Crimson and Clover': Tommy James' Unfinished Demo That Changed Radio Forever

Coming up… Tommy James had dabbled in a lot of different styles to great effect. But then he rolled out of bed one day with an incredible song idea that would turn into Crimson and Clover. He would take the idea down a road of musical experimentation, unlike any song before it... from an ethereal vocal that sounded like it was from another dimension. Tommy put his two favorite words together for the chorus which people thought had a profound message even though it meant nothing. As he created layers of immaculate sounds and off-the-wall lyrics it all came together around a cool guitar effect that’s the grand result was a sound unlike anything that had ever been on the radio. What’s crazy is that Tommy made the demo in a couple of hours, but it was raw and uneven. He planned to finish it later but he was so excited about it that he showed it to a New York DJ. When Tommy got in his car to leave the station, he was shocked to hear his song coming out of his speakers The DJ was playing his rough demo without his consent. Turns out the DJ had recorded it, unbeknownst to Tommy, and played it. Well, the cat was out of the bag and it immediately went crazy, hitting #1 overnight. Up next icon Tommy James tells the story of Crimson and Clover.

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