Color Him Father

The Winstons

About Color Him Father

"Color Him Father" is a song released by funk and soul group The Winstons. It was released in 1969, and reached number 2 on the R&B charts and number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 that same year. Its composer, Richard Lewis Spencer, won a Grammy Award for Best R&B song in 1970."Color Him Father" is one of the best known songs by The Winstons. It was released as a single, and the B-side contained an instrumental track titled "Amen, Brother". "Amen, Brother" contains what has now become one of the most heavily sampled drum breaks in the history of electronic music, especially jungle and breakbeat hardcore. This break has become known as the Amen Break. "Color Him Father" is an unabashedly sentimental song in which a boy expresses his love for his stepfather, a hardworking and generous man who married his widowed mother, who had seven children, and embraced them as his own after her first husband was "killed in the war." ("She said she thought that she could never love again/And then there he stood with that big, wide grin.") The song's lyrics resonated strongly with the public in 1969, the height of the Vietnam War. The word "color," in the song, means "label" or "call" and follows the 'color' motif set in Barbra Streisand's 1963 release of "My Coloring Book." The song served as a major musical inspiration for the 2016 track "Celebrate" by Anderson . Paak. 


Year:
1994
3:06
93 
#2

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There's a man at my house he's so big and strong
He goes to work each day, stays all day long
He comes home each night looking tired and beat
He sits down at the dinner table and has a bite to eat
Never a frown always a smile
When he says to me how's my child
I've been studying hard all day in school
Tryin' to understand the golden rule

Think I'll color this man father
I think I'll color him love
Said I'm gonna color him father
I think I'll color the man love, yes I will

He says education is the thing if you want to compete
Because without it son, life ain't very sweet
I love this man I don't know why
Jexcept I'll need his strength till the day that I die
My mother loves him and I can tell
By the way she looks at him when he holds my little sister nell
I heard her say just the other day
That if it hadn't been for him she wouldn't have found her way
My real old man he got killed in the war
And she knows she and seven kids couldn't of got very far
She said she thought that she could never love again
And then there he stood with that big wide grin
He married my mother and he took us in
And now we belong to the nman with that big wide grin

Think I'll color this man father
I think I'll color him love
Said I'm gonna color him father
I think I'll color the man love, yes I will

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The Winstons

The Winstons were a 1960s funk and soul music group, based in Washington, D.C.. They are known for their 1969 recording of an EP featuring a song entitled "Color Him Father" on the A-side, and a song entitled "Amen, Brother" on the B-side. Half-way into "Amen, Brother", there is a drum solo (performed by G.C. Coleman) which would cause The Winston's EP to become one of the most widely-sampled records in the history of electronic music. Sampled audio clips of the drum solo became known as the Amen Break, which has been used in thousands of tracks in a large number of musical genres, including: hip-hop, drum and bass, jungle, Big beat, Industrial, Electronica, and pop music. more »

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Written by: RICHARD SPENCER

Lyrics © HOLLY BEE MUSIC COMPANY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


12 facts about this song

Origin
"Color Him Father" is a song by the American R&B/soul group, The Winstons.
Record Creation
The song was released on Metromedia in 1969 and was featured on the group's debut studio album, also titled "Color Him Father."
Song Chart Performance
"Color Him Father" was a big hit for the group. It peaked at No.2 on the Billboard R&B chart and No.7 on the Billboard Pop chart.
Awards
The single earned The Winstons a Grammy Award in 1970 for Best R&B Song.
Sales
It sold over a million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in August 1969.
Lyrics Theme
The lyrics of "Color Him Father" portray a positive image of a man who marries a widow with seven children, providing them with love and guidance.
Song Duration
The song lasts for 3 minutes and 14 seconds, making it a standard length for a single at that time.
Song Legacy
Winstons disbanded shortly after the release of "Color Him Father", but the song continues to be played and sampled, making it the group's most enduring hit.
Sampling
The Winstons' song "Amen, Brother" from the same album is regarded as the most sampled track in the history of music, and The Winstons have indirectly influenced a wide range of music genres. However, "Color Him Father" itself does not have the same level of sampling history.
Cover Versions
Numerous artists have covered "Color Him Father", including Linda Martell, whose version was a top 20 country hit in 1970.
Songwriters
The song was written by Richard Spencer, who was also the lead vocalist for The Winstons.
Reinterpretations
"Color Him Father" has been reinterpreted in different genres, including reggae, by other artists over the years.

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    Color Him Father

    1M
    13,645     460

    Top Hot 100 Songs 1969

    Billboard #7


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