My Top 1000 Songs #992: Draggin' The Line

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

Does this one go in the Guilty Pleasures file? I mean, sure, it's a silly little bubblegum AM radio hit... but, on the other hand, Tommy James' big post-Shondells 1971 single absolutely bangs. So maybe not. A wicked bass-driven groove, with that unbelievably catchy baritone vocal response and horn interjections, it's one of those songs I heard maybe once or twice on the radio as a kid and I've loved it ever since. Given some added respectability with faithful R.E.M. and Steve Wynn covers.

Tommy James on Dick Clark, 1972:

Live with the Shondells:

R.E.M. cover:

Steve Wynn cover: