Crystal Blue Persuasion
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| "Crystal Blue Persuasion" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 One of side-A labels of the US single | ||||
| Single by Tommy James and the Shondells | ||||
| from the album Crimson & Clover | ||||
| B-side | "I'm Alive" | |||
| Released | June 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 1968 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:02 (album version) 3:45 (single version) | |||
| Label | Roulette | |||
| Songwriters | Eddie Gray, Tommy James, Mike Vale | |||
| Producers | Tommy James, Ritchie Cordell | |||
| Tommy James and the Shondells singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Crystal Blue Persuasion" on YouTube | ||||
"Crystal Blue Persuasion" is a 1968 song originally recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells and composed by Eddie Gray, Tommy James and Mike Vale. It was released as a single in June 1969 and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
A gentle-tempoed groove, "Crystal Blue Persuasion" was built around a prominent organ part with an understated arrangement, more akin to The Rascals' sound at the time than to James's contemporary efforts with psychedelic rock. It included melodic passages for an acoustic guitar, as well as a bass pattern, played between the bridge and the third verse of the song.
In a 1985 interview in Hitch magazine, James said the title of the song came to him while he was reading the Biblical Book of Revelation:
I took the title from the Book of Revelations [sic] in the Bible, reading about the New Jerusalem. The words jumped out at me, and they're not together; they're spread out over three or four verses. But it seemed to go together, it's my favorite of all my songs and one of our most requested.[4]
According to James's manager, James was actually inspired by his readings of the Book of Ezekiel, which he remembered as speaking of a blue Shekhinah light that represented the presence of the Almighty God, and of the Book of Isaiah and Book of Revelation, which tell of a future age of brotherhood of mankind, living in peace and harmony.[5]
At the time of the song's release there were several popular types of high quality blue-colored LSD tablets in circulation—some listeners generally assumed James was referring to "acid". In 1979, music writer Dave Marsh described it as "a transparent allegory about James' involvement with amphetamines."[6]
Chart performance
When released as a single in June 1969, "Crystal Blue Persuasion" became one of the biggest hits for the group, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 behind Zager and Evans' "In the Year 2525" for three consecutive weeks from July 26 to August 9.[7][8] In Canada, the song spent one week at No. 1.[9] The single version differs from the album version of the song with horn overdubs added to the mix and a longer bongos overdub before the third verse.
A music video was made which showed various scenes of late 1960s political and cultural unrest and imagery of "love and peace".[10]
Chart history
Cover versions
Tito Puente, Joe Bataan, The Heptones, Morcheeba, Concrete Blonde, Jack Wagner, and John Wesley Harding are among those who have covered the song.
