Reviews
"Tommy James's story is one of the most interesting of any of the 1960s rockers. . . . His story reads like a music-industry version of 'Goodfellas.'"--Denver Post, "A boisterous memoir . . . It's high time that [Tommy James] had a book to himself."-Janet Maslin,The New York Times, "Tommy James's story is one of the most interesting of any of the 1960s rockers. . . . His story reads like a music-industry version of 'Goodfellas.'"-- Denver Post, "Tommy James' rock & roll education cost him millions, but at least we got this entertaining memoir."--Rolling Stone, "Tommy James' rock & roll education cost him millions, but at least we got this entertaining memoir."-- Rolling Stone, “A boisterous memoir . . . It’s high time that [Tommy James] had a book to himself.� Janet Maslin, The New York Times, "A boisterous memoir . . . It's high time that [Tommy James] had a book to himself." --Janet Maslin, The New York Times, "A boisterous memoir . . . It's high time that [Tommy James] had a book to himself." -Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Synopsis
Tommy James's wild and entertaining true story of his career--part rock & roll fairytale, part mob epic--that "reads like a music-industry version of Goodfellas " ( The Denver Post )., Now in paperback, after five hardcover printings, Tommy James's wild and entertaining true story of his career--part rock & roll fairytale, part valentine to a bygone era, and part mob epic--that "reads like a music-industry version of Goodfellas " ( The Denver Post ). Everyone knows the hits: "Hanky Panky," "Mony Mony," "I Think We're Alone Now," "Crimson and Clover," "Crystal Blue Persuasion." All of these songs, which epitomize great pop music of the late 1960s, are now widely used in television and film and have been covered by a diverse group of artists from Billy Idol to Tiffany to R.E.M. Just as compelling as the music itself is the life Tommy James lived while making it. James tells the incredible story, revealing his complex and sometimes terrifying relationship with Roulette Records and Morris Levy, the legendary Godfather of the music business. Me, the Mob, and the Music is a fascinating portrait of this swaggering, wildly creative era of rock 'n' roll, when the hits kept coming and payola and the strong-arm tactics of the Mob were the norm, and what it was like, for better or worse, to be in the middle of it., Everyone knows the hits 'Hanky Panky', 'Mony Mony', 'I Think We're Alone Now', 'Crimson and Clover', 'Crystal Blue Persuasion'. They are nuggets of rock and pop history. However, few know the unlikely story of how these hits came to be. In 1966, Tommy James' record 'Hanky Panky' was re-discovered by a Pittsburgh DJ who started playing it on heavy rotation, prompting a tremendous response. James found himself in the office of Morris Levy at Roulette Records, where he was handed a pen and ominously promised 'one helluva ride'. Morris Levy, the legendary 'godfather' of the music business, needed a hit and 'Hanky Panky' would be his. The song went to #1; James went on to record many more hits; and Levy continued to reign. Me, the Mob, and the Musictells the intimate story of the complex and sometimes terrifying relationship between the bright-eyed, sweet-faced blonde musician from the heartland and the big, bombastic, brutal bully from the Bronx, who hustled, cheated, and swindled his way to the top of the music industry. It is also the story of this swaggering, wildly creative era of rock n' roll when the hits kept coming and payola and the strong arm tactics of the mob were the norm, and what it was like, for better or worse, to be in the middle of it.
