Tommy James And The Shondells All But Faded Into Obscurity Until No. 1 Covers Revived Their Legacy

Tommy James and the Shondells racked up a bunch of hits, became one of the most important rock bands of the 1960s, then largely disappeared from the conversation until 1987, when two covers of their songs by very different artists both went all the way to No. 1 on the pop chart. A garage rock band that smoothed off its edges in pursuit of a radio-friendly sensibility, Tommy James and the Shondells were a pop-rock force for a brief but productive era, churning out 14 Top 40 hits between 1966 and 1969.

Front man James, an iconic musician left surprisingly poor despite all that success due to criminality on the part of the band's label, took the lead on songs like "Hanky Panky," "Crystal Blue Persuasion," and "Gettin' Together," but the band's best and most remembered tunes are the ones that helped next-generation artists top the pop chart two decades later. In 1987, the band's legacy got a boost when two new spins on Tommy James and the Shondells hits "I Think We're Alone Now" and "Mony Mony" went to No. 1 on the Hot 100, and back-to-back at that.

Tommy James and the Shondells broke apart in 1970, and James set out on a solo career, scoring three Top 40 hits and a succession of forgettable, low-charting singles. A cover of the James and the Shondells song "Crimson and Clover" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in 1982 brought a bit of attention to the long-defunct band, but it wasn't sustained. 

In 1987, listeners were made keenly aware of the band's '60s heyday via two solid pop songs with a rock edge. The revival began when teenage pop singer Tiffany recorded a dance-pop version of "I Think We're Alone Now." A No. 4 hit for Tommy James and the Shondells in 1967, Tiffany's take outperformed the original, spending two weeks at No. 1 in November 1987. Following hot on her heels was Billy Idol, who displaced Tiffany from the top slot of the Hot 100. The pop-punker's live-recorded version of "Mony Mony" took the No. 1 spot for a week, a high point in Idol's sad and often troubling life. That track was only a No. 3 hit back in 1968, and Idol's outdid it. That means two '80s covers of Tommy James and the Shondells' songs were consecutive No. 1 hits.