Tommy James and The Shondells had an unusual route to fame and fortune. Their first single, Hanky Panky, was only a local hit in 1964, and was not picked up by any national labels. However, a copy made its way to a Pensylvanian DJ, whose airings of the record proved so popular that tens of thousands of bootleg copies were pressed until James was able to negotiate a deal with Roulette Records for national distribution. Two years after its initial release, the song hit No. 1 in the Billboard Top 100.
With new Shondells, James had a string of top ten hits in the USA, with an energetic sound that was pure pop - exemplified in the fact that one song, I Think We're Alone Now, became a huge 1980s hit for pop ingenue Tiffany.
One thing the group did lack was credibility, being considered a bubblegum act, much to the chargin of James. In a bid to gain recognition as artists, the single Crimson And Clover, written by James and the group's drummer Peter Lucia Jr, was released in November 1968.
Although in strict musical terms the record was of a recognisably bubblegum structure, it was performed at what can only be described as an etherial pace, with long instrumental breaks between the appropriately tripped-out vocal. A tremelo effect is also used to good ends on both the guitar track and the vocal coda towards the end of the song.
Like Hanky Panky previously, the success of the record was taken out of James' hands; having played a rough mix to some personell of a radio station he had worked with previously, he was suprised to find that they had surruptitiously recorded the track and broadcast it. In the end, it was this rough mix that was issued due to public enthusiasm for the track.
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