All 4 members of TJ and the Shondells are credited as writers of this song. Tommy James said they laid the entire track down without a title and tried for hours to come up with something catchy. In an interview, he said he went out onto the balcony and noticed the Mutual Of New York (MONY) sign atop a building in the distance. "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".....lol