The 405 Aired Sept 9th, 2026

0:00I want to get welcome me out of the 405 coffee break. Beautiful day guys. I get to get a cup of coffee. Glass iced tea beverage of your choice. Let's see what's happening. Spring, wait, six dollars and 74 cents of bushel dropping down a bit. 550 pounds. Staircafe. I don't have a 550 pounds. Staircafe. I'll tell you what, 447 pounds. Staircaves in pays, billings, 33 head. 447 pounds each. Brought $4.75 a pound. And 104 head of 88 pound lambs. Brought $3.27. That's a fact. But guys, there's more, much more. Was anyone out there around in 1966? Oh, he asked seems like a long time ago, but I myself was nine years old. And I remember that time very well.

1:02Now, another question. Does anyone remember Tommy James and the Sean Dels? Sure you do. Crimson and Clover made it to number one. Made it to number one in February of 1969. And no, it did not bump off sugar, sugar. Crimson and Clover hit the top slot. Much earlier in the year 1969. Yet anyone remembering remembers Crimson and Clover. So let's look into this man called Tommy James and the Sean Dels. The guys, I think you'll enjoy this fabulous little success story. Like I said, everybody who's anybody remembers Crimson and Clover, but, but do you remember their first number one head ever? Do you remember the Sean Dels first hit Dan Perry? Peggy, anyone, anyone?

2:07Yeah, God, I know it was hanky, punky. I saw her walking on down the line. Yeah, no, I saw her for the very first time. A pretty little girl standing all alone. Yeah, God, I remember that song. Well, listen to this. That song, hanky, punky, was written by Jeff Barry, an LA Greenwich in 1963. And they put it on the B side of 45 record. Now for you, young folks out there, when you had a big song, you'd recorded on a small record. And since the record had two sides, you needed to put something, another song on the other side, but they usually didn't put a big hit on side B. They'd put on maybe this is okay because I got to put something on it. And then it was oftentimes junk or poor or mildly pathetic. So anyway, Jeff Barry and LA Greenwich wrote and recorded that song and put it on the B side of their record.

3:10The bad side B for bad. Barry later essentially admitted that he considered it a terrible song. Well, the Shawn Dells heard it and they recorded it in 1964. The thing is, is it wasn't on a national record label and it did well in their community, but elsewhere. It went nowhere, nowhere fast. Nothing's built zero. So Tommy James kind of gave up on music. He gave up on giving it a try and he's just a teenager. And he walked away from music. Yes, he actually walked away and the Shawn Dells broke up and they went on making a living or maybe simply just going to school because they were so young. Then an odd thing happened. An odd thing happened two years later in 1966. A Pittsburgh DJ somehow got a hold of that old record and started playing it at his dances.

4:10The audience went crazy. Believe it or not, guys, kids love this song so much that an enterprising distributor actually bootlegged bootleg the record. And he sold 80,000 copies in 10 days. Suddenly Tommy James, who was still essentially an unknown teenager in Michigan, was being hunted down by the music business and listen to this guys. At that time, Tommy James didn't even have a band. They broke up. Remember went their separate ways, but with fame calling his name loudly, Tommy James went to Pittsburgh and he had to assemble a new group virtually on the spot. He found musicians playing in a bar. Yes, him. Hey, would you like to become the Shawn Dells? And according to James recollection, they essentially said, yeah, sure, man, that sounds fun. Then the original hanky, thank you from 1964 was released nationally, even without re-recording it.

5:17James later said the rough amateurish sound was actually part of its appeal, polishing it. Might have ruined what made it exciting on July 16th, 1966. It went to number one number one on the billboard hot 100 knocking the frogs out of first place with their wild thing. Tommy James and the Shawn Dells went on from there to record crimson and clover and many, many other songs. They became something. And guys, I love that story because it has a huge lesson. A record nobody thought was any good became a hit because ordinary people decided it was good. Isn't that the way it seems to go? Yep. A close with the Bible verse that seems to fit it well from Ecclesiastes 116 in the morning. So you're seen that evening with hold not your hand for you do not know which will prosper.

6:19This or that or whether both alike will be good. Ecclesiastes 116, you never know. You just never know. Don't always take the advice of the professional or the so called man in the know. Sometimes guys, sometimes the ordinary guy knows best. So until next time as you go out there, remember now don't be better.