It was the biggest hit by the 1960s Ohio-based rock group the Lemon Pipers, as well as the title track of their debut album, Green Tambourine.

The Lemon Pipers never repeated this success, though their "Rice Is Nice" and "Jelly Jungle", both also written by Leka and Pinz, made the charts in 1968.

She said: In early Spring, 1966, while standing in front of the Brill Building I watched a man holding a tambourine begging for money.

The song's instrumentation contains the titular tambourine as well as an electric sitar,[10] a frequent signature of the so-called "psychedelic sound".

[citation needed] The musical arrangement also features sweeping orchestrated strings and the distinctive vibraslap percussion instrument.

While the Lemon Pipers played on the record, producer and joint author-composer Leka hired a string section to accompany the band, to add extra depth to the already psychedelic arrangement.

[citation needed] The single's B-side, "No Help from Me," featured lead vocal by keyboardist Bob Nave and did not appear on either of the group's two albums.