"I Think We're Alone Now" is a song written and composed by Ritchie Cordell that was first recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells. It was a major hit for the group, reaching number 4 on the US Hot 100 in April 1967. It finished at No. 12 on Billboard magazine's year-end singles chart for 1967.
The song has been covered several times by other artists, most notably by Tiffany in 1987 and The Birthday Massacre in 2008. The Tiffany recording reached number 1 on the charts of various countries including the US, UK, Canada, and New Zealand. Other cover versions have also charted, including those by the Rubinoos (number 45 US, 1977) and Girls Aloud (number 4 UK, 2006).
Composition The writing of the song was credited to Ritchie Cordell, who wrote or co-wrote many songs for Tommy James, including the follow-up single to "I Think We're Alone Now", "Mirage" and its B-side "Run, Run, Baby, Run", and 1968's "Mony Mony". Cordell and his regular songwriting partner Bo Gentry gave the song to Tommy James, who thought it sounded like a hit. According to Tommy James, "I Think We're Alone Now" was written by Cordell and Gentry, but as Gentry was still under contract to Kama Sutra Records, the head of Roulette Records, Morris Levy, agreed to a deal naming Cordell as sole writer but splitting the royalties with Gentry.
The song was originally written as a romantic ballad, but when James, Cordell and Gentry recorded a quick demo, they made the song faster. Tommy James later wrote: "Ritchie and Bo originally wrote the song as a mid-tempo ballad. I said no way and started speeding it up.... I.. put on a nasally, almost juvenile-sounding lead vocal, and without realizing it, we invented "bubblegum" music." They played the song to Levy, who approved of it, and it was then given a proper recording.
Recording The recording was produced by Ritchie Cordell and Bo Gentry. Bo had been going out with Joanna (now Johana) and called to let her know he just wrote a song "about us", then sang it to her very romantically by phone. Bo did not publicize that he wrote this song, possibly for contractual reasons. At the time, Bo was living in an apartment on the block where all reputable NYC rock music writers lived. "I Think We're Alone Now" was recorded on December 24, 1966, Page 16. so that the song could be released in the new year. Both the song's demo and master recording were taped at Kama Sutra's Allegro Sound Studios, located in the basement of the Brill Building in New York City. Like many early Tommy James and the Shondells releases, only band members Tommy James and Eddie Gray were featured on the record, with the rest of the band providing background vocals. Studio musicians were used as the rest of the rhythm section to back up the Shondells. These musicians include Artie Butler playing Ondioline electric keyboard, Al Gorgoni on guitar, Joe Macho on bass, Paul Griffin on piano, and Bobby Gregg on drums.
They recorded the bass and drums first, and the rest then layered onto the recording. They also made the choruses quieter so that the verses became much more prominent. This was the first time that they recorded this way, a process they would replicate in many other later records to produce their signature sound. The version that James and the Shondells originally performed uses hard-driving arrangements for its two verses, both fiercely performed so as to convey a sense of urgency. However, the refrain (performed twice) is almost whispered and indeed followed by a sound effect of crickets chirping, giving an atmosphere of forbidden activities that are being deliberately kept hidden. The fade-out uses the lyrics of the refrain, but this time, the hard-driving arrangements are resumed.
Release "I Think We're Alone Now" was a 1967 hit song for Tommy James and the Shondells, reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during a 17-week stay. Rock critic Lester Bangs called the single "the bubblegum apotheosis".
"I Think We're Alone Now" stands out as one of James's most successful recordings. It was featured in the horror film Mother's Day (1980), the science-fiction thriller 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) and the first and finale episode of the fantasy web series The Umbrella Academy (2019 and 2024).
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1967–68)PeakpositionNew Zealand (Listener)7South Africa (Springbok)8US Cashbox Top 1003
Year-end charts Chart (1967)RankCanada RPM 10026US Billboard Hot 100Top 100 Hits of 1967/Top 100 Songs of 1967, Music Outfitters. Accessed February 23, 2017.12US Cash Box Top 100"Top 100 Chart Hits of 1968", Cash Box, December 23, 1967. Accessed February 23, 2017.12
Lene Lovich version
In 1978, the American singer Lene Lovich recorded a cover version of "I Think We're Alone Now". Her version was originally released with her hit song "Lucky Number" as a B-side. Lovich recorded the song after contacting the radio presenter Charlie Gillett, who helped her get signed by Dave Robinson of Stiff Records. Robinson liked the record and immediately proposed it to be released as a single. However, her song "Lucky Number" gained so much more attention that it was later re-released as a lead single, at which it peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.
"I Think We're Alone Now" appeared on Lovich's 1978 debut album, Stateless, and she would later record the song in other languages, including German and Japanese.Juneau, Jason. "Innovation in New Wave:Lene Lovich", Perfect Sound Forever, September, 2001.
Track listings and formats 7" single (UK) "I Think We're Alone Now" – 2:45 "Lucky Number" – 2:20
7" single (UK) (Version 2) "I Think We're Alone Now" (Japanese Version) – 2:45 "Lucky Number" – 2:20
Tiffany version
Background "I Think We’re Alone Now″ was re-popularized when American pop singer Tiffany covered the song when she was 15 for her debut album, Tiffany, which was released on August 16, 1987, on the MCA Records label. When George Tobin, Tiffany's manager and producer, gave her the cassette of the original version by Tommy James & the Shondells, Tiffany hated the idea of recording a version of her own, mostly because she thought the song was neither modern enough nor hip enough. According to Tiffany, she also did not know that the song is about the prohibition of teenage sex. The producers then remade the song as a dance track, and when Tiffany played it to friends, they started to dance. Tiffany returned the next day to record the song in around four takes.
Tiffany also recorded "I Think We're Alone Now", but in a different arrangement, for her sixth album and her second as an indie artist, Dust Off and Dance, which became her only electronica album. It was released in 2005. For the 2007 compilation album I Think We're Alone Now: 80s Hits and More, her vocals were re-recorded, using the remixed 1987 backing track as a guide. Her earlier version is referenced in the alternative group Weezer's song "Heart Songs" on the band's 2008 Red Album.
In 2019, Tiffany re-recorded the song with a heavier, more guitar-driven sound and released it online.
It was used in Ted and its sequel, season 1 and season 4 of The Umbrella Academy, in season 1 of Future Man, by IKEA for their 2023 holiday ads, the 2025 film Pillion, in season 3 of Yellowjackets, featured in Fear Street: Prom Queen and season 5 of Stranger Things.
Chart performance "I Think We're Alone Now" was Tiffany's biggest hit. Her version of the song spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and three weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart. It charted first on August 28, 1987.
"I Think We're Alone Now" was not the first single from Tiffany's debut album. The first single was "Danny", but radio started picking up "I Think We're Alone Now", another selection on the album. It was the 18th-highest-selling single for 1987 in the United States, the fifth-best-selling song of 1988 in the United Kingdom (and the country's biggest-selling song of 1988 by an American artist), and the 32nd-highest-selling single in Australia for 1988."ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Singles 1988". ARIACharts. Retrieved June 4, 2007. In Canada, it reached No. 1 a week after another cover of a Tommy James and the Shondells' song, "Mony Mony", which also reached No. 1.
Critical reception Max Bell from Number One wrote, "This chestnut is more interesting if only because Tiffany is a 16-year old from Oklahoma who looks like being America's first teenage singing star in years. This was Number One over the pond and it's obvious Tiffany has the credentials to become a countrified threat to Madonna's crown. She'll be Miss America 1988! A celebrity is born!" Sue Dando from Smash Hits deemed the song "average" and described it as a "rather wretched thing" with "so slightly raunchy female vocals and insubstantial pop toons that are infuriatingly catchy". Lawrence Donegan of Record Mirror stated that Tiffany's number-one hit on the US charts "proves you don't need to be beautiful and talented to get on in this world". James Hamilton of the same magazine called the song a "flurryingly energetic -0 bpm revival".
Music video The accompanying music video for "I Think We're Alone Now" was directed entirely by Tobin, and shot in numerous shopping malls in Utah, which echoed the way her early career had been promoted: Fashion Place Mall (Murray, Utah), Crossroads Plaza Mall (Salt Lake City, Utah), 49th Street Galleria (Murray, Utah) and Ogden City Mall (Ogden, Utah). Elements of the video were filmed in the now demolished Bull Ring Centre in Birmingham, UK. The video was featured in the 2012 film Ted and the song was also on the soundtrack and appears in its sequel.
In 2019, a new video directed by Marc Trojanowski, featuring the re-recorded 2019 version of the song and filmed in various locations around Los Angeles, was released online.
Parody In 1988, "Weird Al" Yankovic released a parody of Tiffany's version of the song, titled "I Think I'm a Clone Now" on his album Even Worse."Parodies & Polkas - "Weird Al" Yankovic". Track listings and formats 7-inch/CD single "I Think We're Alone Now" – 3:47 "No Rules" – 4:05
12-inch vinyl single "I Think We're Alone Now" (extended version) – 6:35 "I Think We're Alone Now" (single version) – 4:25 "I Think We're Alone Now" (dub version) – 6:35
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1987–1988) Peakposition Australia (Kent Music Report) N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and June 19, 1988. 13 Canada (The Record) 4 Denmark (IFPI) 2 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 2 European Airplay (Music & Media) 3 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) 18 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 10) 10 Italy (Musica e dischi) Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Tiffany". 7Italy Airplay (Music & Media) 2Panama (UPI)1Portugal (AFP)2 South Africa (Springbok Radio)1 Sweden (Trackslistan)Sweden Charts Archive. 28 November 1987.9Zimbabwe (ZIMA)* Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 20002
+ Chart (2026) Peakposition Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 52UK Singles Chart 26
Year-end charts Chart (1987)RankCanada Top Singles (RPM)23US Billboard Hot 10018US Cash Box Top 10032 Chart (1988)RankAustralia (Kent Music Report)31Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)19Canada Top Singles (RPM)76Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)18Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)20Netherlands (Single Top 100)25New Zealand (RIANZ)26South Africa (Springbok Radio)6UK Singles (OCC)5West Germany (Media Control)58
Certifications
Girls Aloud version
Background