Find Out What “Mony Mony” REALLY Meant

Whenever this song is heard, people instinctively sing along: "mony-mony...mony-mony ...mony, mony..." but do you know where the word "mony" came from? Thanks to this listener's question, you're about to find out...

Q: Is the story about MONY MONY for real? I mean, that it came from the “Mutual of Omaha” sign?

A: No...if it came from the “Mutual of Omaha” sign it would've been called “Moo Moo.” The title was taken from the “Mutual of New York” sign, according to Tommy James. Here's what Tommy said in a 1995 interview: “True story: I had the track done before I had a title. I wanted something catchy like 'Sloopy' or 'Bony Maronie' but everything sounded so stupid. So Ritchie Cordell and I were writing it in New York City, and we were about to throw in the towel when I went out onto the terrace, looked up and saw the Mutual of New York building (which has its initials – MONY - flashing at the top). I said, 'That's gotta be it! Ritchie, come here, you've gotta see this!' It's almost as if God Himself had said, 'Here's the title.' I've always thought that if I had looked the other way, it might have been called 'Hotel Taft.'”