Nelson Shephard (far left) was a member of Tommy and the Tornados in the 1960s. (Cover art submitted)

By AARON MUELLER

Niles Daily Star

Nelson Shepard tries not to dwell on the past, but he can’t help but often think about what could have been.

His mind frequently drifts back to 1965, when a teenage musician invited Shepard, a drummer, to go to Pittsburgh to play music and promote a song of his.

That young man was Tommy James, and the name of his song was “Hanky Panky.”

Shepard, who recently had married and moved into a new house, declined the offer.

A week later, Shepard turned on the radio to WLS Chicago and he hears the DJ say, “It’s the new song sweeping the Midwest… ‘Hanky Panky.'”

“And I said, ‘you gotta be kidding me,'” Shepard said. “I almost fell out of the shower.”

Immediately he knew: “I shoulda went.”

“Hanky Panky” became a No. 1 single, and James went on to have a stellar career in the pop music industry, pumping out dozens of hits, selling more than 100 million records and landing 23 gold singles and nine gold and platinum albums.

Shepard got divorced six months after his decision not to join James and sold his drums in 1970.

Tom and the Tornadoes

Shepard, who was born, raised and still lives in Niles, will never forget the first time he met Tommy James in 1961.

Shepard was a recent Niles High School graduate, playing in a South Bend-based band scheduled to play a show for the grand opening of the YMCA in Niles. But weeks before the gig two of his bandmates were involved in a serious car crash.

So he went to the Spin-It Record Shop in Niles to find some fill-ins and got hooked up with James.

“As soon as I saw him, I said ‘Holy moly, moly,'” Shepard said. “Tom was not even 15.”

But any fears that the baby-faced 14-year-old couldn’t do the job were squelched when James sang the first note during rehearsal.

“I noticed right away, y’know, that young kid — he’s got a good voice,” he said.

After the gig at the YMCA, the band, comprised of James, Shepard (drums), Mike Finch (saxophone), Larry Coverdale (guitar) and Larry Wright (bass), began to play throughout Michiana under James’ suggested band name — Tommy and the Tornadoes.

James writes in his recent book, “Me, the Mob and the Music,” about the benefits of Shepard’s 1960 Bonneville convertible the band used to tour and to get to Hastings, Mich., where the band recorded its first songs — “Judy,” a tune written by James, and “Long Pony Tail,” a cover of a Fireballs’ tune.

The band cut a couple hundred copies of the 45s and they got frequent play in jukeboxes in the area.

“Locally we got known,” Shepard said. “But (the record) died a slow death.”

‘Hanky Panky’

But things picked up again when James told the band about a song he was writing.

When James first introduced the song “Hanky Panky” to his bandmates, he only had the music written.

“He only knew about three actual words of the song,” Shepard said with a laugh. “The rest of it, he sort of made up as we went. He had this knack for making stuff up.”

After finishing the song, the band began performing it in the area and it was well-received.

Soon after, Shepard got married and could only play with the band irregularly.

James got a new drummer, and the band went on to record “Hanky Panky” at WNIL in Niles. The song enjoyed local success in the South Bend market but failed to go anywhere nationally.

The band disbanded and “Hanky Panky” was forgotten until an employee of a Pittsburgh radio station came across a copy of the record and began playing it. It catapulted to No. 1 on charts in the city, and James was on his way to Pittsburgh where he would begin a 40-plus-year music career.

‘I wouldn’t trade it for anything’

Shepard quit music soon after turning down James’ offer to join him and worked as an engineer for the Berrien County Road Commission for 36 years, but the decision still nags at him.

“I think about it all the time,” he said. “But I try to get rid of that thought.”

Since watching James’ career catapult into rockstardom, Shepard has been reluctant to talk about his relationship with James, whom he still chats with on the phone every week.

He gets too many people who question his decision not to join James in Pittsburgh and even more people who don’t believe that he played with the legend.

But now Shepard has some physical evidence, outside of the 45-year-old photos of him and James. James’ new autobiography “Me, the Mob and the Music,” gives mention to Shepard and his other old Niles band mates.

On the few occasions Shepard does discuss playing with James, he can look back fondly.

“I tell them it was the time of my life,” Shepard said, tearing up a bit. “I could tell you stories for hours.”

When Shepard thinks about the past, he tries to not think about what could have been but focuses on the good memories.

“I know a rock and roll star, and I played with him, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world,” Shepard said.

Tommy James Day

The Niles native and famous rock star is visiting his hometown Aug. 17 for a book signing of his autobiography “Me, the Mob and the Music” at Majerek’s Readers World in downtown Niles from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

It will be followed by a Tommy James Homecoming reception at Niles High School at 7 p.m. James will talk about his book and his memories from Niles.