"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.

Background

The song was written by the leader of Christie, Jeff Christie. It was first offered to

The Tremeloes 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". After Poole's departure ...

, 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. 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 one on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

for one week in June 1970. In the US, it reached number 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The actual location of Yellow River in this song 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 The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. As the song was released during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, it has been interpreted as being about a soldier leaving the U.S. Military at the end of his period of

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...

Chart performance

Weekly charts

;Christie ; Jigsaw cover

Year-end charts

;Christie ; Jigsaw

Other versions

"Yellow River" has spawned a host of cover versions by artists as diverse as R.E.M.,

Leapy Lee Lee Graham (born Graham Pulleyblank, 2 July 1939) better known by his stage name Leapy Lee, is an English singer, best known for his 1968 single " Little Arrows," which reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart, and was a Top 20 country and pop hit ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, The Compton Brothers, Middle of the Road,

Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues singer and guitarist from Middlesbrough. A "gravel-voiced guitar stalwart" known for his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty five solo albums, two of which t ...

, Bernd Spier, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Mayada, and

Joe Dassin Joseph Ira Dassin (; 5 November 1938 – 20 August 1980) was an American–French singer-songwriter and actor. He was the son of film director Jules Dassin. Early life Dassin was born in New York City to American film director Jules Dassin (19 ...

(his cover named "L'Amérique" reached No. 1 in France). In Australia, Christie's version of Yellow River gained only limited airplay due to the

1970 radio ban The Australian 1970 Radio Ban or 1970 Record Ban was a "pay for play" dispute in the local music industry that lasted from May until October. During this period, a simmering disagreement between commercial radio stations – represented by the Fed ...

. Local bands Jigsaw from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

and

Autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( ...

from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

both had success with cover versions. 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 Carlson (Толстый Карлсон).

References