony
He repeats the woman's name as a term of endearment
Good Mony, Mony
The woman is not just any Mony, but a good Mony
Yeah, Mony, Mony
More affirmations of approval for the woman
So good, Mony, Mony
The woman is very good at making him feel like Mony Mony
Oh, yeah, Mony, Mony
The singer is really enjoying the woman's presence
Come on, Mony, Mony
He is urging the woman to come be with him and continue making him feel good
All right, baby Mony, Mony
He affectionately refers to the woman as his "baby Mony Mony"
Break 'dis, shake 'dis, Mony, Mony
He wants to dance and groove with the woman, using the name Mony Mony like a chant
Shot gun, get it done, come on, honey
He is telling the woman to get it done and come to him, using the term "shotgun" as a metaphor
Don't stop cookin', it feels so good, yeah
He doesn't want the woman to stop what she's doing, as it makes him feel good
Hey! well don't stop now, hey, come on Mony,
He urges the woman to keep doing what she's doing and come be with him
Oh, I love your Mony, moan, moan, Mony (so good)
The singer is expressing his love for the woman and how good she makes him feel with her love
Oh, I love your Mony, moan, moan, Mony (so fun)
He also loves the fun he has with the woman, using the term "moan" as a way of expressing enjoyment
Come on! Mony, Mony
He continues to chant the woman's name and urge her to come to him
Everybody, Mony, Mony
He involves everyone in the chant, encouraging everyone to call out the woman's name
All right, Mony, Mony
He gives one final affirmation to the woman before the song ends
Mony, Mony
The song finishes with one last chant of the woman's name
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BO GENTRY, BOBBY BLOOM, RITCHIE CORDELL, TOMMY JAMES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@robertmoga6972
This is a great group! There story is seldom told but T. James was originally in a local Niles MI band called The Shondells. And all members were high schoolers in there teens. This was 1963! They had one VERY local hit on the VERY small, local, independent "SNAP" record label. By '65 the group had graduated and was history. A couple guys got married after high school & began families. Another got drafted & sent to Vietnam. James alone was left, single, and working on his families farm.
SOMEHOW, a single copy of the SNAP recording found it's way into the used record bin of a Pittsburgh, PA record store where it was purchased by a local DJ who hosted a local radio show called something like "rate the "B" side". His show ran late at night, like 12 am to 6 am so he was trying to build/entertain his audience. To do this he shopped the used record bins of area record stores buying anything he hadn't heard of.
The Shondells original SNAP records version was in fact the "B" side of the record! The "A" side was an original instramental by the band titled "Thunderbolt". The "B" side (Hanky Panky") was reworked by the group. It was originally a "B" side for the Raindrops hit "That Boy John" released in '63.
Once it began to get airplay in Pittsburgh requests for the song to be played again lit up the phone lines. The song was put into HEAVY rotation on the station and got even more requests.
Problem was that the radio station had the ONLY copy. Listeners demanded to know where they could buy it. So the radio contracted with a local record company named "FOX" (aka RED FOX as the orig labels were yellow & red with a fox at the top) to press 5000 copies of the record. This was technically illegal as they had no rights to the song. After the 5000 copies sold out in a single day the record company switched the record label to imitate the original "SNAP" label, but put their name in small print at the bottom of that label (the original "SNAP" labels have no reference to FOX RECORDS printed on them).
In Pittsburgh the record began an astonishing climb up the local charts & was picked up for play on other local stations.
Some proceeds from the "illegal" sales were set aside for the "unknown group" and a search was begun to find them. As SNAP was, on the label, credited to a Niles, MI company, the search began there. But SNAP had gone out of business! The former owner was tracked down & he related that the groups leader, Tommy James, had lived on his fathers farm just outside the city. A visit to the farm found Tommy James working the fields at his fathers farm!
After a discussion with Tommy and his father, Tommy was wisked back to Pittsburgh were he was told he had a hit record .With no orig members of The Shondells besides Tommy available Tommy was, over the next several days, taken to several local bars where he heard several local groups perform HIS song. After hearing several groups Tommy decided that the local group The Raconteurs did the best job (musically) and offered them the job of becoming The (New) Shondells. The group accepted & James fronted the new (performing as The Shondells) band at several local venues over the next several days.
James then left for New York City to shop his song (& group) to New York record labels. Roulette records was the most interested and signed James & the group and released "Hanky Panky" nationally. The rest is history! And by the way, the gentleman who bought that obscure 45 was named Bob Mack!
However, I beg to differ with your opinion that this song, this group, is "bubblegum" music. Rock/Pop - YES. Garage overtones on some tunes - YES. Later to include "psychedelic" overtones - YES. But to call them a "bubblegum" band is totally unfounded.
They did not put out records similar to "Simon Says", "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy", 1 2 3 Red Light, Indian Giver, Down At LuLu's, or anything sounding like that! In fact they were one of the FEW bands, besides The Beatles & Rolling Stones to consistently release QUALITY "B" sides on many of their releases during the mid to late 60's.
@jimstewart1584
Almost 73 years old now, but when I hear this one I lose total control of myself dancing. It's embarrassing, but I love it !!!
@marliesyanke4580
Yes, easy to get of the couch and dance. Then watch a James steward western 😅
@leroyhudson3877
What are you going to do, It's a classic.
@justanotheralmaroad1923
69 here. Would love to cut loose dancing but afraid I 'd strip a gear or two !lol Parts of the music sounds just like Grooven With Mr Bloe. Love that also.
@sylviab7351
Me too❤🎸💋
@MoniMWM
Me too 😂
@TheTrouserPuppetsOfficial
When your songs are covered by Bill Idol, Joan Jett, and Tiffany, and they have SMASH hits from them, you deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!
@johnfescemyer8536
This group deserves to be in the Rock Hall of Fame. Their catalog is amazing.
@juancarlosrivera4419
They were from pop all the way to progresive... big influence for many musicians..
@FirstPersonNewf
I love so many songs by them, Crimson and Clover is so good.