Crimson and Clover

Early Signs of a Psychedelic Mindset

I have some of my earliest chart memories from listening to AM radio in New York City in the mid-to-late 1960s. It’s tragic to think that I am that old at this point, but it is amazing to have distinct memories of music from its original release and not just on oldie radio stations in subsequent years.

Tommy James and the Shondells were a Pop Rock group in the 1960s that offered up music like the original “I Think We’re Alone Now” (later recorded by Tiffany in the late 1980s), “Mony Mony” (also remade in the 1980s by Billy Idol), and the “psychedelic” offerings such as “Sweet Cherry Wine”, and “Crystal Blue Persuasion.”

Admittedly, I can’t quite decide if the memories I have of the hits before 1968 or 1969 are from radio stations playing oldies in the 1970s, or the original chart runs. With 1969’s run of “Crimson and Clover,” however, I know I was listening on the radio. “Crimson and Clover” hit number 1 only one short week before my 11^th birthday. Back in those days, It was very important to me who was number one on my birthday and I happened to be very ‘high’ on this track. I remember the song dropping to number two and Sly and the Family Stone taking over the birthday honor in the number one spot with “Everyday People.” I was disappointed, but in hindsight, I would have had a winner either way.  

Let’s face it, the chart was filled with classics at the time. “Build Me Up, Buttercup” by The Foundations, “Touch Me” by The Doors, “The Worst That Could Happen” by The Brooklyn Bridge, “This Magic Moment” by Jay and the Americans, “Proud Mary” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, “I heard it Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye, “I Started a Joke” by The Bee Gees, and “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” by Diana Ross and the Supremes, were all in the top 20 that week. If you haven’t heard of these songs jump into YouTube and give them a listen. They are going to sound like songs of the era, but they are classic still the same.

In early 1969 I was in the 5^th grade. I was on Long Island at an elementary school called North Country Elementary School. I had a teacher called Mr. Sueiro who I thought was a bit sullen and didn’t seem to like being a teacher. This could be a perception 55 years in the making. I just don’t remember really gelling with him.

I know I was in an odd phase of my young life. Some things had happened in previous years that threw me into a stranger place than some of the kids I was around at the time. Less than a year before this period I had been in an accident that had sent me flying through the air, hitting the pavement on a street in my neighborhood, and scraping almost my entire face off as if burned. I lost two front teeth, broke my nose, and landed in the hospital for many days. I don’t remember the hospitalization at this point. I do remember the intense shame I felt being broken the way I was. Losing teeth at that age that could not be replaced meant that I would spend several years (into adulthood) with what is known as a ‘partial.’ This meant that my front teeth could come out and sometimes in the earlier years they would in the most inconvenient times. For a kid with sketchy self-esteem (I already had to wear glasses since the first grade) I was convinced that I would be a geek the rest of my life.

I am a person who has a very difficult time remembering childhood. I can look at facts about where I lived, who we lived near, what schools I went to, and the pop culture or top news events to place myself in some fashion. It isn’t always easy to get down to the nitty gritty and tell you about exact moments without some confusion as to what did or did not happen to pertain to me. The world was different, that much I can tell you. I know I was already stealing alcohol from the cabinets where it was kept. I do remember trying out different ‘flavors’ and not finding a lot to be fond of (that would come later.) There was, of course, some effect that would occur and that would become the reason I would be returning and continuing the road to checking out for years to come. I will say that I was not yet to the point of creating the characters that I thought would be more popular. That would not start to happen until 1970 and 71 when I began junior high school at Murphy JHS in Setauket, NY on Long Island.

Back in 1969 things were a bit simpler. I was living predominantly in a fantasy world that I had created at home. Building my own country (Zundia), movie studio, actors & actresses, and music charts. It was a time when I was feeling so much social anxiety because of my implied or perceived awkwardness and fear of judgment. I hadn’t quite yet learned how to make do and turn people-pleasing into an art form through assorted methods. I suppose I can look at the past and see that I wanted to survive and struggled to move through the ridiculous school social structures to further control my environment to the best of my ability.

But when it was simpler, there was always the music. The radio was my best friend. I liked to listen to the charts of the week and the new songs being released. “Crimson and Clover” by Tommy James and the Shondells (itself a song covered in the 1980s by Joan Jett) captivated me because it was so unusual at the time. Pegged as a psychedelic turn (with a video that I doubt I saw until many years later) I became mesmerized by the shaky echoing of the lyric during the chorus. I remember trying to emulate it and failing spectacularly, although I always enjoyed the attempt. “Crimson and Clover, over and over…. It’s hard to believe that was 55 years ago.

Ah, now I don’t hardly know her

But I think I could love her

Crimson and clover

Ah, I wish she’d come walking over

Now I’ve been waiting to show her

Crimson and clover

Over and over