The On-eeders   The Wonders

Although technically not a band, “The Wonders” are the fictitious band from a movie titled “That Thing You Do”. The movie is a cult classic that has inspired other bands to take the fictitious band’s name (in one form or another) and numerous bands and musicians to perform covers of the movie’s music. In the movie, a group of young musicians from smalltown Erie, Indiana, get a lucky break when a last minute replacement drummer decides to turn the group’s song, a romantic ballad, into a dance tempo. This sets off a chain reaction that results in the song’s becoming a nationwide hit and the band’s becoming a national phenomenon. The movie, which was released publicly in 1996, was initially given a mediocre review by famous movie critic Roger Ebert but this didn’t disuade an enthusiastic public from making the film a hit movie. The ripples spread even further, with the city of Erie latching onto the film as a calling card for the city’s 15 minutes of fame. The actors from the movie were even invited to come and perform in Japan, an event that almost didn’t happen when actor Tom Everett Scott got to the plane only to realize he didn’t have his passport. In the movie, the band’s leader Jimmy decides the band should be called “the One-ders” which leads to the general public thinking the band is called “the Oneeders” and one of the central jokes in the film. When they sign with the fictitious Playtone Records, they’re renamed “the Wonders” and become part of a music industry campaign to replace the Beatles with an American band. It doesn’t happen and the band breaks up within several months, due to the pressures of the industry and the long days on tour. Clips of the movie are widespread on YouTube and the movie can be purchased from or viewed on iTunes. It’s worth watching but, even if you don’t, the songs which were written for the movie are infectious and worth listening to. The movie’s actors have reunited on several occasions, including during the recent COVID pandemic when they reunited once again in memory of Adam Schlesinger, who wrote the movie’s songs but died as a result of the COVID outbreak.