Poorman’s 15 Minutes of Fame: Tommy James, of Tommy James and The Shondells
“[I thought this was pretty interesting, you know, that at one point in your career the Mafia was involved somehow] Well, the bottom line was that we signed with Roulette Records and we wrote a book about it, which is going to be a movie called Me, The Mob, and The Music. And the bottom line is that Roulette, in addition to being a functioning record company and a label and a pretty good one, it was also a front for the Genovese crime family in New York. And of course we didn’t know that when we signed and we learned that incrementally and we spent a lot of time pretending. We didn’t see the things we saw and it’s all in the book and soon to be a movie. And so we were very fortunate to make it out of there in one piece. ”
Air date: 03/18/2026
Tune in as Poorman interviews Tommy James of Tommy James andThe Shondells, an American rock band formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. The band has had two No. 1 singles in the U.S.: "Hanky Panky" (1966), the band's only RIAA Certified Gold record, and "Crimson and Clover" (1969). The band also charted twelve other top 40 hits, including five in the Hot 100's Top 10: "I Think We're Alone Now" (1967), "Mirage" (1967), "Mony Mony" (1968), "Sweet Cherry Wine" (1969), and "Crystal Blue Persuasion" (1969).
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