By 1968, the Turtles had had a number of successful pop records on the White Whale label, including Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe," "Happy Together," and "She'd Rather Be with Me," the latter two written by Gary Bonner and Alan Gordon.

[3] The band recorded "Elenore" as a parody of the type of happy-go-lucky pop songs they themselves had been performing, but with deliberately clichéd and slapdash lyrics such as: "Your looks intoxicate me / Even though your folks hate me / There's no one like you, Elenore, really"; and "Elenore, gee, I think you're swell / And you really do me well / You're my pride and joy, et cetera..."[4] The original lyrics used the phrase "Fab and Gear", which got replaced by the phrase "Pride and Joy".

It was meant as an anti-love letter to White Whale [Records], who were constantly on our backs to bring them another "Happy Together."

[5]According to his autobiography Shell Shocked, Kaylan stated that the Turtles had agreed that any song written by one or more members would be credited to the entire group.

[7] The song was produced by Chip Douglas and released as a single (White Whale 276).

Cash Box called it a "delightful turn to the softer rock style," saying it is "a powerful vocal stew blending attractively over a medium-slow rhythm track.