Ohio-born, Michigan-raised rocker Tommy James fronted some of the 1960s' most indelible hits, including "I Think We're Alone Now," "Mony Mony," "Crystal Blue Persuasion," "Sweet Cherry Wine," and the chart-topping "Hanky Panky" and "Crimson and Clover."  Combining garage rock attitude with pop polish, Tommy James and The Shondells' recordings are still beloved staples of oldies radio today.  Now, all of those hits and more are returning to CD in a new 6-disc box set from Cherry Red's Grapefruit Records imprint.  Celebration: The Complete Roulette Recordings 1966-1973 has James' recordings with The Shondells as well as his solo endeavors during that period, for a total of 141 songs including eleven full albums and various non-LP singles, tracks from compilations, and one-offs.  While all of these albums have been previously released on CD - and the Shondells' singles were addressed in complete fashion by Collectors' Choice Music in 2008 - this set marks the first time that James and The Shondells' Roulette discography has been collected in one package.

Tommy James, born Thomas Gregory Jackson, was in showbiz from his childhood days as a model.  He played in his first band at age twelve; that group morphed from The Echoes to Tom and The Tornadoes to The Shondells.  Under the latter name, James recorded Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry's "Hanky Panky" in 1964 for a local indie label.  It made some noise regionally before disappearing.  A year later, though, a Pittsburgh DJ got hold of the record and began spinning it again.  The story goes that a local label pressed up bootleg copies, and 80,000 of the 45s sold in a little over a week.  On the strength of its performance in the Steel City, James headed to Pittsburgh and then to New York City where he sold the master to Morris Levy's Roulette Records.  The only problem left was that James no longer had a band, as The Shondells had broken up.  He picked up a local Pennsylvania band, The Raconteurs, and "Tommy James and The Shondells" was born.  Three weeks into July 1966, "Hanky Panky" - a little song that its writers never envisioned as anything more than a lark - was the No. 1 single in the country.

Disc One of Celebration presents the band's first two albums, Hanky Panky and It's Only Love, plus "Thunderbolt," the non-album B-side of the Roulette "Hanky Panky" single, and six outtakes first issued on CD in 1997.  The second disc has the I Think We're Alone Now and Gettin' Together albums plus the unique songs from the Something Special: Best of Tommy James and The Shondells compilation.  By then, the band had already scored such big hits as "I Think We're Alone Now" (No. 4), "Mirage" (No. 10), and "Gettin' Together" (No. 18).  Still more success was to come.

The third disc has the Mony, Mony album with that raucous No. 3 smash which became their only U.K. chart-topper.  It's joined by the Crimson and Clover album, featuring the psychedelic U.S. No. 1 title track and almost-as-popular "Crystal Blue Persuasion" (No. 2).  The single version of "Crimson and Clover" has also been appended.  The band followed up the psych-pop hit with Cellophane Symphony, a full-length album in that style.  It appears on the fourth disc plus the outtake "Contact," "Ball of Fire" from Roulette's 1969 Best Of collection, the radio edit of "Sweet Cherry Wine" (No. 7), and the first seven tracks from Travelin', the final Tommy James and The Shondells LP.

Travelin' concludes on Disc Five which also presents James' first two solo albums, Tommy James and Christian of the World.  The latter includes "Draggin' the Line," a No. 4 U.S. smash.  (Surprisingly, the original B-side version of the song from Roulette 7093 doesn't appear to be present here.  That version was overdubbed with horns and additional guitar and voices for its appearance on Roulette 7103 and the Christian of the World album.  Cherry Red's Rev-ola label included the original B-side version on its 2009 CD reissue of Tommy James.  Strangely enough, the discography provided by Grapefruit specifically mentions the catalogue numbers of both single versions.)

Disc Six wraps up James' Roulette years with his last album for the label, 1971's My Head, My Bed and My Red Guitar.  A departure from his pop sound, the country-rock excursion was co-produced in Nashville with great steel guitarist Pete Drake.  Scotty Moore, Buddy Spicher, Charlie McCoy, D.J. Fontana, and other Nashville Cats all supported James for his sojourn to Music City.  Six non-LP single sides bring Celebration to a close.

Compilation producer Bob Fisher has contributed an essay chronicling the group's history.  His essay draws upon Tommy James' entertaining biography, 2011's Me, The Mob, and The Music; in addition, the booklet promises to detail the band's chart accomplishments on both sides of the Atlantic and features images of memorabilia and contemporary news and reviews.  Simon Murphy has remastered the audio.

Tommy James continues to perform and record today, but Celebration: The Complete Roulette Recordings 1966-1973 collects some of his most cherished music.  It's due on January 29, 2021 from Cherry Red/Grapefruit.  You'll find pre-order links and the track listing below!

Tommy James and The Shondells, Celebration: The Complete Roulette Recordings 1966-1973 (Cherry Red/Grapefruit, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

Hanky Panky (Roulette LP SR 25336, 1966):

1. Hanky Panky (Roulette 4686)
2. I'll Go Crazy
3. I'm So Proud
4. The Lover
5. Love Makes the World Go 'Round
6. Good Lovin'
7. Say I Am (What I Am) (Roulette 4695)
8. Cleo's Mood
9. Don't Throw Our Love Away
10. Shake A Tail Feather
11. Soul Searchin' Baby
12. Lots of Pretty Girls (Roulette 4695)

Bonus Track:

13. Thunderbolt (Roulette 4686)

It's Only Love (Roulette SR 25344, 1966):

14. It's Only Love (Roulette 4710)
15. Hold On A Little Bit Longer
16. It's Alright
17. Juanita (Nothin's Gonna Stop Our Love)
18. Big Time Operator
19. Ya, Ya (Roulette 4710)
20. We'll Have A World
21. Don't Let My Love Pass You By (Roulette 4710)
22. Pick-Up
23. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
24. Fanny Mae
25. Some

Bonus Tracks:

26. Hold On To Him
27. She Cried
28. Wiggle Wobble
29. The Cheater
30. Soul Serenade
31. As We Go Through Life

CD 2

I Think We're Alone Now (Roulette SR 25353, 1967):

1. I Think We're Alone Now (Roulette 4720)
2. Trust Each Other In Love
3. What I'd Give To See Your Face Again
4. Baby Let Me Down
5. Let's Be Lovers
6. Run, Run Baby Run (Roulette 4736)
7. Mirage (Roulette 4736)
8. I Like the Way (Roulette 4756)
9. California Sun
10. (Baby, Baby) I Can't Take It No More (Roulette 4756)
11. Gone, Gone, Gone (Roulette 4720)
12. Shout

Something Special! Best Of Tommy James And The Shondells (Roulette SR 25355, 1967):

13. Out of the Blue (Roulette 4775)
14. Getting' Together (Roulette 4762) / (Roulette LP SR 25357)
15. Love's Closin' In On Me (Roulette 4775)
16. Real Girl (Roulette 4762)

Gettin' Together (Roulette SR 25357, 1967):

17. I Want to Be Around You
18. There's So Much Love All Around Me
19. Some Happy Day
20. So Deep with You
21. Sometimes I'm Up (Sometimes I'm Down)
22. You Better Watch Out
23. Wish It Were You (Roulette 7000)
24. World Down on Your Knees
25. Lost In Your Eyes

CD 3

Mony, Mony (Roulette SR 42012, 1968):

1. Mony, Mony (Roulette 7008)
2. Do Unto Me (Roulette 70016)
3. (I'm) Taken
4. Nightmare (I'm A Lover)
5. Run Away With Me
6. Somebody Cares (Roulette 7016)
7. Get Out Now (Roulette 7000)
8. Can't Go Back To Denver
9. Some Kind of Love (Roulette 7028)
10. Gingerbread Man (Roulette 7024)
11. One Two Three and I Fell (Roulette 7008)

Crimson and Clover (Roulette SR 42023, 1969):

12. Crimson and Clover
13. Kathleen McArthur
14. I Am A Tangerine
15. Do Something to Me (Roulette 7024)
16. Crystal Blue Persuasion (Roulette 7050)
17. Sugar on Sunday
18. Breakaway (Roulette 7039)
19. Smokey Roads
20. I'm Alive (Roulette 7050)
21. Crimson and Clover (Reprise)

Bonus Track:

22. Crimson and Clover (45 Radio Version) (Roulette 7028)

CD 4

Cellophane Symphony (Roulette SR 42030, 1969):

1. Cellophane Symphony
2. Makin' Good Time (Roulette 7060)
3. Evergreen
4. Sweet Cherry Wine (Roulette 7039)
5. Papa Rolled His Own
6. Changes
7. Loved One (Roulette 7066)
8. I Know Who I Am
9. Love Of A Woman
10. On Behalf Of The Entire Staff And Management

Bonus Tracks:

11. Sweet Cherry Wine (45 Version) (Roulette 7039)
12. Contact

Best of Tommy James & The Shondells (Roulette SR 42040, 1969):

13. Ball of Fire (Roulette 7060)

Travelin' (Roulette SR 42044, 1970):

14. Bloody Water
15. Red Rover (Roulette 7071)
16. Candy Maker (Roulette 7084)
17. She (Roulette 7066)
18. Talkin' and Signifyin' (Roulette 7076)
19. Travelin'
20. Gotta Get Back to You (Roulette 7071)

CD 5

Travelin' (Roulette SR 42044, 1970) (Continued):

1. Early In The Mornin'
2. Moses And Me
3. Kelly Told Anne

Tommy James (Roulette SR 42051, 1970):

4. Ball and Chain (Roulette 7084)
5. Meet the Comer
6. Midnight Train
7. Light of Day
8. Come to Me (Roulette 7076)
9. I Lost My Baby
10. Lady Jane
11. Quick Silver

Christian of the World - Tommy James (Roulette SR 42062 / SR 3001, 1971):

12. Christian of the World
13. Rings and Things (Roulette 7140)
14. I'm Comin' Home (Roulette 7110)
15. Sing, Sing, Sing (Roulette 7110)
16. Draggin' the Line (Roulette 7093)/(Roulette 7103)
17. Sail a Happy Ship
18. Light of Day (Roulette 7100)
19. Bits and Pieces (Roulette 7103)
20. Believe in People
21. Church St. Soul Revival (Roulette 7093)
22. Another Hill to Climb
23. Adrienne (Roulette 7100)
24. Silk Satin Carriage Waiting

CD 6

My Head, My Bed, And My Red Guitar (Roulette SR 3007, 1971):

1. Nothing to Hide (Roulette 7114)
2. Tell 'Em Willie Boy's A' Comin' (Roulette 7119)
3. White Horses
4. The Last One to Know
5. Rosalee
6. Paper Flower
7. Walk A Country Mile
8. Who's Gonna Cry
9. Forty Days and Forty Nights
10. Kingston Highway
11. I Live to Love a Woman
12. Fortunada
13. Dark Is the Night (Roulette 7126)

Non-LP Singles:

14. Cat's Eye in the Window (Roulette 7126)
15. Love Song (Roulette 7130)
16. Celebration (Roulette 7135)
17. Boo, Boo Don'tcha Be Blue (Roulette 7140)
18. Calico (Roulette 7147) 1973
19. Hey, My Lady (Roulette 7147) 1973