Draggin' the Line

"Draggin' the Line" was the biggest hit and only US top 10 hit of Tommy James' solo career.

Written and produced by him and Bob King, the song reached the top 40 on the U.S.'s Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 26, 1971, climbed to a peak of #4 for the week of August 7, 1971,{{cite book|last=Bronson|first=Fred|title=The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits: The Inside Story Behind Every Number One Single on Billboard's Hot 100 from 1955 to the Present|publisher=Billboard Books|year=2003|page=297|isbn=0-8230-7677-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PgGqNrqfrsoC&q=%22draggin%27+the+line&pg=PT306|location=New York|accessdate=January 2, 2009}} and remained in the top 40 rankings for 11 weeks total. The song reached even higher in Cashbox magazine's competing jukebox singles charts, attaining the #2 spot for the week of August 9, 1971.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=G-sJAAAAIBAJ&pg=6382,3249662&dq=draggin-the-line|title=Disc Jockey Special|date=August 9, 1971|newspaper=The Virgin Island Daily News|page=15|accessdate=January 3, 2009}} "Draggin' the Line" was ranked at #54 overall for hot songs of 1971 by U.S. music industry pillar Billboard magazine.{{cite book|last=Bronson|first=Fred|title=Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hits|publisher=Watson-Guptill|year=2003|page=308|isbn=0-8230-7738-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mEIfDZtsVyAC&q=%22draggin%27+the+line&pg=PA308|location=New York|accessdate=January 2, 2009}}

"Draggin' the Line" features a notable bassline as the main sound. It has been described as a "lazy psychedelic shuffle whose hypnotic feel perfectly expressed its title."{{cite book|last=Breithaup|first=Don|author2=Jeff Breithaup|title=Precious and Few: Pop Music in the Early Seventies|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|year=1996|page=12|isbn=0-312-14704-X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6E-T4KyvnYC&q=%22draggin%27+the+line&pg=PA12|accessdate=January 2, 2009}} Asked about the meaning of the title in a 2009 interview, Tommy James said: "Draggin' the Line" just meant working every day. Nothing really very mysterious about it."{{cite news|url=http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/tommy_james/|title=Tommy James: Songwriter Interviews|last=Ortega|first=Shawna Hansen|date=September 15, 2009|newspaper=Songfacts|accessdate=November 15, 2016}} However, it has been falsely speculated that the song's title and lyrics refer to cocaine use,{{cite book|last=Kemper|first=Wolf-Reinhard|title=Kokain in der Musik|publisher=LIT Verlag|location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster|year=2001|page=149|isbn=3-8258-5316-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ib3MFtsT9oQC&q=%22draggin%27+the+line&pg=PA149}} citing the title, the lyrics, Tommy James' documented drug use,{{cite book|last=George-Warren|first=Holly |author2=Patricia Romanowski |author3=Patricia Romanowski Bashe |author4=Jon Pareles|title=The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll|publisher=Fireside|year=2001|page=483|isbn=0-7432-0120-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uU9AAQA6kAMC&q=%22draggin+the+line%22+%22tommy+james%22+cocaine}}{{cite news|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED56271A6C2A80E&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=Arts Day a Guide to What's New|date=September 26, 1991|url-access=subscription |newspaper=Dallas Morning News|accessdate=January 3, 2009}} and because another Tommy James and The Shondells song, Crystal Blue Persuasion, has been previously associated with the use of speed, the song having been described in 1979 by noted music critic Dave Marsh as "a transparent allegory about James' involvement with amphetamines. In addition, it has been widely accepted that the song could more specifically refer to the tedious job of setting up power lines back in the early 1950s and 1960s. This view has gained a large amount of support, especially since the lyrics are commonly interchanged with 'Checkin the line''"{{cite book|last1=Marsh|first1=Dave|first2=John|last2=Swenson|title=The Rolling Stone Record Guide|publisher=Random House|year=1979|isbn=0-394-41096-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/rollingstonerecor00mars}}

"Draggin' the Line" has made many media appearances. Among others, in a cover by Beat Goes Bang in the 1991 film Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead; as the opener in a 1999 Canadian film New Waterford Girl; in a cover by R.E.M. in 1999 for the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack;{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r420880|pure_url=yes}}|title=Review: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me |last=Boldman|first=Gina|publisher=Allmusic|accessdate=January 2, 2009}} in Inside Deep Throat, a 2005 documentary about the 1972 pornographic film Deep Throat;{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1643411/filmoyear|title=Tommy James Filmography|publisher=The Internet Movie Database|accessdate=January 3, 2009}} is heard in the sombre 2006 football drama We are Marshall,{{cite news|url=http://www.montrealmirror.com/2006/122106/film5.html|title=Holiday Roundup: We Are Marshall|last=Majeed|first=Omar|date=December 21, 2006|newspaper=Montreal Mirror|accessdate=January 3, 2009|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080815162950/http://www.montrealmirror.com/2006/122106/film5.html|archivedate=August 15, 2008|df=mdy-all}} in the My Name is Earl episode, "Robbed a Stoner Blind",{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/my-name-is-earl/robbed-a-stoner-blind/episode/886740/summary.html?tag=trivia_list;episode;7|title=My Name Is Earl: Robbed a Stoner Blind|publisher=TV.com|accessdate=January 3, 2009}} in CBS's crime drama Cold Case (episode 54), and was featured in "Anthem," a familiar Mitsubishi commercial that debuted in October 2004. The commercial shows a long line of cars and sport utility vehicles cruising past Mitsubishi mechanics all dressed in red coveralls.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/12/business/media/rebuilding-mitsubishis-image.html|title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING; A beleaguered Mitsubishi decides that a campaign stressing its warranties is the way to sell its cars|last=Hakim|first=Danny|date=October 12, 2004|newspaper=The New York Times|accessdate=January 2, 2009}} A significant portion of the song is heard in the 2019 film Finding Steve McQueen. It is used as the opening song in the 2023 Jennifer Lawrence film, No Hard Feelings.

In 2000, Tommy James and the Shondells reprised twelve of their most famous songs at the well known Greenwich Village nightclub, The Bitter End. Although technically a solo hit for Tommy James, the band performed "Draggin' the Line". Other hits featured included "Crimson & Clover", "I Think We're Alone Now", "Hanky Panky", "Mony Mony", and "Crystal Blue Persuasion". The live set was filmed and made into the 2000 movie, Tommy James & the Shondells: Live! At the Bitter End.{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/211726/Tommy-James-the-Shondells-Live-At-the-Bitter-End/overview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226220826/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/211726/Tommy-James-the-Shondells-Live-At-the-Bitter-End/overview|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 26, 2009|title=Tommy James & the Shondells: Live! At the Bitter End (2000)|last=Deming|first=Mark|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|date=2009|accessdate=January 2, 2009}}

A looping sample of the main rhythm section of "Draggin' the Line" is used as the background for Book Of Love's "Turn the World", from their 1991 album Candy Carol. The song also features brief snippets (recreated) of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".

In 1998 The Roulette Story was released featuring "Draggin' the Line" as one of 84 tracks celebrating Roulette Records' notable 20-year music history (the label had closed its doors in 1977).{{cite magazine|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=various artists|chart=all}} |title=The Roulette Story Album Review |magazine=Billboard |accessdate=January 2, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623063237/http://www.billboard.com/artist/277740/various+artists/chart |archivedate=June 23, 2013 |df=mdy }} In various versions, "Draggin' the Line" has appeared on at least 41 studio albums, including covers by AC-Rock, Rusty Bryant, Crosswind Band, Barry Hay, R.E.M., The Squirrels, Vintage Buzz, The Wild Ones and Steve Wynn.{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=17:406348 |title=Draggin' the Line |publisher=Allmusic |accessdate=January 2, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603090016/http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg |archivedate=June 3, 2009 }}

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{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.tommyjames.com/ Tommy James and The Shondells' Official Website]
• {{YouTube|1sEDV3uSyx8|Tommy James - Draggin' the Line}}

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Category:1971 singles

Category:Tommy James songs

Category:Roulette Records singles

Category:Songs written by Tommy James

Category:1970 songs