| "Yellow River" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Christie | ||||
| from the album Christie | ||||
| B-side | "Down the Mississippi Line" | |||
| Released | 23 April 1970 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 2:44 | |||
| Label | CBS (UK) Epic (US) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Jeff Christie | |||
| Producer(s) | Mike Smith | |||
| Christie singles chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Yellow River" on YouTube | ||||
"Yellow River" is a song 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]
The song was written by the leader of Christie,Jeff Christie. It was first offered to The Tremeloes,who recorded it with the intention of releasing it as a single early in 1970. However,after the success of their then most recent single,"(Call Me) Number One",and after considering it too pop-oriented for their future direction,they decided to follow it up with another of their own compositions,"By the Way",which was only a minor Top 40 success.[ citation needed ]
Producer Mike Smith therefore took their vocals off the recording and added Jeff Christie's. Released 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.
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"Yellow River" has spawned a host of covers by artists as diverse as R.E.M., Leapy Lee, Elton John, The Compton Brothers, Middle of the Road, Chris Rea, Bernd Spier, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Mayada, and Joe Dassin (his rendition, named "L'Amérique"m reached No. 1 in France). [13]
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 cover versions. [14]
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"). [15]
Christie are an English soft rock band that formed at the end of the 1960s. They are best remembered for their UK chart-topping hit single "Yellow River", released in 1970, which hit number one in 26 countries that year.
The Raspberries were an American pop rock band formed in 1970 from Cleveland, Ohio. They had a run of success in the early 1970s music scene with their pop rock sound, which AllMusic later described as featuring "exquisitely crafted melodies and achingly gorgeous harmonies." The members were known for their clean-cut public image and matching suits, which brought them teenybopper attention as well as scorn from some mainstream media outlets as "uncool". The group drew influence from the British Invasion era—especially the Beatles, the Who, the Hollies, and the Small Faces—and its mod sensibility. In both the US and the UK, the Raspberries helped pioneer the power pop music style that took off after the group disbanded. They also have had a following among professional musicians such as Jack Bruce, Ringo Starr, and Courtney Love.
"Stoned Love" is a 1970 hit single recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. It was the last Billboard Pop Top Ten hit for the group, peaking at number seven, and their last Billboard number-one R&B hit as well, although the trio continued to score top ten hits in the UK into 1972. In the UK, it was the post-Ross Supremes' biggest hit, reaching number 3 in the singles chart. The single spent six weeks in the UK top ten and five weeks in the US top ten. The BBC ranked "Stoned Love" at number 99 on The Top 100 Digital Motown Chart, which ranks Motown releases solely on their all time UK downloads and streams.
The Five Man Electrical Band is a Canadian rock band from Ottawa, Ontario. They had many hits in Canada, including the top 10 entries "Half Past Midnight" (1967), "Absolutely Right" (1971) and "I'm a Stranger Here" (1972). Internationally, they are best known for their 1971 hit single "Signs".
"Get Ready" is a Motown song written by Smokey Robinson, which resulted in two hit records for the label: a U.S. No. 29 version by the Temptations in 1966, and a U.S. No. 4 version by Rare Earth in 1970. It is significant for being the last song Robinson wrote and produced for the Temptations, due to a deal Berry Gordy made with Norman Whitfield, that if "Get Ready" did not meet with the expected degree of success, then Whitfield's song, "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", would get the next release, which resulted in Whitfield more or less replacing Robinson as the group's producer.
The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with "Do You Love Me".
Ocean was a Canadian gospel/soft rock band formed in 1970 in Toronto, Ontario. They are best known for their 1971 single "Put Your Hand in the Hand". The single peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and reached No. 4 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
"Here Comes My Baby" is a song written by British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens. It is well known for being an international hit for the Tremeloes in 1967.
"Do You Love Me" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by the Contours in 1962. Written and produced by Motown Records owner Berry Gordy Jr., it appeared twice on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching numbers three in 1962 and eleven in 1988.
"These Dreams" is a song by American rock band Heart from their 1985 self-titled eighth studio album. It was released on January 18, 1986, as the album's third single, becoming the band's first song to top the Billboard Hot 100. The single's B-side track "Shell Shock", was also the B-side of Heart's previous single "Never".
"Love the One You're With" is a song by American folk rock musician Stephen Stills. It was released as the lead single from his debut self-titled studio album in November 1970. The song, inspired by a remark Stills heard from musician Billy Preston, became his biggest hit single, peaking at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1971.
"Young Love" is a popular song, written by Ric Cartey and Carole Joyner, and published in 1956. The original version was recorded by Ric Cartey with the Jiva-Tones on November 24, 1956. Joyner was a high school student when she co-wrote the song with Cartey, her boyfriend at the time. It was released in 1956 by Stars Records as catalog number 539 and one month later by RCA Records as catalog number 47-6751. Cartey's version never charted.
"Little Darling (I Need You)" is a 1966 single written and produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland and recorded and released by Marvin Gaye on the Tamla label.
"Silence Is Golden" is a song initially recorded by the American rock band the Four Seasons. Written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, Philips Records released it in 1964 as the B-side of the U.S. number 1 single "Rag Doll", which was also written by Crewe and Gaudio. The Tremeloes' 1967 cover version reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and number 11 on the US charts.
Wadsworth Mansion was an early-1970s American rock band from Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Its members were Steve Jablecki, Wayne Gagnon, Russ Sevigny, Mike Jablecki (drums) and John Poole . The group took its name from Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill in Connecticut.
Alan David Blakley was a British musician and record producer. A member of the Tremeloes from 1958 to 1996. He was the father of actress Claudie Blakley. As a producer, he worked on the hit song She's Gonna Win for Bilbo, and nearly all the studio albums for glam rock sensations The Rubettes.
"Uno tranquillo" is a song by Italian singer Riccardo Del Turco, released as a single in 1967. The song is notable for being covered in English as "Suddenly You Love Me" by the Tremeloes and in French as "Siffler sur la colline" by Joe Dassin.
"Even the Bad Times Are Good" is a song recorded by British group the Tremeloes, released as a single in July 1967. It became their third consecutive top-ten hit in the UK and continued their international success.
"Someone, Someone" is a song by American rock and roll band the Crickets, released in March 1959 as the B-side to "Love's Made a Fool of You". However, the song is better known for the version by British beat group Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, which became a top-ten hit in the UK in 1964.
"(Call Me) Number One" is a song by British group the Tremeloes, released as a single in October 1969. It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart.
