Mellow Yellow Mellow Yellow "Mellow Yellow" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. In the US it reached No. 2 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in 1966, (Both Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys and Winchester Cathedral by The New Vaudeville Band kept it from hitting No. 1). Outside the US, "Mellow Yellow" peaked at No. 8 in the UK in early 1967. The song was rumoured to be about smoking dried banana skins, which was believed to be a hallucinogenic drug in the 1960s, though this aspect of bananas has since been debunked. According to Donovan's notes, accompanying
The Temptations in a Mellow Mood soon became a solo showcase for Williams, who performed a particularly acclaimed version of the song for the "TCB" television special in late 1968. The group would revisit the idea of an album of pop standards in 1995 with "For Lovers Only". All lead vocals by David Ruffin except where noted The Temptations in a Mellow Mood The Temptations in a Mellow Mood is the sixth studio album by The Temptations for the Motown label released in 1967. Composed primarily of pop standards such as "Ol' Man River" and "For Once in My Life" (later a major hit for Motown