That Thing You (Didn’t) Do, Part 2 of 2

The search for a movie’s theme song: Director Tom Hanks’ love letter to ‘60s rock drew upon top songwriters

Continued from Part One…

The Verve Pipe – “That Thing You Do”
In 1995 Michigan alt-rockers The Verve Pipe were largely unknown; their breakthrough LP Villains had not yet been released. Leader and guitarist Brian Vander Ark says that the band’s manager let them know about Hanks’ need for a song. “They wanted a ‘60s sounding thing, which is right up my alley,” he says. “They sent me the script, and I jumped at the chance.” He says that the song came easily to him. Vander Ark wonders aloud if he was one of the last songwriters to be invited to write a tune. “Maybe they hadn’t found ‘the one’ yet, and maybe I was on that C-list,” he says with a chuckle.

While a copy of Vander Ark’s demo circulates among collectors, it has never seen official release. He raves enthusiastically about Hanks’ ultimate choice. “When I heard it, it was such a no-brainer,” he says. “It’s fun, it’s poppy. It’s perfect for the movie,” he says with a smile. “Adam’s song was the best.”

They Might Be Giants – “That Thing You Do”
Art-pop duo They Might Be Giants wrote and submitted a proposed title track of their own. In an undated interview, the band’s John Linnell noted that the request for a song referenced Richie Valens’ “La Bamba” and American garage rock, emphasizing that it should definitely not have a British flavor. Linnell later admitted in an interview that TMBG’s submission was “way too punk.”

Dwight Twilley – “That Thing You Do”
A giant of rock’s power pop subgenre, Dwight Twilley scored a pair of Top 40 singles nearly a decade apart. “I’m on Fire” hit #16 in 1975, and in 1984 “Girls” charted at the same position. The Tulsa, Oklahoma musician was prolific, releasing dozens of albums in the years before his death in 2023.

Twilley’s widow Jan recalls that in 1995 she and Dwight heard about the opportunity from a friend, Harlan Goodman, Senior VP of Music at Paramount. “But he failed to mention that [they wanted something] ‘based on a Beatles-y sound,’” Jan says. Twilley wrote and delivered his own “That Thing You Do,” but apparently his moody, minor-key jangle didn’t fit the film’s vibe. Once he received word that the track wasn’t chosen, Twilley included the recording on his 1996 compilation XXI.

Velvet Crush – “The Thing That You Do”
Rhode Island-based Velvet Crush made one of the best alternarock albums with 1994’s Teenage Symphonies to God. Songwriter-guitarist Paul Chastain recalls that during sessions with producer Mitch Easter for their next record, 1998’s Heavy Changes, they learned of a “not-quite-open publishing call.” Details were few. “We had the title and knew it was about a band in the ‘60s,” he says. “We were like, ‘Okay,’ but we didn’t have much time to do it.”

Chastain, drummer Ric Menck and Easter worked quickly. “We wrote and recorded it in just one part of one day,” he admits. “Everything was done in a take or two.” Easter had recently acquired a Paul Revere and the Raiders compilation, and the spirit of that music would exert a strong influence on Velvet Crush’s “That Thing You Do” entry. In fact it’s a near-ringer for the proto-punk 1965 single “Just Like Me.”

The muscular tune evokes the feel of ‘60s garage rock, but has a character quite different from the song that was ultimately chosen. “Once I saw the movie,” Chastain says, “I was like, ‘Well, we really missed the mark on that one!’ But the one they used was spot-on perfect.”

That Thing They Did
Other era-evoking tunes on the album soundtrack were written variously by co-producers Hanks and Gary Goetzman with Mike Piccirillo, and by Scott Rogness and Rick Elias. Jazz singer-producer Steve Tyrell co-wrote the jazz instrumental “Time to Blow,” mimed in the movie by a trio including jazz fusion drummer Alphonse Mouzon. Gigolo Aunts submitted “Little Wild One,” which would be performed by The Wonders in the film. And Hanks has a solo writing credit for “Lovin’ You Lots and Lots,” the on-target Mitch Miller and the Gang pastiche that features early in the film.

But by all measures, the choice of Adam Schlesinger’s song – with vocals by Candy Butchers’ Mike Viola – was the right choice for the title track. The soundtrack for That Thing You Do! reached #21 on Billboard’s singles chart. Schlesinger’s title track was nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe. In 2023, the soundtrack received a limited-edition vinyl reissue. The film’s 30^th anniversary comes in Fall 2026, which, if anyone at Hanks’ Playtone Records is reading, would be a fine time to reissue the soundtrack with a bonus disc bringing together all of the tunes submitted – but ultimately not used – in Tom Hanks’ celluloid love letter to 1960s garage rock.