In 1981, Billy Idol released “Mony Mony”. One of his biggest hits, “Mony Mony” appears on his debut EP, Don’t Stop. Written by Tommy James, Bobby Bloom, Ritchie Cordell, and Bo Gentry, most people don’t know that Idol’s version is actually a cover. Before the rocker released “Mony Mony”, the song was released by Tommy James and the Shondells. It is the title track of their fifth studio album, and one of their many Top 5 singles.
“Mony Mony” begins with, “Here she come now sayin’, ‘Mony, Mony’ / Shoot ’em down, turn around, come on, Mony / Hey, she give me love, and I feel all right now / Yeah, you gotta toss and turn / And feel all right, yeah, I feel all right / I said, yeah (Yeah), yeah (Yeah) / Yeah (Yeah), yeah (Yeah), yeah (Yeah, yeah).“
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When Idol first released “Mony Mony”, it was not a big hit on the radio. But in 1987, Idol released a live version of the song, which became his first No. 1 single in the United States. The live version appears on Idol’s Vital Idol record. “Mony Mony” is also Idol’s only song to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The Meaning Behind “Mony Mony”
When James wrote “Mony Mony” initially, he didn’t intend for it to be a song with catchy lyrics.
“Originally, we did the track without a song,” he tells Songfacts. “And the idea was to create a party rock record. In 1968, that was pretty much of a throwback to the early ’60s. Nobody was making party rock records really in 1968, those big-drum-California-sun-what-I-sing-money-type songs. And so I wanted to do a party rock record.”
The meaning of “Mony Mony” is something people once spent a long time trying to decipher. In actuality, there really isn’t much significance to the title. Instead, James says they later had most of the lyrics, except for the hook of the song.
“Ritchie Cordell, my songwriting partner and I, are up in my apartment up at 888 Eighth Avenue in New York,” James recounts. “And finally we get disgusted. We throw our guitars down, we go out on the terrace, we light up a cigarette, and we look up into the sky. And the first thing our eyes fall on is the Mutual of New York Insurance Company. M-O-N-Y. True story. With a dollar sign in the middle of the O, and it gave you the time and the temperature.”
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More Behind The Song
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Left to right: Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page, of British heavy rock group Led Zeppelin, performing at Earl's Court, London, May 1975. The band were initially booked to play three nights at the venue, from 23rd to 25th May, but due to public demand, two more concerts were later added, for 17th and 18th May. Total ticket sales were 85,000. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images) -
Portrait of country singer Eddie Rabbitt in Memphis, Tennessee, May 31, 1981. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images) -
LOS ANGELES – FEBRUARY 22: 31st Annual Grammy Awards. Broadcast February 22, 1989. Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. Pictured accepting award is Bobby McFerrin. His song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" won Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. Also Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images) -
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 03: Singers Mike McGuire (L) and Marty Raybon of Shenandoah attend the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 3, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Rick Diamond/ACM2016/Getty Images for dcp) -
Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images -
The three founding members of Talking Heads on a Manhattan rooftop, US, 1976. (Jerry Harrison would join the group at the beginning of 1977.) (L-R) Bassist Tina Weymouth, singer-guitarist David Byrne and drummer Chris Frantz. (Photo by Linda D. Robbins/Getty Images) -
Patty Smyth of Scandal at the Poplar Creek Music Theater in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, June 3, 1983. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images) -
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images