Green Tambourine

"Green Tambourine"
A-side label of the US single
Single by the Lemon Pipers
from the album Green Tambourine
B-side"No Help from Me"
ReleasedNovember 1967 (1967-11)
Recorded1967
StudioCleveland Recording Company, Cleveland[1]
Genre
Length2:23
LabelBuddah
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Paul Leka
The Lemon Pipers singles chronology
"Turn Around and Take a Look"
(1967)
"Green Tambourine"
(1967)
"Rice Is Nice"
(1968)
International releases
Artwork for the Dutch single
Alternative cover
A-side label of the UK single
Music video
"Green Tambourine" (1968 television performance) on YouTube

"Green Tambourine" is a song written and composed by Paul Leka (who also produced it) and Shelley Pinz. It was the biggest hit by the 1960s Ohio-based rock group the Lemon Pipers, as well as the title track of their debut album, Green Tambourine. The song was one of the first psychedelic pop chart-toppers and became a gold record.

Released toward the end of 1967, it spent 13 weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 1 on February 3, 1968,[7] and sold over a million copies. The record remained on the chart for three months.[8] It was also the first U.S. No. 1 hit for the Buddah label. The Lemon Pipers never repeated this success, though their "Rice Is Nice" and "Jelly Jungle", both also written by Leka and Pinz, made the charts in 1968.[8]

  1. ^ "Cleveland Recording Co. - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History". The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. September 28, 1998. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
  2. ^ Nick Talevski (April 7, 2010). Rock Obituaries - Knocking On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-85712-117-2.
  3. ^ Cafarelli, Carl (2001). "Overview: An Informal History of Bubblegum Music". In Cooper, Kim; Smay, David (eds.). Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth. Los Angeles: Feral House. p. 15.
  4. ^ a b c Lanza, Joesph (November 10, 2020). "A Sea of Green Tambourines". Easy-Listening Acid Trip - An Elevator Ride Through '60s Psychedelic Pop. Port Townsend: Feral House. pp. 133–134.
  5. ^ Unterberger, Richie. The Lemon Pipers - Green Tambourine at AllMusic. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  6. ^ Jim DeRogatis (January 1, 2003). Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 378. ISBN 978-0-634-05548-5.
  7. ^ Hot 100 - The Lemon Pipers Green Tambourine Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Nite, Norm N. and Newman, Ralph M.: ROCK ON: The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Rock N' Roll': Thomas Y. Crowell: 1978. p 276.