Tommy James and Gene Simmons perform together at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, May 6.
Tommy James, who lives in Essex County, joined The Gene Simmons Band at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, June 6, to sing his 1968 garage-rock hit “Mony Mony.” You can watch a video of the performance, below.
Simmons’ band Kiss announced its retirement from touring in 2023, and Simmons is now performing with his own band, featuring guitarists Brent Woods (who has previously played with Sebastian Bach and Vince Neil) and Zach Throne (Jerry Cantrell, Corey Taylor), and drummer Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Billy Idol, Foreigner, Ozzy Osbourne).
James and Simmons actually have some history together. James’ 1972 hit “Celebration,” which was a minor hit (rising to the No. 95 position on Billboard singles chart), featured Simmons and his fellow Kiss co-founder Paul Stanley on backing vocals.
The song was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York, and at the time, the two were probably still in their pre-Kiss band Wicked Lester. Or possibly the song was recorded at some point between the breakup of that band and the debut of Kiss in early 1973.
In a 2020 interview, James was asked about “Celebration.” He said:
We were just finishing up the record and they came in. I had met them once before, briefly. We talked for a little bit, and I told them what I was doing. We talked for about a half-hour. It was a nice visit. They said, “Hey, can we get in on that?” I said, “Hell, yeah!” So, I brought them into Studio B where I was recording and they did background vocals, along with me and my guitar player at the time. All four of us sang together. It was a great day. They really sang great! It made the record really sparkle.
They are real rock and rollers. They were just fun to be with. They know the business, especially Gene. I’ve been with Gene several times since then, on various projects we’ve gone out to promote. He’s very business savvy. He shows up at the big conclaves where all the record people get together for promotion. He’s very savvy about the record business. He’s really a great business man. On top of everything else, I guess, not too many people know that. Of course, he had his TV show. So, he knows this business inside and out.
You can listen to “Celebration” below.
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