"Mellow Yellow" is a song written and recorded byScottish singer-songwriterDonovan.^[7] Released in the US in 1966, it reached No. 2 on theBillboard Hot 100.^[8] Outside the US, "Mellow Yellow" peaked at No. 8 in the UK in early 1967.

"Mellow Yellow"
Single byDonovan
from the albumMellow Yellow
B-side	"Sunny South Kensington"(USA) "Preachin' Love"(UK)
Released	October 1966(US) February 1967(UK)
Recorded	August 1966[1]
Genre	Pop[2][3] psychedelic pop[4][5] blues[6]
Length	3:42
Label	Epic 5-10098 Pye 7N 17267
Songwriter(s)	Donovan
Producer(s)	Mickie Most
Donovan UK singles chronology
"Sunshine Superman" (1966) "Mellow Yellow" (1966) "There Is a Mountain" (1967)
Donovan US singles chronology
"Sunny Goodge Street" (1966) "Mellow Yellow" (1966) "Epistle to Dippy" (1967)

The song was rumoured to be about smoking dried banana skins, which wasbelieved to be a hallucinogenic drug in the 1960s, though this aspect of bananas has since been debunked.^[9] According to Donovan's liner notes for the albumDonovan's Greatest Hits, the rumour that one could get high from smoking dried banana skins was started byCountry Joe McDonald in 1966, and Donovan heard the rumour three weeks before "Mellow Yellow" was released as a single.

According toTheRolling Stone Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll, he admitted later the song made reference to avibrator; an "electrical banana" as mentioned in the lyrics.^[10] Donovan stated, "I was reading a newspaper and on the back there was an ad for a yellow dildo called the mellow yellow," he said. "Really, you know the 'electric banana' was right in there and gave it away. And that's what the song's about." This definition was re-affirmed in an interview withNME magazine: "it's about being cool, laid-back, and also the electrical bananas that were appearing on thescene — which were ladies' vibrators."^[11]

Donovan had originally written the song as a throwaway sing-a-long for private parties, and was surprised when producerMickie Most chose it to be the follow up single to "Sunshine Superman".^[12] The song was arranged by session musicianJohn Paul Jones and became one of his first to achieve international success. At first Donovan was disappointed in the horn sound, until Jones came up with the idea to use "hats" (horn mutes) to achieve the required "mellow" mood.^[12] In addition, Donovan tuned his acoustic guitar to a D-major drone to mimic slide blues players.

Paul McCartney can be heard as one of the background revelers on this track but contrary to rumour, the "quite rightly" whispering line in the chorus is not McCartney, but rather Donovan himself.^[13] Donovan had a small part in coming up with the lyrics for "Yellow Submarine", so McCartney returned the favor by helping out on the title track and playing uncreditedbass guitar on portions of theMellow Yellow album.^[14]

In 2005, the track wasremastered byEMI Records for theMellow Yellow album re-issue.^[15]

Cash Box called "Mellow Yellow" an "easy-going, sophisticated blues number which should be a giant."^[16]

"Mellow Yellow" was covered in 1967 by soul singerBig Maybelle on her albumGot a Brand New Bag.^[17] It was also covered in 1968 by British R&B singer/keyboardistGeorgie Fame on his albumThe Third Face of Fame.^[18]

In 1999, "Mellow Yellow" was sung by a group of young adults, among whom were then-unknownsAlex Greenwald,Rashida Jones andJason Thompson, inGap's "Everybody inCords" commercial directed by Pedro Romhanyi. The music mix was done by theDust Brothers.^[19] In 2015 the song was covered by Spanish singerAbraham Mateo for promotion of the filmMinions.^[20] The original by Donovan was used in the film's ending titles. In BrazilMichel Teló covered the song, adapted to Portuguese, also for the movie.^[21]Israeli singerArik Einstein covered the song in 1967 as "Ani margish k'mo melech" ("I feel like a king").^{[citation needed]}

• Mellow Yellow (Single) – Donovan Unofficial Site
• "Mellow Yellow" atMusicBrainz (information and list of recordings)