Eleanore – The Turtles | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#6); 1968
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
After the massive success of Happy Together, White Whale Records wanted more of the same, and the Turtles dutifully delivered. By the end of 1967, the boys had racked up three more pop ditties: She’d Rather Be With Me (#3), You Know What I Mean (#12), and She’s My Girl (#14).
Four hits in twelve months: a great track record by any standard. When 1968 got off to a relatively slow start – Sound Asleep and The Story Of Rock And Roll failed to crack the Top 40 – the suits began clamoring for another Happy Together.
Being the subversive types, leaders Flo and Eddie chose a song they felt would thrill the execs, but was too generic for the fans. The cliché-ridden Eleanor with its oh-so-bored coda of “You’re my pride and joy, etcetera” seemed to fit the bill.
To their surprise (and probably dismay) Eleanor sailed into the Top 10 in its sixth week on the Hot 100; guaranteeing that Flo and Eddie would be playing Eleanor forever.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Chip Douglas
Lyrics Written by:
- Howard Kaylan
- Mark Volman
- Al Nichol
- Jim Pons
- John Barbata
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).