Green Tambourine



"Green Tambourine" is a song about busking, written and composed by Paul Leka (who also produced it) and Shelly Pinz, that was the primary hit by the 1960s Ohio-based rock group The Lemon Pipers, as well as the title track to their debut-album Green Tambourine. The song has been credited as being one of the first bubblegum pop chart-toppers. Released towards the end of 1967, it spent 13 weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 1 on February 3, 1968 and earned the group a gold record for over a million copies sold. The record remained on the chart for three months. It was also the first U.S. number-one hit for the Buddah label. The Lemon Pipers would never repeat this success, although "Rice Is Nice" and "Jelly Jungle" did make it onto the charts in 1968.

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 string section consisted of Elliot Rosoff, David Sackson, Irving Spice, Louise Stone, Louis Gaborwitz and Deborah Idol on violin, Seymour Berman on viola, Seymour Barab and Sally Rosoff on cello.

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.

Cover versions
In 1968, an instrumental version was released by Lawrence Welk and His Orchestra on the album Love Is Blue, and as a single. Welk's version reached No. 27 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart.

The Peppermint Rainbow covered the song two years later on their eponymous debut album, although the song did not chart.

Mrs. Miller covered the song on her 1968 album Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing.

Status Quo covered the song on their 1968 debut album Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo.

UK band Sun Dragon recorded a very similar version in 1968 for the MGM label.

Tripping Daisy covered the song on their 1992 debut album, Bill (The Dragon Street release).

The Blues Merchants, based in Cincinnati, Ohio covered the song on their 2012 album, Tattooed With The Blues.

Robert Goulet covered the song for the 2001 film Recess: School's Out.

In popular culture

 * Actor Billy Bob Thornton's character of Lorne Malvo plays the song at the beginning of Episode 9, "A Fox, a Rabbit, and a Cabbage," of Fargo, adapted from the Coen Brother's 1996 movie.
 * The Recess gang performs the song at the end of Recess: School's Out. Mikey (voiced by Robert Goulet) does the vocals.
 * this song was featured in a TV commercial of the Plymouth RoadRunner in 1970.