Some of them are genres that I don’t really know anything about, so I have to do a lot of research to get up to speed on the genre itself so I can do some kind of version of it.

Many songwriters say their best songs come very quickly—was that the case with “That Thing You Do”? There was some controversy about how Mike Viola was credited—he was listed as “Additional Vocals” under “First Aid” and “Catering” and “Animals Supplied” credits.

They just totally got it wrong—which is more credit to Tom Hanks for not doing that. The attention to detail was really impressive. The description was that it was supposed to be an American band in 1964 that was blown away by the Beatles and was imitating them. Introducing ... PEOPLE's Products Worth the Hype. And I couldn’t believe how many times the song was in the movie. If you're a fan of mid-'60s British pop, here's a new recording that adds some more great songs and performances to that genre.

We were young guys in our twenties and he had the initial thought of “I don’t want to be known for this, I want to be known for my own music. Later famous as a member of Fountains of Wayne (he co-wrote their hit “Stacy’s Mom”) and composer on the musical rom-com television series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Schlesinger was a relative unknown at the time. After receiving over 300 submissions, some reportedly from big name bands like the Gin Blossoms and They Might Be Giants, they settled on a song by Adam Schlesinger. Oh yeah! Every couple years I’ll drop by their office and sometimes Tom’s just hanging out. What was that like? "That Thing You Do" is the titular song appearing in the 1996 film of the same name. Like a PG-rated Behind the Music, the group ultimately splinters under the pressures of fame, ego, jealousy, and quickie Reno weddings, but they leave behind the legacy of the movie’s titular song—a sparkling pop gem that set the charts on fire in the summer of 1964.

It started to get uncomfortable after a while. And then I went in and did a demo with Mike Viola singing and my friend Andy Chase who was in the band Ivy with me. There was even that big choreographed “That Thing You Do” production number during the ceremony. My parents were not really into pop music at all. It was very cool that it was happening, but at the same time I have this memory that, for all the attention to detail in the actual movie, when they did it at the Oscars they kind of made it into this ’50s diner type thing. With this particular assignment, it was an era that I was already familiar with and loved. I approach these things the same way: I just try to make good-sounding records and write good songs. They were all sort of related to each other, but they were all slightly different. You teamed up with the Monkees recently as producer of their new album, Good Times. The story follows the rise of the Wonders, a small time band from Erie, Pennsylvania, who are launched to superstardom after winning a local talent contest. So I focused on that one. In general, I like having songwriting assignments and I like having deadlines. Do you listen to a stack of ’60s songs to get in the mood?

There is some kind of weird relationship there, I guess. This is the soundtrack to the Tom Hanks-written and -directed movie about a fictional rock & roll band from Erie, PA (the Wonders), who luck into their one and only hit record in 1964. It’s a way of constantly proving to yourself that you can get something done in the short amount of time that you have to. I didn’t really anticipate any of this, and that was the culmination. I got Beatles records from my aunt. I’ve stayed friends with [producer] Gary Goetzman and all the people in the Playtone label. What did you think when you first saw the finished film? I played them for a few people, including Mike Viola, and everybody pointed to the same one as their favorite. Get push notifications with news, features and more. Written by Scott Rogness and Rick Elias. Yeah, once they settled on it, I spoke to him many times. If you would like to opt out of browser push notifications, please refer to the following instructions specific to your device and browser: this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Like, oh my God, enough of this song!

I had just gotten my first publishing deal around that time. It’s either in your personal Top 10 list, or you’ve never seen it. In honor of That Thing You Do!‘s 20th anniversary, PEOPLE spoke to Schlesinger about penning the best ’60s smash that never was. I don’t really obsess too much about the degree of realness. I Need You (That Thing You Do) Written by Scott Rogness, Rick Elias, and Linda Elias. Let’s start at the beginning: how did you first hear about the movie? [Laughs] Well, the Wonders really are a non-existent band, so I think that the Monkees would win. He was amazing, but really the whole thing is just because he had the confidence in his own ears to pick a song by an unknown guy to base his movie on. It was just one of those things where the movie never fully went away. You’ve said that you wrote the song as a personal exercise.

I went to the set.

There are no casual fans of That Thing You Do! The Oscar nomination was just nuts. They all write and they all play.

They turned it into Grease or something. We had a piano in our house growing up, so I played piano and as I got older I discovered more things and my taste broadened a lot.

For example, on my gig right now—the TV show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend—we do songs in all kinds of different genres. They were looking for a song and said I should take a shot at it. Written by David Gibbs, Steve Hurley, Phil Hurley, and Fred … But the Beatles were definitely my first real love, and all I listened to in my formative years. Nothing says a family vacation like an RV, Princess Diana died when Harry was just 12 years old, It's looked — and felt — like a whole different world as we've been social distancing and attempting to keep each other safe, Naya Rivera's Sister Lives with Ryan Dorsey to Care for Josey: 'Nothing Romantic Is Going on', Author Rachel Hollis on Writing Book About Navigating Hardship When Her 16-Year Marriage Ended, Kelly Ripa's Quarantine Routine Has Husband Mark Consuelos Saying She Looks 'So Healthy', See All the Celebs Taking RV Trips This Summer, The Sweetest Photos of Princes Harry with Diana, From Empty Streets to Virtual Weddings: What Life Has Looked Like During the Coronavirus Pandemic. I didn’t really listen to anything else except the Beatles when I was really young. It was with Polygram publishing, which later became a part of Universal. Text us for exclusive photos and videos, royal news, and way more.

In the 20 years since its release, the film has racked up a degree of popular goodwill usually reserved for beloved sports figures, long-time TV hosts and its writer/director/star, Tom Hanks. Was there a moment you realized the song had a life of its own? As a kid I was a just Beatles fanatic for a long time. Kimberly Butler/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty.

But we’ve gotten older, and he’s since come to have a very different attitude. That was just another surreal moment in a string of surreal moments at that period of my life. I never really thought about it. Written by Adam Schlesinger, the song is performed by the fictional 1960s band The Wonders, who are the focus of the film. They would show it on TV a lot, and because it’s a music movie it withstands repeat viewing a little better than other movies. That Monkees record was probably the most fun I’ve ever had making a record—maybe with the exception of the first Fountains of Wayne record, which was also really fun to make. [Laughs] It’s not even about the style, he’s just one of the greatest singers alive.

Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for That Thing You Do! The tunes and performances perfectly evoke that cusp of time in rock history when one era was ending and another was beginning, while the production values are retro and yet modern, clean, and sharp. They listened to classical music and jazz. They mentioned the Knickerbockers as one example. You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications. That Thing You Do!’s success hinged on that song—something peppy, something snappy, something that unrepentantly evoked the optimism of an age. The Complex, Entourage, Mix This, O'Henry's, Ocean Way. Coyote Ugly Turns 20: Where Is the Cast Now? The song peaked at No. 22 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

As the Tom Hanks film That Thing You Do turns 20, PEOPLE spoke to composer Adam Schlesinger about penning hit theme song.

Did he have a better voice for the style? 41 on the Billboard Top 100 and No. So I don’t know. I thought it was a really cute, charming movie and I think it was very well done and very accurate in terms of the music stuff. At this point they’ve been around for 50 years, so I think they don’t really have anything left to prove to anyone. It just sort of found its spot in popular culture and hung around for a long time, which is great. What’s more, it earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, and has been covered by everyone from ‘NSYNC to New Found Glory. Usually what happens with me is that I’ll get the initial idea on day one, or many a couple of competing ideas, and then I’ll spend a couple extra days to refine it a bit and finish it. How did you feel about all that? He’s a phenomenal singer, and I think his vocal and his co-production were two huge parts of why this happened at all. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1997. As I recall, I wrote three different versions of this song. As a souvenir of the movie, this soundtrack more than fills the bill. The film’s producers put out an industry-wide call looking for just the right tune. The Monkees are as much of a real band as many of the bands I’ve worked with, you know? What kind of music did you grow up listening to?

But as a collection of great songs, it more than stands on its own as well. I’ll help you out but I want to be anonymous.” And then as it started to develop he started to have second thoughts about it. Why did Mike Viola sing the lead on the track instead of you? Who would win in a battle of the bands: the Wonders or the Monkees? - Original Soundtrack on AllMusic - 1996 - This is the soundtrack to the Tom Hanks-written… That Thing You Do! Sometimes you see music movies and it’s just painful how off everything is. Little Wild One. Did you feel a certain sense of kinship with them having already worked with a faux rock band? I had some friends at the company and they told me about this movie. You were nominated for an Academy Award. I went to the premiere and I thought it was amazing. I just took it as an assignment and decided it was worth spending a couple of days on for a shot at something like this. That’s pretty incredible. I wasn’t a part of those negotiations for credits on his side. And then as I got older I started discovering there were other bands in the world. How did they describe the kind of song they were looking for? It’s something I’ve done a lot of since then; writing to order and writing on deadline for different projects for movies or television or theater.

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