HANKY PANKY

Tom Jackson was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1947 and took up the guitar at the age of nine. In 1963, Tom and some buddies recorded a song he found on the B-side of a record by the Raindrops. First, under the name of Tom and the Tornadoes and later as the Shondells, these high school juniors got a local label to record and distribute their record in the Niles, Michigan area where they lived and went to school. It did okay locally but didn't make it to national distribution.

Two years later, the group had disbanded, had given up the music business and gone about their life's work. Out of the blue, Tom got a call from a Pittsburgh disc jockey. It turns out a bootlegged copy of the record was being played there and had become a local hit. It is estimated that 80,000 black market copies of the record were sold in Pennsylvania. Tom put together a new band in Pittsburgh, called the group Tommy James and the Shondells, and recorded the song again with a new label. Hanky Panky went to number one in the country. The group went on to have a great career with other hits that included Crimson and Clover, Crystal Blue Persuasion, Mony Mony, Sweet Cherry Wine, I Think We're Alone Now, and Mirage. Persistance and a little luck are the keys.

Never give up on your dreams...they may just come later than you expected.
:-)