Rock 'n' Roll Rabbit Hole

’That Thing You Do!’: The Wonders, Tom Hanks and the Greatest ’Fake’ Song Ever

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The Tom Hanks-written and -directed "That Thing You Do!" was the surprise, feel-good hit movie of 1996, and the film's theme song of the same name not only was nominated for multiple awards, it also hit #41 on the Billboard charts. Credited to fictional band The Wonders, the song was actually written by Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger and sung by Candy Butchers' front man Mike Viola. So, is it a real song or a fake song? If it hit the actual charts, it's real, right? Butch and Kevin talk about how the song came to be, its place in music and much more on Episode 3 of Season 2 of Rock 'n' Roll Rabbit Hole. A few notes:

  • This week's beer of the week was The Truth IPA from Rhinegeist Brewing. We also tasted a new bourbon which is available only in Kentucky: Green River Distilling Co. Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
  • Schlesinger's demo was chosen from roughly 300 submissions for the title track song, even beating out a song co-written by Hanks himself.
  • The song sounds like a lost Beatles song, which is not a coincidence, as the film itself is filled with real-life Beatles parallels.
  • The actors who made up The Wonders learned the songs, rehearsing for weeks to ensure realism. In this behind-the-scenes video, Hanks says “They had to go to rock 'n' roll bootcamp.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqohLGt0-lc
  • In a 17-minute Zoom reunion interview from 2020, The Wonders tell some fun stories from the filming of the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5iQambZAfk
  • Here's the Youtube to the original Adam Schlesinger demo for "That Thing You Do!" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFtKFB0gtpw

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    Rock 'n' Roll Rabbit HoleBy Kevin Gibson/Butch Bays