Mony Mony – Tommy James And The Shondells | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop(#3); 1968
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
When Mony Mony first hit the nation’s radio airwaves in April of 1968, with it’s heavy rock ‘n’ roll beat and rowdy party vocals, only Tommy James and the other writers knew about the rather establishment roots of its title.
As Tommy tells it, frustrated by an inability to come up with a unique girl’s name for the song, he strolled onto the balcony outside his Manhattan apartment.
There, flashing above the nighttime city skyline from atop the Mutual of New York Insurance Company building, was the answer – “M.O.N.Y.” – in neon no less. Tommy James and The Shondells also recorded a film short for Mony to be shown in theaters between features. Thus, in a sense Mony paved the way for two facts of contemporary culture: corporate product placements and music videos.
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:
- Bo Gentry
- Ritchie Cordell
Lyrics Written by:
- Tommy James
- Bo Gentry
- Ritchie Cordell
- Bobby Bloom
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).