"Crimson and Clover" is a song by Tommy James and the
Shondells. It was one of the biggest hits of the 1960s and
reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #1 in Canada in
1969. It dropped from #18 to completely out of the Billboard
pop charts in one week, setting a record for the farthest drop
out of the charts.
"Crimson and Clover" was completely written and recorded by
the duo of Tommy James and Peter Lucia Jr., the Shondells
drummer. Lucia played drums and delivered backing vocals, while
James played all other instruments and sang the lead
vocals.
The song is famous for a unique "wobbly" vocal effect near
the end of the song. To produce this effect, Tommy James
plugged his microphone into a guitar amplifier, flipped the
tremolo switch, and repeatedly sang the line "crimson and
clover, over and over". When it was released in November 1968,
some listeners thought he was saying "Christmas is over"
instead of "crimson and clover."
In a February 2010 promotional talk for his book
Me, The Mob, and The Music, James revealed that he never
did finish the song before release. He took a demo into a
Chicago radio station that clandestinely taped it. Repeated
airings forced the release of that version.
There are three releases of "Crimson and Clover".
The reissue single of "Crimson And Clover" (Roulette Golden
Goodies GG-73) was pressed with the album version although the
label shows the single version's playing time of 3:23.
The song is often incorrectly attributed to The Velvet
Underground, Fleetwood Mac, Simon and Garfunkel or The Hollies
on P2P networks and lyrics websites. The Velvet Underground
instrumental song "Ride Into the Sun" from the Out-take V.U.
album uses the same chords. Lou Reed later used the same chords
for "Sweet Jane" on the Velvet Underground's
Loadedalbum. The similarities are best heard on the
"Sweet Jane" cover Version by the Cowboy Junkies from the
Natural Born KillersSoundtrack.