Jeff Christie, the leader of Christie, first offered the song to
The Tremeloes. They recorded it with the intention of releasing it as a single at the beginning of 1970. However, after the success of their single, "
(Call Me) Number One", the band decided to go in a different direction. Instead of releasing "Yellow River" as the follow-up single, they went with one of their own compositions, "By the Way", which was only a minor Top 40 success. Producer
Mike Smith then took the Tremeloes' vocals off the recording and added Jeff Christie's. Released as a single on 23 April 1970, it became an international hit, reaching number 1 on the
UK Singles Chart for one week in June 1970. In the US, it reached number 23 on the
Billboard Hot 100. In the song, the actual location of Yellow River 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. As the song was released during the
Vietnam War, it has been interpreted as being about a soldier leaving the
U.S. Military at the end of his period of
conscription.
Personnel • Jeff Christie – lead vocals (
Christie release) • Dave Munden – lead vocals (
Tremeloes release), drums •
Rick Westwood – lead guitar •
Alan Blakley – rhythm guitar •
Len Hawkes – bass guitar == Chart performance ==