That Thing You Do (song)
Encyclopedia
"That Thing You Do" is a 1996 song that appears in the film That Thing You Do!
. The song is performed by the fictional 1960s band The Wonders, who are the focus of the film.
band named "The Oneders" (later known as The Wonders) goes from a college talent show to climbing up the Billboard charts
thanks to the song "That Thing You Do". Written by guitarist/vocalist Jimmy Mattingly II, it was originally crafted as a ballad. Upon playing at said talent show, drummer Guy Patterson starts the beat off much more up-tempo and the rest of the band follow suit, turning the song into an upbeat rock song. The song is a hit with the audience, and they win the talent show. From there, the band gets picked up by a local manager who helps them get more shows in the area, and eventually the song receives radio airplay. The band then ends up signed to Play-Tone Records, under Mr. White's guidance, and the song climbs up the Billboard
Hot 100
, starting at #93, then #71, #49, and #21. The following week, "That Thing You Do" climbs to #7, becoming the quickest charting song ever on Play-Tone Records. However, the band breaks up before producing another record, so they eventually become one-hit wonder
s.
In the film, the song is written by Jimmy Mattingly II and performed by James "Jimmy" Mattingly II on vocals and guitar
, Leonard "Lenny" Haise on lead guitar
, T.B. Player on bass
and Guy "Shades" Patterson on drum
s. For their live performance of the song on The Hollywood Television Showcase, Scott "Wolfman" Pell replaced T.B. Player on bass.
In the fictitious "mockumentary" liner notes from the soundtrack CD, "That Thing You Do" peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the summer of 1964.
, the bassist of the alternative rock
group Fountains of Wayne
. Schlesinger did not expect his song to be chosen, but tried as "a personal exercise". Performers include Mike Viola
on vocals with Schlesinger on backup vocals.
The song was released as a single, and although not as successful as was depicted in the film, the track still did moderately well in the US, peaking at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100
. (It also reached #22 on the Adult Contemporary chart, #18 on the Adult Top 40, and #24 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart.)
The song was a bigger hit outside of the US, reaching #31 in Canada in December, 1996, and #22 on the UK Singles Chart
in February 1997. The song was nominated for Best Original Song
at the 69th Academy Awards
as well as Best Original Song
at the 54th Golden Globe Awards
, losing out on both occasions to Madonna
's "You Must Love Me
" from the musical Evita
.
That Thing You Do!
That Thing You Do! is a 1996 comedy-drama musical film written and directed by Tom Hanks. Set in the summer of 1964, the movie tells the story of the quick rise and fall of a one-hit wonder rock band...
. The song is performed by the fictional 1960s band The Wonders, who are the focus of the film.
In the film
In 1964, an Erie, PennsylvaniaErie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
band named "The Oneders" (later known as The Wonders) goes from a college talent show to climbing up the Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
thanks to the song "That Thing You Do". Written by guitarist/vocalist Jimmy Mattingly II, it was originally crafted as a ballad. Upon playing at said talent show, drummer Guy Patterson starts the beat off much more up-tempo and the rest of the band follow suit, turning the song into an upbeat rock song. The song is a hit with the audience, and they win the talent show. From there, the band gets picked up by a local manager who helps them get more shows in the area, and eventually the song receives radio airplay. The band then ends up signed to Play-Tone Records, under Mr. White's guidance, and the song climbs up the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, starting at #93, then #71, #49, and #21. The following week, "That Thing You Do" climbs to #7, becoming the quickest charting song ever on Play-Tone Records. However, the band breaks up before producing another record, so they eventually become one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
s.
In the film, the song is written by Jimmy Mattingly II and performed by James "Jimmy" Mattingly II on vocals and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, Leonard "Lenny" Haise on lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, T.B. Player on bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and Guy "Shades" Patterson on drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s. For their live performance of the song on The Hollywood Television Showcase, Scott "Wolfman" Pell replaced T.B. Player on bass.
In the fictitious "mockumentary" liner notes from the soundtrack CD, "That Thing You Do" peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the summer of 1964.
In real life
The song was written by Adam SchlesingerAdam Schlesinger
Adam Schlesinger is an American songwriter, composer and record producer. He has been nominated for Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Grammy , and Golden Globe Awards. He is also a winner of the ASCAP Pop Music Award....
, the bassist of the alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
group Fountains of Wayne
Fountains of Wayne
Fountains of Wayne is an American power pop band that formed in New York City in 1996. The band consists of members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter and Brian Young.-Early years:...
. Schlesinger did not expect his song to be chosen, but tried as "a personal exercise". Performers include Mike Viola
Mike Viola
Michael "Mike" Viola is an American singer-songwriter best known as singer, songwriter and "musical architect" of a team he called the "Candy Butchers", a pop-rock band from New York City that recorded three critically acclaimed albums for Sony. A native of Stoughton, Massachusetts, Mike began his...
on vocals with Schlesinger on backup vocals.
The song was released as a single, and although not as successful as was depicted in the film, the track still did moderately well in the US, peaking at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. (It also reached #22 on the Adult Contemporary chart, #18 on the Adult Top 40, and #24 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart.)
The song was a bigger hit outside of the US, reaching #31 in Canada in December, 1996, and #22 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in February 1997. The song was nominated for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
at the 69th Academy Awards
69th Academy Awards
The 69th Academy Awards were dominated by movies produced by independent studios, financed outside of mainstream Hollywood, leading to 1996 being dubbed "The Year of the Independents". All but one of the nominees for Best Picture were low-budget independent movies The 69th Academy Awards were...
as well as Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
at the 54th Golden Globe Awards
54th Golden Globe Awards
The 54th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1996, were held on 19 January 1997.-Best Actor – Drama: Geoffrey Rush – Shine* Ralph Fiennes – The English Patient* Mel Gibson – Ransom...
, losing out on both occasions to Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
's "You Must Love Me
You Must Love Me
"You Must Love Me" is a pop ballad recorded by American singer-songwriter Madonna from the soundtrack album Evita of the motion picture of the same name. It was released in October 1996 by Warner Bros. as the first single from the album. Written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, the song won an...
" from the musical Evita
Evita (film)
Evita is the 1996 film adaptation of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical of the same name based on the life of Eva Perón. It was directed by Alan Parker and written by Parker and Oliver Stone. It starred Madonna, Antonio Banderas, and Jonathan Pryce...
.
Cover versions
- The KnackThe KnackThe Knack was an American New Wave rock quartet based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with their first single, "My Sharona", an international number one hit in 1979.-Founding :...
recorded the song for their 1998 hits collection, Proof: The Very Best of the Knack. - New Found GloryNew Found GloryNew Found Glory is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida. Formed in the summer of 1997, founding members were lead vocalist Jordan Pundik, guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein, bassist Ian Grushka and drummer Joe Marino...
did a cover of this song for their EP, From the Screen to Your StereoFrom the Screen to Your Stereo-Credits:*Jordan Pundik - lead vocals*Chad Gilbert - lead guitar, vocals*Steve Klein - rhythm guitar*Ian Grushka - bass guitar*Cyrus Bolooki - drums, percussion...
in 2000. - JapaneseJapanese peopleThe are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
skaSkaSka |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
band Shaka Labbits included a cover of the song on their 2004 live album Burning Cylinder. - Scottish band Bubblegum Lemonade included the song on their 2008 EP Ten Years Younger.
- In 2010, the song was parodied by The FringemunksThe FringemunksThe Fringemunks are a music group created by Seattle musician David Wu in 2008 consisting of three "cloned" anthropomorphic chipmunks: Feebo, Notchy and Pie. They are known mostly for recapping all episodes of Fox television series Fringe with song parodies...
to recap FringeFringe (TV series)Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
episode 3.03, "The Plateau."
- In 1999's Pay Per View's *NSYNC concert, *NSYNC do a cover of this song.