"Mellow Yellow" is a song written and recorded by
Scottish singer-songwriter
Donovan. In the US, it reached No. 2 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. Outside the US, "Mellow Yellow" peaked at No. 8 in the UK in early 1967.
Content
The song was rumoured to be about smoking dried banana skins, which was
believed to be a hallucinogenic drug in the 1960s, though this aspect of bananas has since been debunked. According to Donovan's notes, accompanying the album ''
Donovan's Greatest Hits'', the rumour that one could get high from smoking dried banana skins was started by
Country Joe McDonald in 1966, and Donovan heard the rumour three weeks before "Mellow Yellow" was released as a single.
According to ''The
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll'', he admitted later the song made reference to a
vibrator; an "electrical banana" as mentioned in the lyrics. Donovan stated, "I was reading a newspaper and on the back there was an ad for a yellow dildo called the mellow yellow," he said. "Really, you know the 'electric banana' was right in there and gave it away. And that's what the song's about." This definition was re-affirmed in an interview with ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' magazine: "it's about being cool, laid-back, and also the electrical bananas that were appearing on the scene – which were ladies' vibrators."
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
can be heard as one of the background revellers on this track, but the "quite rightly" whispering lines in the chorus is not McCartney, but rather Donovan himself. Donovan had a small part in coming up with the lyrics for "
Yellow Submarine", and McCartney played
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
(uncredited) on portions of Donovan's ''
Mellow Yellow'' album.
In 2005, the track was
remastered by
EMI Records for the ''Mellow Yellow'' album re-issue.
Reception
''
Cash Box'' called "Mellow Yellow" an "easy-going, sophisticated blues number which should be a giant."
Covers and adaptations
"Mellow Yellow" was covered in 1967 by soul singer
Big Maybelle
Mabel Louise Smith (May 1, 1924 – January 23, 1972), known professionally as Big Maybelle, was an American R&B singer. Her 1956 hit single " Candy" received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.
Childhood and musical background
Born in J ...
on her album ''Got a Brand New Bag''. It was also covered in 1968 by British R&B singer/keyboardist
Georgie Fame
Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...
on his album ''The Third Face of Fame''.
In 1999, "Mellow Yellow" was sung by a group of young adults, among whom were then-unknowns
Alex Greenwald
Alexander Greenwald (born October 9, 1979) is an American musician, actor, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist of the California rock band Phantom Planet.
Life and career
Greenwald was born in Los Angeles, California, to a family of J ...
,
Rashida Jones
Rashida Leah Jones (; born February 25, 1976) is an American actress.
Jones appeared as Louisa Fenn on the Fox drama series '' Boston Public'' (2000–2002), as Karen Filippelli on the NBC comedy series ''The Office'' (2006–2009; 2011), and ...
and
Jason Thompson, in
Gap's "Everybody in
Cords" commercial directed by Pedro Romhanyi. The music mix was done by the
Dust Brothers
The Dust Brothers are a pair of songwriters and producers consisting of E.Z. Mike ( Michael Simpson) and King Gizmo ( John King). They are famous for the sample-based music they produced in the 1980s and 1990s, and specifically for their work on ...
. In 2015 the song was covered by Spanish singer
Abraham Mateo
Abraham Mateo Chamorro (born 25 August 1998), is a Spanish singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He is known for his soulful and dance-oriented music.
Mateo was only seven when he began winning prizes on television shows and at the ag ...
for promotion of the film ''
Minions''. The original by Donovan was used in the film's ending titles. In Brazil
Michel Teló
Michel Teló () (born 21 January 1981) is a Brazilian sertanejo singer-songwriter and actor. Before his solo act, he was a lead singer in various bands, most notably Grupo Tradição. His biggest national and international hit "Ai Se Eu Te Peg ...
covered the song, adapted to Portuguese, also for the movie.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
External links
Mellow Yellow (Single) – Donovan Unofficial Site*
{{authority control
1966 songs
1966 singles
1967 singles
Donovan songs
Epic Records singles
Psychedelic songs
Pye Records singles
Song recordings produced by Mickie Most
Songs written by Donovan