Behind the Music: Unheard Demos from 'That Thing You Do!' Surface After 30 Years
Dive into the previously unknown history of the 'That Thing You Do!' soundtrack with newly revealed demo submissions from Gigolo Aunts, World Party, and The Cardigans.
The 2026 Academy Award nominations were recently announced, highlighting music-related achievements beyond just song and score categories. But let's rewind thirty years and uncover some fascinating trivia about an Oscar-nominated music movie.
That Thing You Do! marked the film debut of Adam Schlesinger, the songwriting genius behind Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy. He penned and recorded "That Thing You Do!," which became the signature hit for the fictional '60s band, the Oneders (aka the Wonders) in Tom Hanks' 1996 film. (Mike Viola of The Candy Butchers provided the lead vocals, mimed by Johnathon Schaech in the movie.)
The song earned an Oscar nomination and nearly cracked the real-life Top 40. Schlesinger went on to a successful career scoring for TV and film, winning three Emmys. While much of the That Thing You Do! soundtrack was crafted by talents like Scott Rogness and Rick Elias, it turns out some other '90s power-pop acts also threw their hats in the ring.
Three decades later, Danny Benair, a former Polygram Music Publishing exec, has unexpectedly shared some behind-the-scenes details. He's been posting excerpts from demo tapes he's kept over the years on social media.
In 1995, Gigolo Aunts were riding high on the success of "Where I Find My Heaven," featured in 1994's Dumb And Dumber. The band did contribute a Wonders song to the That Thing You Do! soundtrack, "Little Wild One." However, Benair revealed they submitted several more, including three versions of the Wonders' big hit. (Bassist Steve Hurley mentioned in 2007 that they were asked to create songs that sounded like faux-Beatles tunes.) Gigolo Aunts also offered a track called “Draw The Line,” which remains unreleased.
Another cassette, labeled "Film Ideas," came from World Party. It contained the late British songwriter Karl Wallinger's concepts for the Wonders. This was shortly after World Party's "Young Americans"-inspired track "When You Come Back To Me" was chosen for the Reality Bites soundtrack in 1994. Ultimately, none of Wallinger's songs made it into TTYD!, but the song previewed in Benair's video evolved into "It Is Time" from World Party's 1997 album, Egyptology.
Benair also shared snippets from a couple of demos by the Cardigans. One is labeled "Untitled Song for ‘Romeo + Juliet.’" This track, which was indeed selected for the 1996 Romeo + Juliet soundtrack, was "Lovefool," their biggest hit. The Swedish pop-rock band also submitted "Juliet's Theme," which wasn't chosen but later became "Great Divide" from their 1996 album First Band On The Moon (the same album featuring "Lovefool").
Check out clips from all these demos below:
Related Articles
- SZA Drops 'Save The Day' for Disney-Pixar's 'Hoppers' Soundtrack
- Charli XCX Reflects on 'Brat' Era and Newfound Fame: 'It Was Heavy'
- Liza Minnelli Sets the Record Straight on 2022 Oscars Appearance with Lady Gaga
Related Articles
Listen to The Cardigans on Foxsoundi. Click here to listen!
Comments (0)
Login to comment