‘Crystal Blue Persuasion‘ plays as Howard and Gordon arrive in L.A. in White House Plumbers
The 1960s American rock band Tommy James & The Shondells’ ‘Crystal Blue Persuasion‘ was one of the tracks played on the new HBO Watergate comedy White House Plumbers this week — White House Plumbers, Season 1, Episode 1, “The Beverly Hills Burglary”.
The song was played as Howard and Gordon arrive in Los Angeles and are driving through town in an open top car.
Tommy James & The Shondells’ ‘Crystal Blue Persuasion‘ came out in 1969 on the now defunct Roulette record label.
The song quickly became a surprise hit for the Niles, Michigan-based rock band.
It shot to #2 on the U.S. Cash Box Top 100 chart, #27 on the U.S. Billboard Easy Listening chart and, most importantly, at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The track also went on to chart in the Top 10 on two Canadian charts.
Tommy James & The Shondells’ ‘Crystal Blue Persuasion‘ in the modern day
‘Crystal Blue Persuasion‘ became such an iconic and popular 60s song, it has since been covered by musicians like indie rock band Concrete Blonde, Tito Puente, The Heptones and British folk pop singer John Wesley Harding.
As for Tommy James & The Shondells original version of the track, that has also attracted the attention of many of the top music supervisors in the movie and TV industry in recent years.
Consequently, the song has been licensed for play on shows like Breaking Bad, Growing Up Brady and The Wonder Years.
It has also shown up on the soundtracks of popular movies like The Nanny Diaries, A Walk on the Moon and The Secret Life of Girls.
Listen to Tommy James & The Shondells’ ‘Crystal Blue Persuasion‘ from the White House Plumbers arriving in Los Angeles scene in the video, and on Spotify.
White House Plumbers is now available via HBO Max.