"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,Hot 100 - The Lemon Pipers Green Tambourine Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved March 28, 2018. and sold over a million copies. The record remained on the chart for three months.<ref name="ROCK ON">Nite, Norm N. and Newman, Ralph M.: ROCK ON: The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Rock N' Roll''': Thomas Y. Crowell: 1978. p 276.</ref> 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.

Song and recording The song's lyricist, Rochelle "Shelley" Pinz (1943–2004) was a writer at the Brill Building, working with Leka. She said:

In early Spring, 1966, while standing in front of the Brill Building I watched a man holding a tambourine begging for money. I wrote a poem about him and called the poem 'Green Tambourine.' I added it to my lyric collection ... Sometimes I wonder what happened to the man in front of the Brill Building, holding a tambourine begging for money. I remember writing the lyric, 'watch the jingle jangle start to shine, reflections of the music that is mine. When you toss a coin you'll hear it sing. Now listen while I play my Green Tambourine' as if it were yesterday..; in the 60s, on the streets between Seventh Avenue and Broadway there was a magic one could only imagine. "Shelley Pinz", PopArchives, 11 August 2005. Retrieved 13 August 2017

The song tells the story of a street musician pleading for someone to give him money. In exchange he offers to play his green tambourine. The song's instrumentation contains the titular tambourine as well as an electric sitar, a frequent signature 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 play my green tambourine"). The echo is noticeably different in the mono and stereo mixes. The mono version also starts fading out slightly earlier than in the stereo version.

The musical arrangement also features sweeping orchestrated strings and the distinctive vibraslap percussion instrument. While the Lemon Pipers played on the record, producer and joint author-composer Leka hired a string section to accompany the band, to add extra depth to the already psychedelic arrangement.

The single's B-side, "No Help from Me," featured lead vocal by keyboardist Bob Nave and did not appear on either of the group's two albums.

Chart performance Weekly charts Chart (1967–1968)PeakpositionAustralia (Go-Set)Nimmervoll, Ed, "GO-SET National Top 40", April 3, 1968. Retrieved April 23, 2018.3Belgium (Wallonia)The Lemon Pipers - Green Tambourine, Ultratop. Retrieved April 23, 2018.30Canada RPM 100"The RPM 100", RPM, Volume 8, No. 24, February 10, 1968. Retrieved April 23, 2018.3Germany10NetherlandsThe Lemon Pipers - Green Tambourine, Dutch Charts. Retrieved April 23, 2018.9New Zealand (Listener)3South Africa (Springbok)6Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade)The Lemon Pipers - Green Tambourine, hitparade.ch. Retrieved April 23, 2018.7UK Record RetailerLemon Pipers - Full Official Chart History, Official Charts Company. Accessed July 29, 2016.7U.S. Billboard Hot 1001U.S. Cash Box Top 100"Cash Box Top 100", Cash Box, February 3, 1968. p. 4. Retrieved March 28, 2018.1U.S. Record World 100 Top Pops"100 Top Pops", Record World, February 10, 1968. Retrieved March 28, 2018.1

Year-end charts Chart (1968)RankCanada RPM 100"The RPM 100 Top Singles of 1968", RPM, Volume 10, No. 19, January 06, 1969. Accessed July 29, 2016.6U.S. Billboard Hot 100Top 100 Hits of 1968/Top 100 Songs of 1968, Music Outfitters. Accessed July 29, 2016.47U.S. Cash Box Top 100"Top 100 Chart Hits of 1968", Cash Box, December 28, 1968. p. 14. Accessed July 28, 2016.8

Certifications

Personnel

Ivan Browne – lead vocals, rhythm guitar Bill Bartlett – lead guitar R. G. Nave – organ, tambourine, fog horn, toys Steve Walmsley – bass Bill Albaugh – drums

Additional personnel Irv Spice Strings – string section Ken Hamann (incorrectly credited on original album pressings as "Kenny Hammond")Back cover of Buddah BDM-1009/BDS-5009, released February 1968. – engineer (Cleveland Recording Company) Bill Radice – engineer (New York) Uncredited – vibraslap

Cover versions In 1968, an instrumental version was released by Lawrence Welk and His Orchestra on the album Love Is Blue,"Album Reviews", Billboard, March 2, 1968. Retrieved May 5, 2018. and as a single."Wood Scouting for a Director, Plant for Label", Billboard, February 24, 1968. p. 3. Retrieved May 5, 2018. Welk's version reached No. 27 on Billboards Easy Listening chart,Adult Contemporary - Lawrence Welk Green Tambourine Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved March 28, 2018."Billboard Top 40 Easy Listening", Billboard, April 6, 1968. p. 49. Accessed July 29, 2016. No. 21 on Record Worlds "Top Non-Rock" chart,"Record World's Top Non-Rock", Record World, April 6, 1968. p. 40. Retrieved April 23, 2018. and No. 11 on Record Worlds chart of "Singles Coming Up"."Singles Coming Up", Record World, April 6, 1968. p. 22. Retrieved April 23, 2018. In the same year, Status Quo covered the song on their debut album Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo.

Robert Goulet covered the song for the 2001 film Recess: School's Out'', providing the singing voice for the character Mikey, releasing it as a single from the film soundtrack of the same name.Ebert, Roger (2002). Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2003, Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 494. Retrieved April 24, 2018.

The Peppermint Rainbow, a group signed to Decca records by Paul Leka, covered the song on their debut album Will You Be Staying After Sunday (Decca DL75129) using the identical backing track as the original song but with replaced vocals.

See also List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States

References

External links Lyrics of this song