ME, the MOB and the MUSIC: ONE HELLUVA RIDE with TOMMY JAMES and the SHONDELLS (audiobook) by Tommy James and Martin Fitzpatrick













Published by Tantor Audio in 2010.
Read by David Colacci.
Duration: 7 hours, 51 minutes.
Unabridged.

I heard about this book in a memorable interview with Tommy James on the old Dennis Miller radio show when this book came out nearly 10 years ago. It was one of the best radio interviews I have ever heard and I am not even a giant Tommy James and the Shondells fan.

So, when I came across the audiobook I knew I had to listen to it - and I was not disappointed.

For those not familiar with Tommy James, he is responsible for the songs "Hanky Panky", "Mony Mony" and "I Think We're Alone Now". He had two #1 hits and 14 Top 40 hits overall.

He started his music career as a middle school kid in Niles, Michigan performing in bars and fraternity houses and pretending to be old enough to be in bars and fraternity houses. They did a lot of work in South Bend and Lake County in Indiana and eventually got regular work in Chicago. They even released the song "Hanky Panky" and got a local exposure.

And then it all dried up.

Tommy James almost took a job as a store manager but decided to give music one more try. It wasn't going well when James got a call from Pittsburgh saying that "Hanky Panky" was the hottest thing going in that market and he had to come out right away.

He did and went on to become one of the best-selling musicians of his time. The book's title refers to his time with Roulette Records in New York City. Roulette had national reach and extensive mafia connections and that's when things started to get weird...

It's a fascinating look at the music scene of 50 years ago. I really enjoyed it. The reader, David Colacci, was fantastic.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: ME, the MOB and the MUSIC: ONE HELLUVA RIDE with TOMMY JAMES and the SHONDELLS by Tommy James and Martin Fitzpatrick.

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