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Hanky Panky (Tommy James and the Shondells song)

January 01, 1970

"Hanky Panky" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich for their group, the Raindrops.

"Hanky Panky"
Single by the Shondells
from the album Hanky Panky
B-side"Thunderbolt"
ReleasedOctober 1964 (original)
May 1966 (re-release)
Genre
Length2:59
LabelSnap!, Roulette
Songwriter(s)Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich
Producer(s)Henry Glover
The Shondells singles chronology
"Judy"
(1962) 		"Hanky Panky"
(1964) 		"Hanky Panky (re-release)"
(1966)

A 1964 recording by the Shondells, later reissued in 1966 under the band's new, and more successful, incarnation of "Tommy James and the Shondells," is the best known version, reaching #1 in the United States in 1966.

Song structure and meaning edit

Donald A. Guarisco at AllMusic[2] wrote:

The lyrics of this song convey the excitement of a hormonal lad driven mad by a girl who knows how to do the suggestive dance of the title, building themselves around the oft-repeated lyrical hook of "My baby does the hanky panky." The music is equally simple and infectious, building itself on simple verse and chorus melodies that bounce up and down in a pleasant, bouncy fashion. James' version is pure garage rock, a live-in-the-studio effort that layered low-slung guitar riffs over a shuffling stomp of a beat from the rhythm section. James topped it off with amusingly mush-mouthed vocals a la "Louie Louie" and an out-of-control guitar solo that is cheered on by the other band members.

In the Young People's Concert episode titled "What Is a Mode?", Leonard Bernstein explained that the song was composed in the Mixolydian mode.[3]

Composition and history edit

Barry and Greenwich authored the song in 1963. They were in the middle of a recording session for their group, The Raindrops, and realized they needed a B-side for their single, "That Boy John". The duo then went into the hall and penned the song in 20 minutes. Barry and Greenwich weren't particularly pleased with the song and deemed it inferior to the rest of their work. "I was surprised when [Tommy James' version] was released," Barry commented to Billboard's Fred Bronson. "As far as I was concerned it was a terrible song. In my mind it wasn't written to be a song, just a B-side." Greenwich has a different recollection of events, stating that the song was written in a car at a lover's lane. Greenwich claimed that while "everyone else was making out, Jeff and I were making music."[4] The single "That Boy John"/"Hanky Panky" was released in November 1963. The song was also recorded by "an obscure R&B girl group", The Summits, in 1963 (as Harmon 1017/Rust 5072), but failed to chart.[5]

Tommy James and the Shondells recorded their first song, "Long Pony Tail," in 1960 and had 500 copies pressed and distributed in southwest Michigan. Jack Douglas, a disc jockey at WNIL in Niles, Michigan, heard the song and asked James if he had other material to record. James had heard "Hanky Panky" being performed by a garage rock band in a club in South Bend, Indiana. "I really only remembered a few lines from the song, so when we went to record it, I had to make up the rest of the song," he told author Fred Bronson. "I just pieced it back together from what I remembered." "Hanky Panky" was released on Douglas' Snap Records in February 1964, selling well in the tri-state area of Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. However, lacking national distribution, the single's popularity quickly faded. James moved on, breaking up The Shondells and finishing high school.

In 1965, an unemployed James was contacted by Snap Records owner Jack Douglas. Pittsburgh disc jockey "Mad Mike" Metrovich had begun playing The Shondells' version of "Hanky Panky", and the single had become popular in that area. The single had been bootlegged in Pittsburgh, and slightly sped up. With the original Shondells having scattered, James realized he had to form a new band. Mack took him to Pittsburgh to see several bands in the area. James hired the first decent local band he ran into, The Greensburg, Pennsylvania-based Raconteurs, to be the new Shondells. A debate continues over whether Metrovich or Pittsburgh disc jockey Bob Mack actually broke the single in the area. James credits Mack.

After appearances on TV and in clubs in the city, James and Mack took a master of "Hanky Panky" to New York City, where Mack sold it to Roulette Records. "The amazing thing is we did not re-record the song," James told Bronson. "I don't think anybody can record a song that bad and make it sound good. It had to sound amateurish like that. I think if we'd fooled with it too much we'd have fouled it up." It was released promptly and took the top position of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in July 1966.

In 2003, Bob Rivers parodied the song as "Newt Gingrich Does the Hanky Panky".[6]

The song was featured in Netflix's Sex Education and the 2002 horror movie May.

Chart history edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Scapelliti, Christopher (1998). "Tommy James & the Shondells". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 590–591.
  2. ^ Guarisco, Donald. "Song Review: Hanky Panky". AllMusic. Retrieved August 30, 2006.
  3. ^ Young People's Concert: What Is a Mode? (transcripts) – LeonardBernstein.com. Retrieved July 21, 2018
  4. ^ Greenwich and Berry, Do-Wah-Diddy: Words and Music by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, CD, Ace Records Ltd., London, 2008, liner notes
  5. ^ Greenwich and Berry, Do-Wah-Diddy: Words and Music by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, CD, Ace Records Ltd., London, 2008, liner notes
  6. ^ . Archived from the original on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2011-05-11.
  7. ^ Swedish Charts website
  8. ^ Swedish Charts website as above
  9. ^ Swedish Charts website as above
  10. ^ Swedish Charts website as above
  11. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  12. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  13. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 292.
  14. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 9, 1966
  15. ^ Swedish Charts website as above
  16. ^ Musicoutfitters.com
  17. ^ . Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2018.

See also edit

References edit

  • Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits . ISBN 0-8230-7677-6.
  • "BBC: The Official UK Charts Company". United Kingdom sales chart. Retrieved June 11, 2006.
  • "Billboard". Billboard Hot 100 airplay and sales charts. Retrieved June 11, 2006.
  • Haight, Debra (2009-11-22). "For Tommy James, it's been a long weird road". The Herald-Palladium. Retrieved 2009-11-24.

External links edit

  • SongFacts Entry

January 01, 1970
hanky, panky, tommy, james, shondells, song, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, september, 2016, learn, when, rem. This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations September 2016 Learn how and when to remove this message Hanky Panky is a song written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich for their group the Raindrops Hanky Panky Single by the Shondellsfrom the album Hanky PankyB side Thunderbolt ReleasedOctober 1964 original May 1966 re release GenreGarage rock R amp B 1 Length2 59LabelSnap RouletteSongwriter s Jeff Barry Ellie GreenwichProducer s Henry GloverThe Shondells singles chronology Judy 1962 Hanky Panky 1964 Hanky Panky re release 1966 A 1964 recording by the Shondells later reissued in 1966 under the band s new and more successful incarnation of Tommy James and the Shondells is the best known version reaching 1 in the United States in 1966 Contents 1 Song structure and meaning 2 Composition and history 3 Chart history 3 1 Weekly charts 3 2 Year end charts 4 Notes 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksSong structure and meaning editDonald A Guarisco at AllMusic 2 wrote The lyrics of this song convey the excitement of a hormonal lad driven mad by a girl who knows how to do the suggestive dance of the title building themselves around the oft repeated lyrical hook of My baby does the hanky panky The music is equally simple and infectious building itself on simple verse and chorus melodies that bounce up and down in a pleasant bouncy fashion James version is pure garage rock a live in the studio effort that layered low slung guitar riffs over a shuffling stomp of a beat from the rhythm section James topped it off with amusingly mush mouthed vocals a la Louie Louie and an out of control guitar solo that is cheered on by the other band members In the Young People s Concert episode titled What Is a Mode Leonard Bernstein explained that the song was composed in the Mixolydian mode 3 Composition and history editBarry and Greenwich authored the song in 1963 They were in the middle of a recording session for their group The Raindrops and realized they needed a B side for their single That Boy John The duo then went into the hall and penned the song in 20 minutes Barry and Greenwich weren t particularly pleased with the song and deemed it inferior to the rest of their work I was surprised when Tommy James version was released Barry commented to Billboard s Fred Bronson As far as I was concerned it was a terrible song In my mind it wasn t written to be a song just a B side Greenwich has a different recollection of events stating that the song was written in a car at a lover s lane Greenwich claimed that while everyone else was making out Jeff and I were making music 4 The single That Boy John Hanky Panky was released in November 1963 The song was also recorded by an obscure R amp B girl group The Summits in 1963 as Harmon 1017 Rust 5072 but failed to chart 5 Tommy James and the Shondells recorded their first song Long Pony Tail in 1960 and had 500 copies pressed and distributed in southwest Michigan Jack Douglas a disc jockey at WNIL in Niles Michigan heard the song and asked James if he had other material to record James had heard Hanky Panky being performed by a garage rock band in a club in South Bend Indiana I really only remembered a few lines from the song so when we went to record it I had to make up the rest of the song he told author Fred Bronson I just pieced it back together from what I remembered Hanky Panky was released on Douglas Snap Records in February 1964 selling well in the tri state area of Michigan Indiana and Illinois However lacking national distribution the single s popularity quickly faded James moved on breaking up The Shondells and finishing high school In 1965 an unemployed James was contacted by Snap Records owner Jack Douglas Pittsburgh disc jockey Mad Mike Metrovich had begun playing The Shondells version of Hanky Panky and the single had become popular in that area The single had been bootlegged in Pittsburgh and slightly sped up With the original Shondells having scattered James realized he had to form a new band Mack took him to Pittsburgh to see several bands in the area James hired the first decent local band he ran into The Greensburg Pennsylvania based Raconteurs to be the new Shondells A debate continues over whether Metrovich or Pittsburgh disc jockey Bob Mack actually broke the single in the area James credits Mack After appearances on TV and in clubs in the city James and Mack took a master of Hanky Panky to New York City where Mack sold it to Roulette Records The amazing thing is we did not re record the song James told Bronson I don t think anybody can record a song that bad and make it sound good It had to sound amateurish like that I think if we d fooled with it too much we d have fouled it up It was released promptly and took the top position of the U S Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in July 1966 In 2003 Bob Rivers parodied the song as Newt Gingrich Does the Hanky Panky 6 The song was featured in Netflix s Sex Education and the 2002 horror movie May Chart history editWeekly charts edit Chart 1966 Peakposition Austria 7 2 Belgium Flanders 8 4 Belgium Wallonia 9 17 Canada RPM Top Singles 1 Netherlands 10 9 South Africa Springbok 11 3 UK Singles Chart 38 US Billboard Hot 100 12 1 US Billboard Hot R amp B Singles 13 39 US Cash Box Top 100 14 1 West Germany 15 3 Year end charts edit Chart 1966 Rank U S Billboard Hot 100 16 19 U S Cash Box 17 18Notes edit Scapelliti Christopher 1998 Tommy James amp the Shondells In Graff Gary Durchholz Daniel eds MusicHound Rock The Essential Album Guide Detroit Visible Ink Press pp 590 591 Guarisco Donald Song Review Hanky Panky AllMusic Retrieved August 30 2006 Young People s Concert What Is a Mode transcripts LeonardBernstein com Retrieved July 21 2018 Greenwich and Berry Do Wah Diddy Words and Music by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry CD Ace Records Ltd London 2008 liner notes Greenwich and Berry Do Wah Diddy Words and Music by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry CD Ace Records Ltd London 2008 liner notes The Bob Rivers Show with Bob Spike and Joe Archived from the original on 2011 05 11 Retrieved 2011 05 11 Swedish Charts website Swedish Charts website as above Swedish Charts website as above Swedish Charts website as above SA Charts 1965 March 1989 Retrieved 5 September 2018 Joel Whitburn s Top Pop Singles 1955 1990 ISBN 0 89820 089 X Whitburn Joel 2004 Top R amp B Hip Hop Singles 1942 2004 Record Research p 292 Cash Box Top 100 Singles July 9 1966 Swedish Charts website as above Musicoutfitters com Cash Box Year End Charts Top 100 Pop Singles December 24 1966 Archived from the original on February 17 2017 Retrieved December 22 2018 See also editWipe outReferences editBronson Fred 2003 The Billboard Book of Number One Hits ISBN 0 8230 7677 6 BBC The Official UK Charts Company United Kingdom sales chart Retrieved June 11 2006 Billboard Billboard Hot 100 airplay and sales charts Retrieved June 11 2006 Haight Debra 2009 11 22 For Tommy James it s been a long weird road The Herald Palladium Retrieved 2009 11 24 External links editSongFacts Entry Song lyrics Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hanky Panky Tommy James and the Shondells song amp oldid 1162865329, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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