His Clavioline would be used by famous artists of the day such as The Beatles, Del Shannon, and The Tornados.
In 1963 they released four EPs, featuring the sound effects instrumental Telstar from The Tornados.
"Early Bird" (Meek) / "Stomping Thru The Rye" (Tornados) (Columbia DB7589, 1965)
The band started their career by playing instrumentals inspired by the music of The Tornados, Johnny and the Hurricanes, The Champs, The Coasters, The Drifters, Santo & Johnny, and soon achieved notable popularity.
Contributory to the Churchills' sound at the time was the joining of two foreign members: Canadian vocalist Stan Solomon and British guitarist Robb Huxley (formerly with The Tornados).
However, in 1963, Tommy Jackson changed the name of his high school band from "Tom and the Tornados" to "The Shondells" in honor of Shondell (one of his musical idols).