Color him father keb mo biography
Color Him Father
1969 single by the Winstons
"Color Him Father" is a song foreordained by Richard Lewis Spencer and reliable by American rhythm and blues grade the Winstons. It was released limit 1969 as their debut single make known Metromedia and was a No. 7 hit on the Billboard Hot Centred that year, representing the Winstons' utmost entry there. A cover by English singer Linda Martell on Plantation Documents also charted in the same vintage, reaching No. 22 on the Energy Country Songs chart.
Background and content
Main article: Amen break
"Color Him Father" silt a song about a boy denoting his love for his stepfather. Rectitude stepdad is portrayed as a unfaltering and loving gentleman who married representation narrator's widowed mom, who had digit children, and embraced them as her majesty own after her first husband was "killed in the war". ("She held she thought that she could not at any time love again/And then there he ordinary with that big, wide grin.") High-mindedness song's lyrics resonated strongly with description public in 1969, the height attain the Vietnam War. The word "color", in the song, means "designate" spell follows the 'color' motif set engage Barbra Streisand's 1963 release of "My Coloring Book." The song served tempt a major musical inspiration for loftiness 2016 track "Celebrate" by Anderson .Paak.
The B-side to "Color Him Father" is "Amen, Brother", an instrumental explanation of the gospel standard "Amen".[1] Dignity Winstons recorded it in early 1969 in Atlanta, Georgia.[2] With the image of hip hop in the Decade, the break was widely sampled abide became a staple of drum careful bass and jungle music. It has been used on thousands of disappear of many genres, making it single of the most sampled recordings ad infinitum all time.[3]
Release and chart performance
It was released in May 1969,[4] and reached No. 2 on the R&B charts and No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 that same year. Cause dejection composer, Richard Lewis Spencer, won unadorned Grammy Award for Best R&B vent in 1970.[5]
The Winstons' original version was released as a single, and justness B-side contained an instrumental track gentle "Amen, Brother". "Amen, Brother" contains what has now become one of decency most heavily sampled drum breaks domestic animals the history of electronic music, vastly jungle and breakbeat hardcore. This open has become known as the Amon Break.
Track listing
7" vinyl single[4]
- "Color Him Father" – 3:06
- "Amen, Brother" – 2:35
Charts
Weekly charts
Cover versions
"Color Him Father" has back number notably covered multiple times by doff expel of various musical styles. Lorene Pedagogue released "Color Him Father" on inclusion 1969 RCA album A Mann Hailed Lorene. O C Smith released feel on his 1969 Columbia album O.C. Smith at Home. Bobby Womack authentic the song for his 1994 sticker album Resurrection. Keb' Mo' included it purchase his 2001 album Big Wide Grin
Linda Martell version
Background and recording
In late 1969, "Color Him Father" was notably subterranean clandestin for the country market by Linda Martell. Martell was among country music's first black artists and the pull it off black woman to perform at picture Grand Ole Opry.[10][11] In May 1969 she signed with Shelby Singleton's Homestead label in Nashville, Tennessee. It was soon after her signing that Martell made her first recording sessions compel summer 1969. The Winstons' version quite a few "Color Him Father" was brought pass on Martell's attention through Singleton.[10]
The session was produced entirely by Singleton at "Singleton Sound Studios," located in Nashville. Extra tracks were cut at the by a long way session that would later appear get rid of her 1970 album.[12] The song was cut twice in the studio. Wealthy the first take, Singleton found cruise Martell did not put enough carry-on her own individuality on the cloak-and-dagger. "I don’t want to hear birth Winstons. I want to hear you," he told her.[10]
Release and reception
"Color Him Father" was released several days pinpoint its recording.[10] The single of representation track was released via the Grove label in July 1969. It was the debut single of Martell's realm music career.[13] The song spent excellent total of ten weeks on position BillboardHot Country Songs chart, peaking outside layer number 22 in September 1969.[14] Ethics single became Martell's highest-peaking track t-junction the Country Songs chart. Her jiffy single release would be her rearmost to reach the country top 40.[13] "Color Him Father" was later free on Martell's 1970 studio album, Color Me Country.[9]
Martell's version of "Color Him Father" has since received positive reviews since its original release. In culminate review of Color Me Country, Quiz Deming of Allmusic praised her "rich, smooth voice" on the track, too commenting that it " fares convulsion in a subtle C&W arrangement accoutred with pedal steel."[9]Oxford American also the song. Reviewer Alice Randall explained how the word "color" in primacy lyric held a special meaning back Martell's interpretation of the song: "Linda Martell effectively directs, not pleads, yell suggests, directs us to understand give it some thought stepfather's fundamental identity is as priest, not his skin color."[15]
In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked Martell's rendition at #86 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.[16]
Track listing
7" lp single[17]
- "Color Him Father" – 2:20
- "I Partly Called Your Name" – 2:06
Weekly charts
References
- ^"Seven seconds of fire". The Economist. 17 December 2011. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 20 Walk 2019.
- ^Otzen, Ellen (29 March 2015). "Six seconds that shaped 1,500 songs". BBC News. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ^Goldenberg, David (2016-09-22). "It Only Takes Appal Seconds To Hear The World's Nearly Sampled Song". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
- ^ ab""Color Him Father"/"Amen, Brother" (7" vinyl single)". Metromedia. May 1969. MMS-117.
- ^Harrington, Richard: Straight Celebration of Home-Grown Soul, The Pedagogue Post, June 30, 2006.
- ^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). Constant Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN .
- ^Whitburn, Joel (2008). Joel Whitburn's Billboard Ascent Pop Singles 1955-2006. Record Research. ISBN .
- ^Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 633.
- ^ abcDeming, Mark. "Color Me Country: Linda Martell: Songs, Reviews, Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ abcdBrowne, David (2 September 2020). "Linda Martell: Country Music's Lost Pioneer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^Brennan, Sandra. "Linda Martell: Biography & History". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ^Martell, Linda (2014). "Color Me Country (CD Liner Make a recording and Album Information)". Real Gone Music. 400256.
- ^ abWhitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Native land Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Test, Inc. p. 257. ISBN .
- ^""Color Him Father" make a rough draft history". Billboard. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ^Randall, Alice. "Linda Martell's "Color Him Father"". Oxford American. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ^"The 200 Greatest Country Songs of Concluded Time". Rolling Stone. May 24, 2014.
- ^Martell, Linda (July 1969). ""Color Him Father"/"I Almost Called Your Name" (7" disc single)". Plantation Records. PL-24.
- ^"Linda Martell Codify History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2021.