“That Thing You Do!” (The Wonders)

Your ’60s pop tune written for a fake band in a ’90s movie song of the day is “That Thing You Do!” by The Wonders. The Wonders, in case you were wondering, were a one-hit wonder band created for the 1996 movie That Thing You Do! That movie is the best representation of the music business and the joy of playing music I’ve ever seen on film (although Almost Famous comes close), the band is as close to a real ’60s combo you’re ever going to find in the present today, and that song is a marvel of pop songwriting that could hold its own back in the ’60s, the ’90s, or today.

That Thing You Do!, the movie, was written and directed by America’s favorite movie star, Tom Hanks. It was all about a one-hit wonder rock band called the Wonders (previously known as the Oneders, which no one pronounced correctly) and their rise to and fall from fame during the height of the British invasion and its immediate aftermath when every kid in America was picking up a guitar or putting together a set of drums to play music in their basements and garages. The film starred Tom Everett Scott, Johnathon Schaech, Steve Zahn, and Ethan Embry as the band’s drummer, lead singer/songwriter, lead guitarist, and bass player, respectively, with supporting roles for Liv Tyler, Charlize Theron, Rita Wilson (Mrs. Hanks), Mr. Hanks himself, and a lot of Mr. Hanks’ Hollywood friends.

That Thing You Do! is one of those movies that always puts a smile on my face. It’s just a joyful, fun-filled little flick. I particularly like that the lead character, Guy Patterson, was a guy who played drums in his basement and whose father owned a small town TV and appliance store and complained when bigger competition moved in and actually stayed open on Sundays. As a guy who played drums to records in his basement and whose father owned a TV and appliance store and complained when bigger competition moved in and actually stayed open on Sundays, I can relate to that.

One of the things I particularly love about That Thing You Do! is the period detail, down to the tom holders on the drum kits and the way the tube-based AM clock radios and console stereos in the local TV and appliance store take a few minutes to warm up. I also like that Guy started with a beat up old Leedy woodgrain set in jazz sizes (he was a jazz drummer to begin with) then, when the band hit it big and went on tour, he upgraded to a brand spanking new white marine pearl Ludwig in Ringo sizes. They got it right all the way around.

The song, “That Thing You Do!,” is a perfect piece of pop confection. It had to be, as it was played nine times during the course of the movie:

• The first time you hear the song it’s a boring ballad the boys are rehearsing for their audition on a local talent show. (This is where Guy, the drummer, first meets the band as he fills in for their regular drummer who broke his arm being a goofball. Some drummers are like that.)
• The second time you hear the song is at the talent show, where Guy picks up the tempo and, after the other guys catch on to and catch up with what’s happening, turns it into a snappy little up-tempo number.
• The third time is when the band is playing their first gig at a local pizza joint near the airport, complete with the noise of jets taking off overhead and announcements of “your pizza is ready.” (I’ve played a few joints like that…)
• The fourth time is when the band is recording the song at Guy’s Uncle Bob’s church. (Uncle Bob records a lot of church music, you see.)
• The fifth time is when the boys and the lead singer’s girlfriend first hear the song on the radio.
• The sixth time is when the boys play their first big gig at a rock ‘n’ roll review in Pittsburgh (and blow it fairly big time).
• The seventh and eighth times are after the song starts zooming up the charts and the Wonders join the Play-Tone Records Galaxy of Stars on a state fair tour.
• The ninth and final time you hear the song is when the band, minus their original bass player (who up and joined the Marines), play the song on national television on a Hollywood Palace-like variety show hosted by Mr. Hanks’ old Bosom Buddies pal Peter Scolari as a Bob Hope-style comedian.

That’s a lot of times to hear the same song—and if it wasn’t a great tune you would’ve gotten tired of it and tired of the movie. The song had to be the ideal earworm to get inside your head and make you want to hear it again. It was written by the late, great Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, right before Fountains of Wayne made it big. Mr. Schlesinger made a career out of crafting perfect pop songs, including yesterday’s classic song of the day, Fountains of Wayne’s “I-95.” The assignment for this film, as Mr. Schlesinger later related, was to write a song that “should sound like an American band that was blown away by The Beatles right after they arrived and was trying to imitate them.” I think he nailed it.

(By the way, all the music in the movie is period perfect, from the Chantrellines’ Shirelles-like “Hold My Hand, Hold My Heart” and Diane Danes’ Dusty Springfield-like “My World Is Over” to The Saturn 5’s guitar instrumental “Voyage Around the Moon” and Freddy Fredrickson’s early ’60s cop TV show theme-like “Mr. Downtown.” And the Wonders’ other tunes, dispersed throughout the flick, are equally snappy; I especially like “Little Wild One” and “Dance With Me Tonight.”)

The best scene in the whole movie is the fifth time we hear “That Thing You Do!,” the first time the bandmembers and girlfriend Faye hear the song playing on their local AM radio station. The sheer joy in the scene as they hear themselves on the radio, running down the street and dancing around Guy’s dad’s store, captures the joy and excitement of music more than anything else short of playing it yourself. It is a marvelous movie moment, a scene I can watch over and over again—and one that never fails to lift me up when I’m feeling down. It is wonderful. (And, by accounts, the actors’ reactions were real and largely improvised.)

As to that song, and the recording thereof. While the actors synched their way through the tunes onscreen, the actual recording of “That Thing You Do!” was done by a bunch of studio pros. The real musicians on the track included Mike Viola on lead vocals, Dean Parks on guitar, David Carpenter on bass, and the ubiquitous Kenny Aronoff on drums. That’s another reason why it sounded so good.

One almost-last thing. “That Thing You Do!” was actually released as a single in 1996, even though it sounded like it was recorded thirty years prior. It reached #41 on the Billboard Hot 100, #18 on Billboard’s Adult Top 40, and #22 on the UK charts. (It did better in the movie, peaking at #2 on the fictitious charts as the “fastest rising record in the history of the Play-Tone label.”) I program it with my regular 1960s pop playlist and it fits right in.

One real last thing. The bass player’s name in the movie is never mentioned, which is fitting because, well, he’s just the bass player. In the ending credits, Ethan Embry is listed as “T.B. Player”—”The Bass Player.” Love it.

By the way… I am Spartacus.