Ken Foote's Summer Songs: Hanky Panky

(CBS 11) - The summer of 1966 introduced a new singer and group from Niles, Michigan: Tommy James & The Shondells.

James (born Thomas Jackson on April 29, 1947), helped form the group in 1964. It consisted of James, Eddie Gray (guitar), Ronnie Rosman (organ), Mike Vale (bass) and Pete Lucia (drums).

The group is still active today, along with various personnel changes. From 1966-1969, the group charted fourteen times with two #1 hits, one being their very song to chart: "Hanky Panky."

The song was written in 1963 and recorded by a group called, The Raindrops and a female R&B group that same year but failed to gain any momentum.

It was popular with garage rock bands. James actually recorded the song at a local station in Niles but it didn't go anywhere.

But in late 1965, a disc jockey at KQV/Pittsburgh discovered it, started playing it, and it became popular there. By the summer of 1966, the James/Shondells version of the song hit #1 on Billboard.

Written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, produced by Henry Glover, running 2:59 on the Snap! and Roulette labels, the lyrics go like this:

My baby does the hanky panky (repeated)

I saw her walking on down the line,
you know I saw her for the very first time,
a pretty little girl standing all alone,
hey, pretty baby, can I take you home
I never saw her, never ever saw her.

My baby does the hanky panky (repeated)

Today, James hosts a weekend show on SIRIUS XM 60s On 6 called "Gettin' Together" (based on the same name as the song performed by him and the Shondells in 1967).

This song is as good today as it was some 53 years ago. Enjoy!