Album of the Day
THIS IS THE NODE AOD FULL TEMPLATE
HANKY PANKY
Tommy James and The Shondells
60s
Rock
Album of the Day
Tommy James and The Shondells
![](/sites/g/files/g2000012691/files/styles/square/public/aod/081227874568.jpg?itok=d5H8Add4)
Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich may have penned "Hanky Panky" for their group The Raindrops, but it was Tommy James & the Shondells who made it immortal – their version was #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 on this day in 1966. Tommy had recorded the song a couple of years earlier but it wasn’t until Pittsburgh promoter Bob Mack found a copy in a used record bin that opportunity came knocking, and James with a newly recruited band joined Mack in a studio to cut their debut album for Roulette. While the title track is the most famous of its 12 selections, HANKY PANKY is a terrific hybrid of garage rock (“Say I Am (What I Am),” “Lots of Pretty Girls”) and blue-eyed soul (“I'll Go Crazy,” “Shake a Tail Feather”) that any ’60s fan will enjoy.