“Crimson And Clover” by Tommy James and the Shondells

"Crimson and Clover" was Tommy James and the Shondells turning the wheel on purpose. James wrote it with drummer Peter Lucia Jr. as a clean break from the group's old sound and songwriting, a woozy slice of psychedelic pop that became the title track of their 1969 album Crimson & Clover. It escaped early, too: a radio station leaked it, so the public first heard it late in 1968 as a rough mix.

The leak did it no harm. It hit number one in the US in February 1969, topped the charts in at least five other countries and became the band's best-selling song, with sales put at 5 million even though the RIAA never awarded it a gold record. Joan Jett cut its best-known cover, and Pitchfork later slotted it in at 57 on its list of the 1960s' greatest songs.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.