 |
| Don't knock it. You always get a crowd. |
The Hit
I went into this one knowing neither the band - Alive ‘n’ Kickin’ - nor their very lonely hit - “Tighter, Tighter.” Featuring soulful vocals, a nice pop melody (more later), and some smart flourishes (e.g., the shimmer-echo guitar riff that bridges between the lead vocals between verses, or the horns that play under the chorus), it’s not a bad song. And it sounds familiar for a reason
Tommy James wrote it for them and as a bit of make-up gesture. He originally offered them “Crystal Blue Persuasion,” but he liked it too much to pass it off. That was a good call too, because it gave Tommy James and the Shondells one of the hits that anchored 1969’s Crimson & Clover (one of five, as it happens; helluva(n) album). “Tighter, Tighter” gave Alive ‘n’ Kickin’ a big one too. It hit No. 7.
Oh, and they also shared a label and a management team. If you know a little about Tommy James’ relationship to his label, you’re that much closer to understanding one reason why Alive ‘n’ Kickin’ walked away from the music business, if only for a while.
The Rest of the Story
The band formed in Brooklyn, NY, all as teenagers, and they pulled together their act and sound in Dave Shearer’s (guitar) basement. Bruce Sudano (keyboards), Woody Wilson (bass), Vito Albano (I think; drums), and Jeff Miller (more keyboards) laid down the music for two lead vocalists, Pepe Cardona and Sandy Toper (to clarify, a woman). What they put together had a 60s-hangover vibe, a mix of (to my ear) roots rock and funk with the keyboard/organ sounds as a kind of foundation. If I had to peg a place where you’ve heard it before, I’d go with B-movies from the era and about three-four years after.
The connection to Tommy James came through Sandy Toder’s sister, who was “tight” with Tommy James’ wife, and that opened doors for them. Sudano and Wilson opened the door a little further by helping Tommy James write “Balls of Fire” (while both still teenagers, btw) and, somewhere in there, he passed them “Tighter, Tighter.” I assume Tommy James then directed them to Roulette Records, and Morris Levy - who was also connected, but in the mob sense - which means everyone involved probably heard Levy line up dirty work at least once (Tommy James tells great stories about this fairly early into a very long interview).
I went into this one knowing neither the band - Alive ‘n’ Kickin’ - nor their very lonely hit - “Tighter, Tighter.” Featuring soulful vocals, a nice pop melody (more later), and some smart flourishes (e.g., the shimmer-echo guitar riff that bridges between the lead vocals between verses, or the horns that play under the chorus), it’s not a bad song. And it sounds familiar for a reason
Tommy James wrote it for them and as a bit of make-up gesture. He originally offered them “Crystal Blue Persuasion,” but he liked it too much to pass it off. That was a good call too, because it gave Tommy James and the Shondells one of the hits that anchored 1969’s Crimson & Clover (one of five, as it happens; helluva(n) album). “Tighter, Tighter” gave Alive ‘n’ Kickin’ a big one too. It hit No. 7.
Oh, and they also shared a label and a management team. If you know a little about Tommy James’ relationship to his label, you’re that much closer to understanding one reason why Alive ‘n’ Kickin’ walked away from the music business, if only for a while.
The Rest of the Story
The band formed in Brooklyn, NY, all as teenagers, and they pulled together their act and sound in Dave Shearer’s (guitar) basement. Bruce Sudano (keyboards), Woody Wilson (bass), Vito Albano (I think; drums), and Jeff Miller (more keyboards) laid down the music for two lead vocalists, Pepe Cardona and Sandy Toper (to clarify, a woman). What they put together had a 60s-hangover vibe, a mix of (to my ear) roots rock and funk with the keyboard/organ sounds as a kind of foundation. If I had to peg a place where you’ve heard it before, I’d go with B-movies from the era and about three-four years after.
The connection to Tommy James came through Sandy Toder’s sister, who was “tight” with Tommy James’ wife, and that opened doors for them. Sudano and Wilson opened the door a little further by helping Tommy James write “Balls of Fire” (while both still teenagers, btw) and, somewhere in there, he passed them “Tighter, Tighter.” I assume Tommy James then directed them to Roulette Records, and Morris Levy - who was also connected, but in the mob sense - which means everyone involved probably heard Levy line up dirty work at least once (Tommy James tells great stories about this fairly early into a very long interview).
