1969 Song of the Day- Crystal Blue Persuasion by Tommy James and The Shondells. This was the last of the five Top 5 hits that Tommy James and The Shondells had in the late 60’s- peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. A few weeks back on the replay of American Top 40 I listen to on the weekends- Casey Kasem was talking about how Tommy James and The Shondells have had hits in a number of different genres- bubblegum, psychedelic,  rock and roll, even a protest song. To tell you the truth I could always take or leave them. I have one of their greatest hits albums and that is good enough- and I haven’t wore it out. One of those groups if a song comes on the radio I will listen to it but I wouldn’t seek them out. Crystal Blue Persuasion was written by Tommy James, Eddie Gray and Mike Vale. James years later would comment on how the song came to him- I took the title from the Book of Revelations [sic] in the Bible, reading about the New Jerusalem. The words jumped out at me, and they’re not together; they’re spread out over three or four verses. But it seemed to go together, it’s my favorite of all my songs and one of our most requested.” The #1 song that kept Crystal Blue Persuasion out of the top spot- was In The Year 2525 by Zager and Evans. The song has been used in countless movies and probably best used on the television show Breaking Bad.