Two Superstar Groups Debuted On This Date

Two of the great groups not only of the 60's but of the Rock Era both debuted on this date.  The Association and Tommy James & the Shondells both first hit the chart on June 4.  The Association released "Along Comes Mary", which eventually reached #7 while James & company became one of a handful of artists to reach #1 with their first single ("Hanky Panky".







Tommy James formed the group at age 12 and recorded "Hanky Panky" at the age of 16.  When that single did so well in Pittsburgh, James moved there and recruited the Pittsburgh group the Raconteurs to become the official Shondells.  The band consisted of guitarist Eddie Gray, Ronnie Rosman on organ, Mike Vale on bass and Pete Lucia on drums.  The group also hit #1 with "Crimson and Clover" and just missed with "Crystal Blue Persuasion", which reached #2 for 2 weeks.  They also landed Top 10 hits with "I think We're Alone Now", "Mirage" and "Mony Mony" and scored 19 hits.

The Association began in Los Angeles in 1965.  Terry Kirkman played 23 wind, reed and percussion instruments for the group.  Gary "Jules" Alexander was on guitar, Brian Cole played bass, Jim Yester was a guitarist, Ted Bluechel, Jr. played drums while Russ Giguere played percussion.  The Association.made their hits count.  They only had 13, but 5 of those went Top 10, including the #1 smashes "Cherish" and "Windy", two of the Top Songs of the Rock Era*, and the #2 classic "Never My Love".  The group also enjoyed a Top 10 with "Everything That Touches You".