Hanky Panky – Tommy James and The Shondells | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1 for 2 weeks); 1966
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
In the winter of 1963/1964, a 16-year-old Tommy Jackson was fighting off the seasonal chill with a beer at Shulas nightclub in Niles, Michigan. On the bandstand, a local group called the Spinners was whipping up the crowd with something called Hanky Panky.
Audiences were equally enthusiastic when Tommy’s band, The Shondells, played it. Tommy didn’t even know all the words to Hanky Panky, originally recorded by the Raindrops, so he adlibbed them during his session for the tiny Snap label. Hanky got some local jukebox action, then vanished.
Fast forward to a Saturday afternoon in April of 1966. An out-of-work Tommy fields a phone call from Pittsburg, and is informed that Hanky is #1 and has sold 80,000 bootleg singles in 10 days.
Tommy dashed off to the Smoky City, where he recruited the Raconteurs to be the new Shondells. Two weeks later Tommy signed with Roulette Records and, as “Tommy James,” kicked off his career with the #1 summer hit of 1966.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Henry Glover
Lyrics Written by:
- Jeff Barry
- Ellie Greenwich
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).