What a truly strange and stressful few years we have all experienced! COVID, wars, tragedies, hurricanes, tornados, short of locusts we have experienced it all. (Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned locusts and invited that one in!)

But throughout it all we have had music. There is a song for every moment, every memory we have had in our lives. Artists carried on providing us with new songs to keep us going. Legendary artists are touring reminding us about the soundtrack of our lives.

So with music always there – what else do we need? Love. It always ends up as important as breathing and our hearts beating.

What better way to celebrate February the month of love with Cashbox Canada and Cashbox Radio than to create a Pick Hit list of what we love as our favourite songs.

We kick it off with an amazing rendition of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David-penned song, What the World Needs Now is Love. Released in 2018 this cover features

Burt Bacharach, Steve Tyrell, Martina McBride, Rod Stewart, James Taylor & Dionne Warwick and truly is remarkable.

Check it out on YouTube here:

Throughout his career, Tommy James has never stopped creating music and never stopped loving his fans. He loves to perform and his music has stood the test of time, garnering new fans all the time and keeping his old fans tuned into what he is doing today. 

With more than just the 23 gold albums, 9 platinum albums, 100 million records sold worldwide, 32 Billboard 'Hot 100' hits and, most impressive of all, the long string of hits heard on the radio over 21 million times, Tommy James has more than earned all his accolades and praises for music that is inextricably woven into people's memories and pop-culture DNA.

Some cool facts about Tommy James:
CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION, CRIMSON & CLOVER, MONY MONY, I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW, DRAGGIN' THE LINE, HANKY PANKY, SWEET CHERRY WINE, THREE TIMES IN LOVE and MIRAGE are just a few of the many hits - 23 GOLD RECORDS, 9 PLATINUM ALBUMS and over 100 MILLION RECORDS SOLD WORLDWIDE......and 32 BILLBOARD HOT 100 CHART HITS!

With 23 gold singles, 9 platinum albums and over 100 million records sold worldwide and 32 Billboard hot 100 chart hits, you would think Tommy James (of Shondells fame) would be happy to rest on his laurels and enjoy the royalties that come along with that type of fame.

But that is not the personality or persona of the indefatigable Tommy James.

Speaking to him in his home in New Jersey, it feels like you are talking to an artist in his 20’s just about to launch a new career. He is enthusiastic, curious and still one of the most talented, legendary artists in the business. He tells it straight and not just straight, but straight from the heart.

“I was four years old when my grandfather, Claude Jackson, bought me a ukulele. I loved that thing and played it constantly,” remembers Tommy with a warmth in his voice.

Not only is Tommy James still alive, but he's also making vital, important and absolutely catchy music. His new album ALIVE is filled with the kind of ear candy that sticks to the soul like a tattoo on the brain. Being released June 7th and available where all good music is sold and streaming worldwide.

"ALIVE started out as an acoustic album," he explains, "but little by little I realized that there was no way i could interpret the songs acoustically..so i gave into electricity!"

Complete with three of his beloved songs totally reconfigured, stretched inside-out and pumped up with the kind of esoteric action that only the greats could pull off, plus new songs that are bound to be instant classics, and well-chosen covers that are bound to not only surprise but captivate. ALIVE boasts 15 tracks in a wild, circuitous meandering adventure that criss-crosses genres with ease and flair.