Tommy Roe – "Jam Up and Jelly Tight" (1970)

You won't say you will

But there's a chance that you might!

If I had been a father in Atlanta in the fifties, I wouldn't have been happy to see Tommy Roe sniffing around my daughter.  Based on the lyrics to "Jam Up and Jelly Tight," it looks like Tommy had one thing and one thing only on his mind.

Tommy was a sly one.  He started girls off with a compliment, and then politely asked for a little smooch:

You've got a sweet disposition

So come on and give me permission

For one kiss and maybe another

Note how Tommy asked for the girl's permission before moving in for a kiss.  His behavior would pass muster on even the most politically-correct college campuses – unless he had gotten the girl drunk or slipped her a roofie before asking for a kiss.

As you've probably read, colleges have recently become very serious about preventing sexual assault.

Antioch Hall at Antioch College

Antioch College was way ahead of these johnny-come-latelies when it came to overthinking this issue.  Here's part of what Sandy Banks, a Los Angeles Times columnist, wrote last year about Antioch's code of sexual conduct:

It seemed funny 20 years when Antioch College unveiled a sexual offense prevention policy so prescriptive that students weren't allowed to kiss without receiving explicit permission.

(It wouldn't have been so funny if you were a male Antioch student, of course.)

The small Ohio campus became the butt of national jokes, including a parody on Saturday Night Live mocking the question-and-answer process that student trysts required.

The code's premise was simple: every sexual encounter, from first kiss to post-coitus snuggle, must be agreed upon by both parties.

"Silence is not consent," the policy decreed. Also: "Body movements and . . . moans are not consent," and "Grinding on the dance floor is not consent."

(Excuse me all to pieces, but I must admit that I thought grinding on the dance floor was a pretty good indication of consent.  I guess I'm lucky that no woman ever engaged in such grinding with me or I might have done something I shouldn't have.)

The person initiating the sexual activity had to ask for consent. The person asked was required to respond verbally. Each new level of intimacy called for another verbal agreement.  

(That last sentence pretty much eliminates the ol' "Abe Lincoln" from my repertoire.)

After "one kiss and maybe another," the singer of "Jam Up and Jelly Tight" moved in for the kill:

I said, the first day I met you

"Someday, I'm gonna pet you"

"Petting" is a funny word.  In case you're not sure exactly what it means, here's how TeenAdvisor.com defines it:

More often referred to as "Making Out" or "Rounding The Bases" (you know, getting to first base, second base, third base . . . ), and sometimes called "Heavy Petting." Petting is actually a term that covers a broad range of sexual behaviors, including giving/getting a hickey, deep kissing, and sexual touching of one's partner. 

(Can I admit something?  I never understood what the deal with hickeys was.  What the hell was the point of giving or getting a hickey?)

TeenAdvisor.com sees petting as fairly benign, describing it "a natural progression in becoming a sexually mature adult."  (That's easy for TeenAdvisor.com to say because TeenAdvisor.com doesn't have teenaged daughters!)

The site's discussion of petting closes with a statement that few people would argue with:

Many adults, if they search their memories, recall their first sexual touch quite fondly, many remembering the first time they touched a breast or penis all of their life.

(You can bet the farm on that, boys and girls.)

"Jam Up and Jelly Tight" was a top ten hit for Tommy Roe in 1970.  It was the last of his top ten singles, which included "Sweet Pea," "Hooray for Hazel," and "Dizzy" (which made it all the way to #1).

Roe co-wrote "Jam Up and Jelly Tight" with Freddy Weller, who joined Paul Revere & the Raiders just before they visited Joplin, Missouri in 1967, where they performed at Memorial Hall and took the cover photo for the Revolution! album.

Here's "Jam Up and Jelly Tight":

Click below to buy the song from Amazon: