"Crystal Blue Persuasion" is a 1969 song originally recorded by

Tommy James and the Shondells Tommy James and the Shondells are an American pop rock/psychedelic rock band, formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. – " Hanky Panky" (July 1966, their only RIAA Certified Gold record) and "Crimson and Clo ...

and composed by Eddie Gray,

Tommy James Tommy James (born Thomas Gregory Jackson; April 29, 1947), also known as Tommy Tadger, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, widely known as frontman of the 1960s rock band Tommy James and the Shondells, who were know ...

and Mike Vale.

Background

A gentle-tempoed groove, "Crystal Blue Persuasion" was built around a prominent organ part with an understated arrangement, more akin to

The Rascals ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

' sound at the time than to James's contemporary efforts with psychedelic rock. It included melodic passages for an acoustic guitar, as well as a bass pattern, played between the bridge and the third verse of the song. In a 1985 interview in ''Hitch'' magazine, James said the title of the song came to him while he was reading the Biblical

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...

I took the title from the Book of Revelations icin the Bible, reading about the New Jerusalem. The words jumped out at me, and they're not together; they're spread out over three or four verses. But it seemed to go together, it's my favorite of all my songs and one of our most requested.

According to James's manager, James was actually inspired by his readings of the

Book of Ezekiel The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Tanakh and one of the major prophetic books, following Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to the book itself, it records six visions of the prophet Ezekiel, exiled in Babylon, during ...

, which (he remembered as) speaking of a blue

Shekhinah Shekhinah, also spelled Shechinah ( Hebrew: שְׁכִינָה ''Šəḵīnā'', Tiberian: ''Šăḵīnā'') is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God, as it were, in a pla ...

light that represented the presence of the Almighty God, and of the Book of Isaiah and

, which tell of a future age of brotherhood of mankind, living in peace and harmony. At the time of the song's release there were several popular types of high quality blue-colored

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

tablets in circulation—some listeners generally assumed James was referring to "acid". In 1979, music writer Dave Marsh described it as "a transparent allegory about James' involvement with amphetamines."

Chart performance

When released as a single in June 1969, "Crystal Blue Persuasion" became one of the biggest hits for the group, peaking at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 behind

Zager and Evans Zager may refer to: * Bruce B. Zager (born 1952), American justice of the Iowa Supreme Court * Michael Zager (born 1943), American record producer *Zager, Iran, a village in Ardabil Province, Iran See also * Bert Zagers Bert Aldon Zagers (Janua ...

' "

In the Year 2525 "In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)" is a 1969 hit song by the American pop-rock duo of Zager and Evans. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for six weeks commencing July 12, 1969. It peaked at number one in the UK Singles Cha ...

" for three consecutive weeks from July 26 to August 9. In Canada, the song spent one week at number one. The single version differs from the album version of the song with

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

overdubs added to the mix and a longer

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

overdub before the third verse. A

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was made which showed various scenes of late 1960s political and cultural unrest and imagery of "love and peace".

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz ...

Joe Bataan Joe Bataan (also spelled Bataán) (born Bataan Nitollano; November 15, 1942) is a Latin soul musician from New York. Early life Joe Bataan was born Bataan Nitollano and grew up in the 103rd Street and Lexington Avenue part of East Harlem in New ...

The Heptones The Heptones are a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae vocal trio most active in the 1960s and early 1970s. They were one of the more significant trios of that era, and played a major role in the gradual transition between ska and rocksteady into ...

Morcheeba Morcheeba is an English electronic band formed in the mid-1990s with founding members vocalist Skye Edwards and the brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey. They mix influences from trip hop, rock, folk rock and downtempo, and have produced ten regula ...

Concrete Blonde Concrete Blonde was an American alternative rock band from Hollywood, California. They were initially active from 1982 to 1995, and reunited twice: first from 2001 to 2004, and again from 2010 to 2012. They were best known for their album ''Bloo ...

, Jack Wagner, and

John Wesley Harding ''John Wesley Harding'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on December 27, 1967, by Columbia Records. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album marked Dylan's return to semi-acoustic instrumentation and fol ...

are among those who have covered the song.

Appearances in popular culture

"Crystal Blue Persuasion" has been used in numerous media and entertainment properties, both onscreen and off. "Crystal Blue Persuasion" has appeared in the films ''

A Walk on the Moon ''A Walk on the Moon'' is a 1999 drama film starring Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber and Anna Paquin. The film, which was set against the backdrop of the Woodstock festival of 1969 and the United States's Moon landing of that year, w ...

'' (1999), ''The Secret Life of Girls'' (1999), ''

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The pat ...

'' (2007), ''

The Nanny Diaries ''The Nanny Diaries'' is a 2002 novel by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, both of whom are former nannies. The book satirizes upper-class Manhattan society as seen through the eyes of their children's caregivers. Writing The writers were studen ...

'' (2007), and the TV show ''

How to Make it in America ''How to Make It in America'' is an American comedy-drama television series that ran on HBO from February 14, 2010, to November 20, 2011. The series follows the lives of Ben Epstein ( Bryan Greenberg) and his friend Cam Calderon ( Victor Rasuk) a ...

'' (2010). The song is also featured in the movie ''

The Expendables 2 ''The Expendables 2'' is a 2012 American action film directed by Simon West, written by Richard Wenk and Sylvester Stallone and based on a story by Ken Kaufman, David Agosto and Wenk. Brian Tyler returned to score the film. It is the sequel to ...

'' (2012), while Barney ( Sylvester Stallone) is flying his plane. The song was played during the pool scene in the TV movie ''

Growing Up Brady ''Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg'' is a 1992 autobiography written by actor Barry Williams with Chris Kreski and a foreword by Robert Reed. Synopsis In ''Growing Up Brady'', Williams discusses his childhood, the production of the 1969–1 ...

,'' and was in the pilot episode of ''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy/drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super ...

''. The song is referenced in

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

' '' Fantastic Four Annual'' (Vol. 1, #21) from 1988. The name references the character in the book, Crystalia Amaquelin, the blue area of the moon where part of the story takes place, and the plotline which is formed around coercing Crystal to return to the

Inhumans The Inhumans are a fictional superhuman race of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many peop ...

.Uncanny X-Men.net
Retrieved February 7, 2015 The title of the song is referenced in the song "He Do the Police in Different Voices", the opening track from the 1993 album '' Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things'' by

The Loud Family The Loud Family was a San Francisco-based power pop band formed in 1991 by songwriter and guitarist Scott Miller (pop musician), Scott Miller, who previously led the 1980s band Game Theory (band), Game Theory. The Loud Family released six studi ...

. The principal riff of the song is sampled in the song "Sabbatical" by German

nu jazz Nu jazz (also known as jazztronica, or future jazz) is a genre of jazz and electronic music. The music blends jazz elements with other musical styles, such as funk, electronic music, and free improvisation.Definition from Sergey Chernov, June 7, ...

group

De-Phazz De-Phazz is a downtempo jazz ensemble integrating modern turntablism and elements of Soul music, soul, Latin American music, Latin, trip hop and drum and bass into a lounge music sound. De-Phazz is led by Pit Baumgartner, a German producer who ha ...

, from their 2001 album ''

Death by Chocolate Death by Chocolate is a colloquial descriptive or marketing term for various cakes and desserts that feature chocolate, especially dark chocolate or cocoa, as the primary ingredient. The phrase is trademarked in some countries, and the dessert ...

''. In 2012, "Crystal Blue Persuasion" was used in the eighth episode of the fifth season of '' Breaking Bad'', "

Gliding Over All "Gliding Over All" is the eighth episode and mid-season finale of the Breaking Bad (season 5), fifth season of the American television drama series ''Breaking Bad'', and the 54th overall episode of the series. Written by Moira Walley-Beckett and di ...

", during a montage depicting the process involved to bring main character

Walter White Walter White most often refers to: * Walter White (''Breaking Bad''), character in the television series ''Breaking Bad'' * Walter Francis White (1893–1955), American leader of the NAACP Walter White may also refer to: Fictional characters ...

's methamphetamine operation and its signature blue crystal meth to an international level. This montage was subsequently parodied as the opening scene in ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'' season 24, episode 17 "

What Animated Women Want "What Animated Women Want" is the seventeenth episode of the twenty-fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 525th episode overall. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 14, 201 ...

". The song is also referenced in the title of the season 30 finale “

Crystal Blue-Haired Persuasion "Crystal Blue-Haired Persuasion" is the twenty-third and final episode of the thirtieth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 662nd episode overall. The episode was directed by Matthew Faughnan and written by ...

”, in which a segment of the song is played. The Breaking Bad montage was again parodied in '' Bordertown'' season 1, episode 2, "Borderwall" during a montage featuring Bud Buckwald and Steve Hernandez (Bud's boss at the

Border Patrol A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In dif ...

station) running an illegal smuggling tunnel.

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* {{authority control 1969 songs 1969 singles Songs written by Tommy James Tommy James and the Shondells songs Roulette Records singles Soul ballads Songs about drugs RPM Top Singles number-one singles 1960s ballads Rock ballads