Tommy James and the Shondells are an American rock band best known for their series of hit records in the late 1960s, culminating with their famed singles, “Mony Mony” and “Crimson and Clover”.

The band formed in 1959, when its founder and namesake, Tommy James, was only 12. In 1962, the band (then named “Tom & the Tornadoes”) released their first single. In 1964, he renamed the group to “The Shondells” because it sounded better to him. That February, they released the single “Hanky Panky” to little success. The single failed to chart despite their touring and, dejected, the group broke up in 1965 after their high school graduation.

One year later, a nightclub DJ in Pittsburgh began playing “Hanky Panky” at his weekend dances. The crowd loved it so much it became a radio staple and a bootlegged reissue sold 80,000 copies in a little over a week. A local promoter tracked James down and urged him to take advantage of this surprise success. Unable to reform the original group, James hired a local bar band to become the new Shondells. The reformed band almost immediately went on to write 10 million-selling singles in two years, including “I Think We’re Alone Now” and “Mony Mony” (for which the band filmed one of the first music videos). They also toured in support of Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey during his presidential campaign in 1968.

However, their most resounding and lasting success came in 1969 with their wildly popular record Crimson and Clover and its titular single. The song is, was, and remains a classic of the original psychedelic era and has been covered and praised by artists across the board, from Joan Jett to Jimmy Eat World to Prince. And that’s not even mentioning the other prominent single on that album, “Crystal Blue Persuasion” (best known nowadays for its use in Breaking Bad).

The Shondells followed that album up with the experimental Cellophane Symphony, notable for its early use of the Moog synthesizer and its top 10 single, “Sweet Cherry Wine”. By the end of 1969, they’d sold more records than The Beatles.

In 1970, they released their last studio album, Travelin', a more gritty-sounding hard rock effort than their earlier works. At a concert in Birmingham, Alabama that year, Tommy James collapsed offstage due to a bad batch of drugs and was pronounced dead at the scene before miraculously recovering. The band dissolved after that and James pursued a career as a solo artist through the 70s and early 80s.

The music of the Shondells enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the mid-80s, thanks to two high-profile covers of their songs by Tiffany and Billy Idol. James soon reformed the Shondells and they continually perform to this day. James has also written a widely-acclaimed memoir of his peak in show business, titled Me, the Mob and the Music.