"Green Tambourine" was the primary hit by the 1960s Ohio-based rock group The Lemon Pipers, as well as the title track to their debut-album Green Tambourine. Released towards the end of 1967, it peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for one week at the start of February, 1968 and earned the group a gold record for over a million copies sold. The record remained on the chart for three months. It was also the first U.S. number-one hit for the Buddah label. The Lemon Pipers would never repeat this success, although "Rice Is Nice" and "Jelly Jungle" did make it onto the charts in 1968.

The song is the story of a street musician pleading for someone to give him money. In exchange, he would play his green tambourine. The song's instrumentation contains the title tambourine as well as an electric sitar. (Sitar was a frequent trademark of the so-called "psychedelic sound".) Another hook is the heavy, psychedelic tape echo applied to the word "play" in each chorus and at the end, fading into a drumroll ("Listen while I play play play play play play/my green tambourine").

Mrs. Miller covered the song on her 1968 album Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing.

Status Quo covered the song on their 1968 debut album Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo.

Lawrence Welk covered the song and his version placed on the Billboard Easy Listening survey.

Tripping Daisy covered the song on their 1992 debut album, Bill(The Dragon Street release).

At the end of the 2001 film Recess: School's Out, TJ and the gang are seen playing this song, with Mikey singing vocals (Mikey's singing voice provided by Robert Goulet). The gang and Principal Prickly are seen in the background, dressed and hairstyled in Sixties hippie clothing and/or hair.