1970年，Jeff Christie 傑夫克里斯帝和另二位樂手組成 Christie 克里斯帝合唱團，結束了多年客串樂手的生涯。首張專輯中的首支單曲” Yellow river 黃河”，推出後在歐洲許多國家都登上冠軍，成了他們最受歡迎的作品。
貝斯手兼主唱傑夫克里斯帝回憶道：這首歌在組團前一年半就已寫好，原本是要給英國當時相當受歡迎的 Tremeloes顫音合唱團演唱，但是” Yellow river “這首歌偏流行搖滾的風格，和顫音合唱團的白人靈魂樂走向不同，而顫音合唱團那時才以” Call Me Number One “這首歌大紅，他們決定不灌錄這首歌，繼續走自己的風格。
於是” Yellow river “被拿回來由傑夫克里斯帝親自演唱，成就了一首轟動國際的單曲，顫音合唱團事後雖然相當後悔，但頂多只能在演唱會上翻唱這首歌。
” Yellow river “描述一個年輕人從前線退役，整束返鄉的愉快心情。當傑夫克里斯帝被問及寫這首歌曲的動機，他只淡淡的表示，有一天他正吃著早餐，突然有個念頭想寫一首歌，這首歌名為” Yellow river “應該很適合，大約十分鐘而已，整首歌的架構即已完成。
對照當時的時空背景，有人認為這首歌應該是描述自越戰退伍的年輕士兵，但目前為止沒有任何文獻資料支持這種說法。至於歌曲不斷唱出的” 黃河 “和孕育中華歷史文化的黃河，也可以肯定不會有一丁點浪漫的牽連了。
請各位前往 YouTube 觀賞這首歌曲的 MV－－請進。將近四十年前的影片，除了影像品質老舊，只靠吉他、貝斯和鼓等最精簡的三件式搖滾編制所做出來的音樂，依然可以穿越時空感動人心。

“Yellow River” is a popular song recorded by the British band Christie. Written by band leader Jeff Christie, the song was offered to The Tremeloes, who recorded it with the intention of releasing it as a single early in 1970. However, after the success of their then most recent single, “Call Me Number One”, and after considering it too pop-orientated for their future direction, they decided to follow it up with another of their own compositions, “By The Way”, which was only a minor Top 40 success.
Producer Mike Smith therefore took their vocals off the recording and added those of Jeff Christie. Released on 23 April 1970, it became an international hit, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart for one week in June 1970. In the US, it reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
The song is the thoughts of a young Confederate soldier during the time of the United States Civil War whose time in the army is over, and he is looking forward to returning to his home town in the country on Yellow River. The actual location of Yellow River is not specified. The British video had the group on a barge sailing down the River Thames through London.

By Jeff Christie

Lyrics