Who sang the song mellow yellow how to#

For anyone born after then, this is a slang term for a vibrator. The song’s mentioning of an “electrical banana” gives it away to anyone born before 1960. In fact, Donovan claims to have heard the rumour only three weeks before ‘Mellow Yellow’ was released as a single.ĭonovan has since cleared away the forest of rumours sourcing the song’s provenance. According to the liner notes for Donovan’s Greatest Hits, the rumour asserting the banana’s medicinal properties was espoused by Country Joe McDonald in 1966. Of course, that theory has since been debunked, so don’t be getting any ideas. This rumour sounds so ridiculous, even today. Initially, the song was rumoured to be about smoking dried banana skins, which were rumoured to have psychedelic properties in the ’60s.

In fact, ‘Mellow Yellow’ was steeped in myth almost instantly after release. However, Donovan has dispelled this myth. It was also rumoured to have been McCartney whispering the slightly creepy “quite rightly” in the chorus. It is also alleged that McCartney played bass in parts of the album Mellow Yellow but was uncredited. The Beatles bassist lends his hand to the song with a clap and the cheer at the end. Showing that Donovan’s illustrious list of friends did not end there, his quintessential song features an uncredited Paul McCartney. It was arranged by none other than John Paul Jones, the only member of the future Led Zeppelin we have not mentioned till this point. The title track and solo single from Mellow Yellow, the song is a psychedelic trip in of itself. The interview originally aired on January 17, 2006.One of the hits that culminated in Donovan’s ubiquity was 1966’s ‘Mellow Yellow’.

Here & Now: Listen To Our Entire 2006 Interview With Donovan.

'We're all insecure, and artists are more insecure than others.'

Who sang the song mellow yellow how to#

'It became quite dangerous - fame - and I got a bit scared of it, I didn't quite understand how to continue,' Donovan says. After accomplishing his mission of introducing 'poetry again to popular culture,' he thought: 'Why keep doing it?' We were everywhere.'ĭonovan took an extended break from the music business when he was just 24 years old. 'Either you were for Donovan, or you were for Dylan. 'The folk world was invading pop culture that spring, and people got very very hot under the collar,' he said.

He says he's not sure why his fans and Dylan's fans were at odds with each other during the 60s. 'They thought I was following Bob, when Bob and I were following Guthrie.' 'The cap and the harmonica that Bob wore, and the cap and the harmonica that I wore, was really in homage to the great American Woody Guthrie,' said Donovan. He was a sixties icon with hits such as 'Mellow Yellow,' 'Sunshine Superman' and 'Hurdy Gurdy Man.'īut at the age of 24, he left music behind for 40 years, only to reemerge in 2005 with a new compilation of his music and an autobiography 'The Hurdy Man.'ĭonovan sat down with Here & Now's Robin Young in 2006 to reflect on his life and career.Īt the height of his career, Donovan was often called the 'British Bob Dylan.' But he explained that people mistakenly believed he was influenced by Dylan. Scottish folk and pop star Donovan will be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April. Twitter facebook Email This article is more than 10 years old.