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"That Thing You Do" is the titular song appearing in the 1996 film of the same name. Written by Adam Schlesinger, the song is performed by the fictional 1960s band the Wonders, who are the focus of the film. The song peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1997.[4]
| "That Thing You Do" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by the Wonders | |
| from the album That Thing You Do!: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
| B-side |
|
| Released | September 24, 1996[1] |
| Genre | Power pop[2][3] |
| Length | 2:46 |
| Label | Playtone/Epic |
| Songwriter(s) | Adam Schlesinger |
In 1964, an Erie, Pennsylvania, band named the Oneders (pronounced "Oh-nee-derz by Lenny, and later known as the Wonders after Jimmy leaves) goes from a college talent show to climbing up the Billboard charts thanks to the song "That Thing You Do". Written by guitarist/vocalist Jimmy Mattingly II, it was originally crafted as a ballad. During the performance at the talent show, drummer Guy Patterson produces a much more up-tempo beat and the rest of the band follows suit, turning the song from a ballad into an upbeat, Beatles-esque pop-rock number. The song is an instant hit with the audience, and they win the talent show. From there, the band is picked up by a local manager who helps them get more shows in the area, and eventually the song receives radio airplay. The band is then signed to Play-Tone Records, under Mr. White's guidance, and the song climbs up the Billboard Hot 100, starting at number 93, then 71, 49, and 21. The following week, "That Thing You Do" climbs to number 7, becoming the quickest-charting song ever on Play-Tone Records. However, Jimmy walks out on the band before they can produce another record, so they eventually become one-hit wonders.
Early in the film, when Jimmy and Lenny are asking Guy to join them at the talent competition at the college, Jimmy mentions they'll perform a song he wrote. Lenny takes offense to that by slapping Jimmy on the arm. Jimmy begrudgingly corrects himself by saying, "We wrote." Later, when the vinyl 45 is officially released, the label states: Written by James Mattingly II. Later still, when being interviewed live on radio station KJZZ, Jimmy says of the song, "We wrote it in my garage back in Erie, Pennsylvania."
In the film, the song is performed by James "Jimmy" Mattingly II on lead vocals and guitar, Leonard "Lenny" Haise on lead guitar and backing vocals, "T.B. Player" on bass and backing vocals[a], and Guy "Shades" Patterson on drums. For their live performance of the song on The Hollywood Television Showcase, studio bassist Scott "Wolfman" Pell replaced T.B. Player on bass and backing vocals.
In the fictitious "mockumentary" liner notes from the film soundtrack CD, it is stated that "That Thing You Do" peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the summer of 1964.
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The song was written by Adam Schlesinger, the bassist of the alternative rock group Fountains of Wayne. Schlesinger did not expect his song to be chosen, but tried as "a personal exercise." Performers include Mike Viola on vocals with Schlesinger on backup vocals.
The song was released as a single, and although not as successful as was depicted in the film, the track still did moderately well in the US, peaking for three weeks at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1996. (It also reached number 22 on the Adult Contemporary chart, number 18 on the Adult Top 40, and number 24 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart.)[5] The song also reached number 50 in Australia.
The song was a bigger hit outside of the US, reaching number 31 in Canada in December 1996,[6] and number 22 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1997.[7] The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 69th Academy Awards as well as Best Original Song at the 54th Golden Globe Awards, losing out on both occasions to Madonna's "You Must Love Me" (written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber) from the musical Evita.[8]
On April 25, 2017, three quarters of the actors who played the Wonders—Tom Everett Scott (Guy "Shades" Patterson), Johnathon Schaech (Jimmy Mattingly II) and Ethan Embry ("T.B. Player")—performed the song live during a surprise appearance at the Roxy in Los Angeles.[9] The occasion was the Goddamn Comedy Jam, a live show series in which comedians tell funny stories about a meaningful song and then perform it with a live band.[10] Comedian and show creator Josh Adam Meyers persuaded the actors to perform the song with him. After initial hesitation on Scott's part, Meyers managed to persuade him with help from The After Jam producer Jason Gallagher, who happened to be Scott's brother-in-law. The other actors soon followed suit, with Gallagher helping them learn how to play the instruments. Steve Zahn (Lenny Haise) was unable to participate due to living in Kentucky; comedian Jeremiah Watkins took his place on lead guitar while wearing a cut-out mask of Zahn's face.[11] On April 10, 2017, Embry posted a video of himself playing the song's bass line; it is now apparent that the video was a teaser for the event two weeks later.[12]
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| Chart (1996–1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[13] | 50 |
| Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[14] | 33 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles[6] | 31 |
| Germany (GfK)[15] | 90 |
| Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[16] | 19 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[17] | 22 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[18] | 41 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 22 |
| US Billboard Adult Top 40 | 18 |
| US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 24 |
- In 2010, the song was parodied by The Fringemunks to recap Fringe episode 3.03, "The Plateau."
- Pentatonix performed the song at the 2014 Kennedy Center Honors, paying tribute to Tom Hanks, the writer and director of That Thing You Do!.[19]
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