Tommy James Reinvents Supremes and Beatles Classics

Written By Mike Greenblatt

UP CLOSE

⭐️

Tommy James

⭐️

UP CLOSE ⭐️ Tommy James ⭐️

Tommy James by EPC Rivera

Last June, we spoke to legendary hitmaker Tommy James about the fact that Sony Publishing (the corporate entity that owns the Motown and Beatle catalogs) granted James the privilege of recording any songs he wanted from these iconic collections for use in upcoming movies and television programs. Sony has already placed his songs in over 90 films, 75 TV shows and tons of international commercials. So Tommy picked the first hit single from The Supremes:  1964’s “Where Did Our Love Go.” Written by Motown’s main three-man production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, it went straight to #1. And it sounded like this:

(Advertisement) Hear Tommy James’ version below…

Tommy James: “That one was tricky. I didn’t want to make a Motown record. The original was so iconic. I’m doing it in a completely different way. I turned its arrangement inside-out, slowing it down to half-time. It was a teen dance song, perfect for the time. But the song itself, upon closer inspection, is a very sad song. I had to do it totally different. So I believe that’s what we did. It’s hard to describe:  certainly not the four-on-the-floor rhythm like the Motown original. It’s more emotional. It had to be. It’s not a rhythmic track with voice on top. It’s a lead vocal with an accompanying music track wrapped around it.”

And it came out like this:

(Advertisement) Story continues below…

The Beatle song Tommy chose was “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” from the band’s 1965 Help! soundtrack. Written and performed solely by Lennon, although credited to Lennon-McCartney like all Beatle songs, John famously once said, “that’s me in my Dylan period.” Whether John wrote it about the fact he had to hide that he was married or manager Brian Epstein had to hide that he was gay, John never spoke about it. Here's how it originally sounded:

(Advertisement) Hear Tommy James’ version below…

Tommy James: “You have to be careful doing a Beatle song. You can’t compete with the original. What could I do? Make it better? Hardly! It’s already as good as it can be. Plus, fans might not like it and could easily resent such a cover. It was never a hit single. Lennon recorded it very simply. It’s almost like a demo. Just him and his acoustic in a spare 2:09! Plus a tambourine. And that flute! And no other Beatle voices. It’s wide open for a new production. It’s very profound lyrically. I totally rearranged it and even added a choir.

And now it sounds like this:

Mike Greenblatt

MIKE GREENBLATT has been writing for Goldmine magazine and New Jersey's Aquarian Weekly for more than 35 years. His writing subjects fill the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He's interviewed Joe Cocker, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Carlos Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, and members of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. He was 18 when he attended Woodstock in 1969.

In addition to writing about music, Greenblatt has worked on publicity campaigns for The Animals, Pat Benatar, Johnny Winter, Tommy James and Richard Branson, among others. He is currently the editor of The Jersey Sound.

Next

J. Howard Duff Stills Sings For The Sake Of The Song