Longtime Essex County resident Tommy James has had a string of hits a mile long. His music has been used in countless movies, TV shows and commercials. It’s timeless. His compositions sound as vital and fresh now as they ever did. One of his songs, “Mony Mony,” originally released in the U.S. 57 years ago in 1968, a #1 in England and #3 in the U.S. and Canada, was released in Indonesia 47 years ago in Chinese.

Soldier Mike Archer had to take time and write a letter to Tommy James thanking him “for weaving and tapestry of peace and tranquility through your music, offering solace to those who sought refuge from the chaos.” He put in the subject line that “you may never know the profound impact your song had on a young soldier fighting a war (Vietnam) far from home, but your music will forever hold a special place in my heart.”

He’s in the New Jersey Hall of Fame—as inducted by his friend Stevie Van Zandt—but every year that Tommy James isn’t in the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame, that institution becomes as tainted as today’s Supreme Court.