Tommy James and the Shondells – Crimson & Clover

About The Song

The first hit by Tommy James & The Shondells was “Hanky Panky,” written in 15 minutes by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. Then came songs written and produced by Richie Cordell, including “I Think We’re Alone Now” and “Mony Mony.”

Wanting a musical change, he wrote “Crimson and Clover” with his drummer, Peter Lucia, Jr. Its origins are in some dispute. Both writers agree the title preceded the song. Lucia says it was his idea, based on the name of his Morristown high school football team, The Crimson — who played often against the team from nearby Hopatcong, a Native American name for a green place.

Tommy James said it was a title he thought of while waking up from a dream, and liked it, though unsure what it meant. It combined crimson, his favorite color, with his favorite flower, clover.

The band recorded it in about five hours. Tommy played many instruments, which he overdubbed onto 16-track tape, which was brand new then in 1968. Lucia was on drums, and Mike Vale played bass. Towards the end of the song, they put the vocal through the guitar tremolo just for fun, and were surprised by how much they liked it, keeping that in the record.

Before its release on today’s date, December 14, 1968, they performed it live at WLS radio in Chicago. The station recorded it, and without permission began playing their own bootleg of the song immediately. It didn’t hurt the success of the single when it was released and might have helped. On the chart for months, it got kicked up to number one after a performance of it by the band on the Ed Sullivan show.

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