(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer down below)
Tommy James & the Shondelles - "Hanky Panky"
Hit Number 1: July 16, 1966
Stay at Number 1: 2 Weeks
Apparently garage rock became a force in the mid-1960s. We've already seen a couple examples of what could be classified as "garage rock" with "Hang on Sloopy" and "Good Lovin'", and it only seems to continue throughout 1966. "Hanky Panky" is probably the best example of garage rock though. It's known for repeating the line "My baby does the hanky panky" over and over again, as well as an out of control, hair-on-fire guitar solo that's cheered on by the other band mates of Tommy James & the Shondelles. Try to picture a group of teenagers trying to become a rock band, playing in their garage. You might come up with something similar to "Hanky Panky".
"Hanky Panky" was written in 1963, for a group called the Raindrops. The writers were Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, who were responsible for writing "Chapel of Love" and having a hand in "Leader of the Pack". The Raindrops were in the middle of a recording session, and needed a B-Side to their single "That Boy John". The song was written in just 20 minutes. They would later admit that they weren't very pleased with the song, and simply wrote it for the sake of throwing a B-Side on to the Raindrops' single. Barry would say in an interview "I was surprised when [Tommy James version] was released. As far as I was concerned it was a terrible song, just a B-Side". Despite that, it became popular with garage rock bands, and it was by one of those groups in South Bend, Indiana where James first heard the song. He only remembered a few lines of the song, so when the group went to record it in the studio, he said he had to just piece together what he could remember. That explains why the same line is repeated over and over, and he apparently didn't remember a good chunk of the song.
The Shondelles' version was first released in 1964, and had been recorded at a local radio station in Niles, Michigan, WNIL. It sold well in the tri-state area of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois, but it lacked any national distribution. As a result, the song didn't stay popular for long, and it quickly vanished. The Shondelles broke up, and James finished high school. But then a disc jockey by the name of "Mad Mike" Metrovich in Pittsburgh contacted an, at the time, unemployed James. Metrovich had been playing James' song, and it became popular in the area. James decided to re-release the song, and traveled to Pittsburgh to reform the Shondelles, since the original members had no interest in reforming. He ran into a group called the Raconteurs, who were the first decent local band he found there, and they became the new Shondelles. After appearances on TV and clubs in the Pittsburgh area, James took a master of the song to New York, where he sold it to Roulette Records. He later remarked in an interview "The amazing thing is we did not re-record the song. 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".
Here's the thing though: The song really isn't THAT bad. I get it, that same line can be very tiresome, but it's the overall feel of the song that I like. The song is about a teenage guy with hormones raging, and can hardly contain himself when his "baby does the hanky panky". The song is almost so stupid, that it becomes fun. I think it sounds like a group of teenage guys not expecting to get anywhere with their music careers, but throwing all their pride out the window and recording a fun banger that they can all relate to. The guitar solo lets everything loose, and the cheering on by the other band members while it's happening is almost comical. I like the blues pattern the song is in, and it's pretty easy for me to look past the repetition of the same line. I will admit though, it is a major flaw of the song. "Hanky Panky" is one of those extremely silly and simple songs that really doesn't care what you think of it. It's there to excite you and get you moving. But we get it dude, your baby does the "Hanky Panky".
GRADE: 7/10
SONGS REFERENCED:
The Dixie Cups - "Chapel of Love"
The Shangri-Las - "Leader of the Pack"
The McCoys - "Hang on Sloopy"
The Young Rascals - "Good Lovin'"
MY INSPIRATION / MORE INFORMATION:
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