Kenny Laguna is a songwriter and producer who has worked with Joan Jett ever since she started as a solo artist. He played keyboards and sang backup as a member of The Shondells. Kenny explains how this came together:
"Bo Gentry wrote all these songs for Tommy James, from 'I Think We're Alone Now' right on through 'Mony Mony.' There were other co-writers, but Bo was the genius, the driving force. Bo wasn't getting paid from Roulette Records, so he went on strike and refused to make any more Tommy James records. In those days, the legend, Morris Levy, said he was not going to be pushed around and said, 'Fine, you want to quit, quit. It will be the end of your career.' We went to Tommy and said, 'Look Tommy, if you don't get someone to write the songs for you, you're going to be dead meat. You can't go trying to do it yourself, you don't know how to write hit songs.' So he went off with the drummer and created this song. I'll never forget it, it was in Allegra studios on 1650 Broadway. There was the Brill building, and in the basement was this great studio. Tommy says, 'come here,' so I went in the room, listened to what he'd been doing and said, 'Oh, my God.' Everybody kind of deserted Tommy, and he went off and just did this incredible song. He wrote it, produced it, and played all the instruments with the drummer."

Well, what a surprise to read the comments about a song that was one of my favourites in the late '60s. While at university in the late 70's & early 80's I was shown an article in a Christian publication that said the only way to get Christian music on the air back then was to disguise it, and this was a prime example. Clover, with its 3 leaves, was a well known metaphore for the Holy Trinity in some circles. Crimson represented the blood of Christ. I have never studied the lyrics in this light but I thought that it was plausible. Has anyone else heard this interpretation?

US Vice President Hubert Humphrey wrote the liner notes for the Crimson And Clover album. Humphrey asked James to run his "Youth Affairs" commission when he was campaigning in 1968.

While Obama is bringing it to a new level, support for Democratic presidential candidates by Rock stars (as well as other performers of youth-oriented or -originated music) is hardly new. But one man who could make a strong case for pioneering it, were he alive today, would be Hubert Horatio Humphrey.

In 1968, while serving as Vice President and running for President, Humphrey campaigned with Tommy James & the Shondells, whose Garage-Rock-tinged dance tunes like "Hanky Panky" and "Mony Mony" had brought them Top 40 fame at the time. The band played at numerous Humphrey campaign stops. (Humphrey also received an endorsement from James Brown that year.)