“Tighter, Tighter” #7 8/8/1970

Co-writer Tommy James tried to record this himself but couldn’t get the sound right. Tommy’s wife had a friend that managed a band with two singers (one male, one female) who sounded great trading off vocals, so he gave them the song. Alive ‘N Kickin’ may have been a one-hit wonder because of their label’s owner, the infamous Morris Levy of Roulette Records. Levy, reputedly connected to some serious wiseguys, wanted the Brooklyn-based group to crank out the singles ($$$) and they wouldn’t or couldn’t do so. Sandy Toder was the female lead. Co-lead vocalist Pepe Cardona (RIP 7/29/2020) was married to Donna Summer for 32 years until she died in 2012.