Get Tommy James into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Click here and sign the on line petition for the induction of Tommy James into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Thanks, Brian!
OK, fellow fans of Tommy James. It's time to get serious. Let's get Tommy in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. You can't use e-mail. Ya gotta use snail mail. Suggest, no, DEMAND Tommy be inducted! The address is:
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation
1290 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10104
Sample Letter
May 26, 1999
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation
Attention: Nomination Committee
1290 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10104
Dear Sir or Madam:
Please consider inducting Tommy James into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Yes, I am a loyal fan, but Tommy did not put me up to this. This is my own, humble attempt to get Tommy in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Regardless of my bias, I am extremely disappointed that Tommy is not already one of the honorees. How does one achieve membership?
If it's based on sales, there's over 100 million records sold by Tommy and the Shondells.
If it's based on ingenuity, there's the first music video in 1968 (Mony Mony is frequently shown on VH-1) followed by the camera work during Crimson And Clover on the Ed Sullivan Show. Don't forget Tommy's audio-movie, A Night In Big City. No one else has done that before.
If it's based on song writing, you can check out the catalogue of Tommy James hits at www.bmi.com.
If it's based on producing, what about the Shondells (1968-1970), the Clique, and Alive 'N' Kickin'?
If it's based on covers, R.E.M. is the latest group to jump on the Tommy James bandwagon with their rendition of Draggin' The Line.
Tommy should be a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because...
- Tommy James is a singer, songwriter, and producer of rock and roll records.
- Tommy has had twenty-three gold singles, nine gold and platinum albums, and has sold over one hundred million records worldwide.
- During 1968 and 1969, Tommy James (and the Shondells) sold more single records (45s) than any artist in the world, including The Beatles, who are also members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- Tommy James was the first artist to feature the Moog synthesizer in the production of his album Cellophane Symphony in 1968.
- Long before Fleetwood Mac sang Don't Stop Believin' during the Clinton presidential campaign, Tommy James was the chairman of then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey's "Youth Affairs" commission. Tommy also performed on Mr. Humphrey's 1968 Presidential campaign.
- Thirteen years before MTV broadcast its first video, Tommy and the Shondells were one of the very first groups to produce music videos, starting with Mony Mony in 1968.
- Tommy's songs have been recorded by everyone from Billy Idol to the Boston Pops, with over three hundred major cover releases by artists worldwide, including Joan Jett, Tiffany, the Rubinoos, John Wesley Harding, Neil Diamond, and the Monkees to name just a few.
- In 1987, Tiffany and Billy Idol battled it out an entire month for the top spot on the charts with covers of I Think We're Alone Now and Mony Mony each hitting number one. That's the first time in history that covers of two songs by the same artist hit number one consecutively.
- Hollywood has taken to Tommy's vast catalog with appearances of his songs in more than a dozen major film releases over the past decade, including Oliver Stone's 1993 film "Heaven and Earth" (Mony Mony), Martin Scorceses' 1990 remake of "Cape Fear" (I Think We're Alone Now), the Academy Award winning "Forrest Gump" (Hanky Panky), Ted Danson's "Pontiac Moon" (Crimson And Clover), HBO's "Off and Running" starring Cyndi Lauper (Crimson And Clover), and both "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" and "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" feature Draggin' the Line.
- Thirty years in any business is a long time, but thirty years in show business, especially the music business, is a milestone only a handful of artists have experienced. Tommy James has now become the latest member of this elite group.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I anxiously await to hear your response in favor of inducting Tommy James into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Sincerely yours,
Stephen Laug
