Song

Crimson and Clover: TOMMY JAMES AND THE SHONDELLS

Single:
Crimson and Clover entered the Australian singles chart* on 8 February 1969 and peaked at #3. The song was #40 on the Top 100 of 1969.

Album:
The song is on the 1968 album Crimson and Clover.

Songwriters:
Tommy James, Peter Lucia

Producer:
Tommy James

Record label of Australian release:
Roulette

*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.

From the YouTube channel: ‘Tommy James’. BaG is not responsible for the upload of this audio/video to YouTube or its content.

Wikipedia:
Crimson and Clover was recorded in late 1968 in about five hours and is one of the earliest songs recorded on 16-track equipment. Tommy James played most of the instruments, while Mike Vale played bass and Peter Lucia, Jr. played drums. The song contains a tremolo effect on the guitar, set so that it vibrated in time with the song’s rhythm. Near the end of the recording, the band had an idea of utilising the tremolo effect with vocals. To achieve this, the voice microphone was plugged into an Ampeg guitar amplifier with tremolo turned on, and the output from the amplifier was recorded while James sang “Crimson and clover, over and over”.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson_and_Clover

Songfacts:
Tommy James constructed this slice of psychedelia from his favorite color and his favorite flower. In a Songfacts interview with Tommy James, he said: “They were just two of my favorite words that came together. Actually, it was one morning as I was getting up out of bed, and it just came to me, those two words. And it sounded so poetic. I had no idea what it meant, or if it meant anything. They were just two of my favorite words.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/tommy-james-the-shondells/crimson-and-clover

Lyrics:
Oh, now I don′t hardly know her
But I think I could love her
Crimson and clover
Ah, well, if she come walkin’ over
Now I been waitin′ to show her
Crimson and clover
Over and over
Click for full lyrics

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