"Yellow River" is a song written by Jeff Christie and recorded by the British band Christie. It was released in 1970 and became a No. 1 hit song for the band in the UK.[1]
Personnel
Jeff Christie, the leader of Christie, first offered the song to The Tremeloes. They recorded it with the intention of releasing it as a single at the beginning of 1970. However, after the success of their single, "(Call Me) Number One", the band decided to go in a different direction. Instead of releasing "Yellow River" as the follow-up single, they went with one of their own compositions, "By the Way", which was only a minor Top 40 success.[citation needed]
Producer Mike Smith then took the Tremeloes' vocals off the recording and added Jeff Christie's. Released as a single on 23 April 1970, it became an international hit, reaching number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for one week in June 1970. In the US, it reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2]
In the song, the actual location of Yellow River is not specified, although the author, Jeff Christie, is on record as saying that it was inspired by the idea of a soldier going home at the end of the American Civil War.[3] As the song was released during the Vietnam War, it has been interpreted as being about a soldier leaving the U.S. Military at the end of his period of conscription.
In Australia, Christie's version of "Yellow River" gained only limited airplay due to the 1970 radio ban. Local bands Jigsaw from Melbourne and Autumn from Sydney both had success with their cover versions.[14] On the Go-Set National Top60 it peaked at numberone in October and was credited to Christie, Autumn, Jigsaw and Leapy Lee.[15]
In the USSR, the band Singing Guitars (Поющие гитары) used the melody of "Yellow River" paired with the words to a Russian children's song called "Fat Karlsson" ("Толстый Карлсон").[16]
