>>When there are so many abysmal, wretchedly badly written songs out there...stuff like "Billy, Don't Be A Hero", for god's sake, or "My Baby Does The Hanky-Panky", there is no reason on earth to go after a very well written and played song like this one just because you figure you heard it once too often.<<

Now Little Hawk is really starting to piss me off. Not a mention of Terry Jacks' "Seasons in the Sun." I suppose he'll be defending that turd of turds in his next post. And FYI, Tommy James and Shondells are a thousand times more preferable than the Starlight Vocal Band or whatever their name was. Don't knock the rock, "Hanky Panky" beats the shit out of "Afternoon Delight" which is just a studio creation of producers looking to cash in on that craze of the 70s--I don't know what to call it--that craze of crappy commercial songs and artists who were basically one-hit wonders (although I wonder how they managed even one hit) such as Sammy Johns' "Chevy Van" and R. Dean Taylor's "Indiana Wants Me" or Lobo's "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo" or Andrew Gold's "Lonely Boy" or Henry Gross's "Shannon" (although he actually kicked ass and was a real rocknroller--wasn't he from Sha-Na-Na?--but that's the only song of the poor guy that ever got any play--no justice--listen to his "Plug Me Into Something" or "Dixie Spiderman" those fuckin' rocked, baby!), or Looking Glass's "Brandy" or Abba's "Roxy Roller" (I think that was Abba)or Minnie Ripperton's "Loving You" or England Dan & John Ford Colley "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" or Player's "Baby Come Back" or anything by Christopher Cross (whatever happened to him? On second thought I don't care), etc etc etc. With the exception of Mr. Gross none of these others held a candle to Tommy James and the Shondells.

In addition to that there was the immortal "Crimson & Clover" so butchered and hackneyed by Joan Jett. And of course, "I Think We're Alone Now" so degraded by Tiffany or somebody. Then there was "Mony Mony" so beloved of middleaged barhoppers who love to shriek, "Get Laid Get Fucked" cuz it remionds them of high school. Then there was "I Like the Waves." See, what did the Starlight Vocal Band ever do that could match that string of pearls, eh?

"My Baby Does the Hanky Panky" harks back to its rockabilly roots in the 50s when music was music and rocknroll was rocknroll because you could see TJ&tSh had a lot of knowledge and respect for those roots. Not exactly Gene Vincent, Johnny Burnette or Eddie Cochran calibre but then who is? The Starlight Vocal Band wouldn't know rocknroll if they were caught in a avalanche--which wouldn't have been a bad fate for them.

So DON'T KNOCK THE ROCK, MISTER!!!! Tommy James was the man. Does my baby do the hanky-panky? If she wants to be with me, you bet she does!