Brown Eyed Girl
| "Brown Eyed Girl" | |||||||||
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| Single by Van Morrison | |||||||||
| from the album Blowin' Your Mind! | |||||||||
| A-side | "Brown Eyed Girl" | ||||||||
| B-side | "Goodbye Baby" | ||||||||
| Released | June 1967 | ||||||||
| Recorded | March 28, 1967 | ||||||||
| Genre | Pop rock | ||||||||
| Length | 3:03 | ||||||||
| Label | Bang Records | ||||||||
| Writer(s) | Van Morrison | ||||||||
| Producer | Bert Berns | ||||||||
| Van Morrison singles chronology | |||||||||
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"Brown Eyed Girl" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. Written and recorded in 1967 by Van Morrison and produced by Bang Records chief Bert Berns, it was first released in May 1967 on the album Blowin' Your Mind!. When released as a single, it rose to number eight on the Cashbox charts, and reached number ten on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] It featured the Sweet Inspirations singing back-up vocals and is widely considered to be Van Morrison's signature song.[2][3]
This song would prove to be the impetus for Morrison's career as a solo artist. It was to be his first single after leaving his position as lead singer for the Belfast formed Them and would lead to his relocation to the United States and an eventual contract with Warner Bros. Records, where he would record his career-defining album, Astral Weeks.
"Brown Eyed Girl" has remained a popular classic pop song that continues to be played regularly on many radio stations and is featured on the top ten list as one of the most played songs by DJs. It appeared at No. 4 on the top 200 in 2011.[4] It has been covered by hundreds of bands over the years and has earned many awards for Morrison, most prominently when it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007 and in 2003, when it was listed as one of the The 365 Top Selling Songs of the 20th Century by RIAA.
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[edit] Recording and title
After finishing out his contract with Decca Records and the mid-1966 break up of his band Them, Van Morrison returned to Belfast seeking a new recording company. When he received a phone call from Bert Berns, owner of Bang Records, he flew to New York City and hastily signed a contract (that biographer Clinton Heylin says probably still gives him sleepless nights.)[5] During a two day recording session starting 28 March 1967, he recorded eight songs intended to be used as four singles.[6] The recording session took place at A & R Studios and "Brown Eyed Girl" was captured on the 22nd take on the first day.[7] Of the musicians Berns had assembled there were three guitarists, including Eric Gale, Hugh McCracken,[8][9] and Al Giorgioni, bassist Russ Savakus, pianist Paul Griffin and drummer Gary Chester.[10][11] It was released as a single in mid-June 1967.[12] Originally titled "Brown-Skinned Girl", Morrison changed it to "Brown Eyed Girl" when he recorded it. Morrison remarked on the original title: "That was just a mistake. It was a kind of Jamaican song. Calypso. It just slipped my mind. I changed the title."[13] "After we'd recorded it, I looked at the tape box and didn't even notice that I'd changed the title. I looked at the box where I'd lain it down with my guitar and it said 'Brown Eyed Girl' on the tape box. It's just one of those things that happen."[14] publisher
[edit] Composition
The song's nostalgic lyrics about a former love were considered too suggestive at the time to be played on many radio stations. A radio-edit of the song was released which removed the lyrics "making love in the green grass", replacing them with "laughin' and a-runnin', hey hey" from a previous verse. This edited version appears on some copies of the compilation album The Best of Van Morrison. However the remastered CD seems to have the bowdlerized lyrics in the packaging but the original "racy" lyrics on the disc. Lyrically, it "shows early hints of the idealized pastoral landscapes that would flow through his songs through the decades, a tendency that links him to the Romantic poets, whom Morrison has cited as an influence" according to music journalist Erik Hage.[15]
[edit] Aftermath
Because of the contract he signed with Bang Records without legal advice, Morrison has never (in his own words) received any royalties for writing or recording this song.[16] The contract made him liable for virtually all recording expenses incurred for all of his Bang Records recordings before royalties would be paid and later, after the expenses were recouped, they would become the "subject of some highly creative accounting."[17] Morrison vented his frustration about this penurious contract in his sarcastic nonsense song "The Big Royalty Check". Morrison has stated that "Brown Eyed Girl" is not among his favorite songs remarking, "It's not one of my best. I mean I've got about 300 songs that I think are better".[18]
[edit] Legacy
Morrison's original recording of "Brown Eyed Girl" remains widely familiar today, as the uncensored version is regularly played by many "oldies" and "classic rock" radio stations. It is listed as the #4 most played song by DJs in both 2006 and 2007, 40 years after its release.[19][20] In 2005, Van Morrison received a Million-Air certificate by BMI as a "Top European Writer" for reaching 7 million US radio and television airplays for "Brown Eyed Girl" and again in 2007, Morrison was awarded another Million-Air certificate by BMI for 8 million air plays of "Brown Eyed Girl".[21][22] In 2009, "Brown Eyed Girl" was at the top of the list for most played songs at the BMI London awards winning a Million-Air certificate for nine million air plays.[23] In 2011, "Brown Eyed Girl" joined an elite group of songs as it was honoured for having 10 million US radio air plays and therefore becoming one of the ten songs that have been registered with BMI that have received that number of radio plays.[24]
Paul Williams included "Brown Eyed Girl" in his book Rock and Roll: The 100 Best Singles,[25] writing that:
I was going to say this is a song about sex, and it is, and a song about youth and growing up, and memory, and it's also — very much and very wonderfully — a song about singing.
[edit] Critical acclaim and influence
- In January 2007, "Brown Eyed Girl" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[26]
- In November 2004, "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison was listed at No. 109 on the Rolling Stone magazine list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[27]
- It is also one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.[28]
- It was listed as #79 on the All Time 885 Greatest Songs compiled in 2004 by WXPN from listener's votes.[29]
- It was chosen as #131 in 2001 as one of the RIAAs Songs of the Century, a list of the top 365 songs of the 20th century chosen with historical significance in mind.[30]
- In 2000, it was listed at #21 on Rolling Stone and MTV's list of 100 Greatest Pop Songs[31] and it also was listed as #49 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Rock Songs.[32]
- In 1999, It was listed as one of the Top 100 Songs of the Century by BMI.[33]
- "Brown Eyed Girl" was rated at No. 386 in Dave Marsh's 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul, The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever.[34]
- On November 30, 2008 it was ranked as the 97th greatest song of all time, as well as the seventh best song of 1967, by Acclaimed Music.[35]
[edit] Cultural references
Mayor of London Boris Johnson included the song as one of his eight Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4 on April 20, 2003.[36] Fashion designer Betty Jackson also included the song on her list on April 28, 2002.[37]
At the televised memorial for Laci Peterson in May 2003,[38] Morrison's original version of "Brown Eyed Girl" was played as the closing music.[39]
In April 2005, the White House announced that "Brown Eyed Girl" gets regular rotation on George W. Bush's iPod. Morrison announced before a university performance in England: "Yeah, it's good to hear things like that, you know. But I would have preferred if it was a new song."[40]
In March 2009, former US president Bill Clinton picked "Brown Eyed Girl" as top pick on his list of favorite ten tunes included on his signed iPod donated for a charity auction for musical victims of Hurricane Katrina.[41]
[edit] In the media
The Van Morrison recording has been featured in several popular movies, including the 1983 movie The Big Chill, the 1989 movie Born on the Fourth of July[42] and the 1991 movie Sleeping With the Enemy, starring Julia Roberts.[43]
[edit] Other releases
"Brown Eyed Girl" was one of the songs included on the 1990 compilation album, The Best of Van Morrison. It is one of the songs performed live at Morrison's September 15, 2006 concert performance at the Austin City Limits Festival and is included on the limited CD album, Live at Austin City Limits Festival. "Brown Eyed Girl" was one of the nineteen songs featured on Van Morrison's 2007 compilation album, Van Morrison at the Movies - Soundtrack Hits. The version on this compilation is a recent re-recording of the original version of the song. The original version is one of the hits on the 2007 compilation album, Still on Top - The Greatest Hits. A live version of this song is featured on the 2008 reissue of the double live album It's Too Late to Stop Now.
[edit] Cover versions
"Brown Eyed Girl" has been recorded and performed by numerous artists including Jimmy Buffett (1984)[44] and Everclear.[44] It is popularly performed by beginning bands as well as performed by many popular and well-known artists such as: Adele (2008),[45]Billy Ray Cyrus,[44] Johnny Rivers,[44] Bruce Springsteen,[46] U2,[47] Bob Dylan,[44] Brian Kennedy,[48] Steel Pulse,[44] Roberto Jordan (Spanish version "La Chica De Los Ojos Cafes") , Green Day (played live),[49] Lagwagon,[50] John Anderson,[51] El Chicano,[44] Busted,[52] The Black Sorrows,[44] Ronan Keating,[53] Reel Big Fish,[54] Joe Camilleri,[44] and Joe Stampley.[44]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Turner. It's Too Late to Stop Now. p.77
- ^ Leblanc, Roy. "Oh, What a Sweet Week!!!". ladyluckmusic.com. http://www.ladyluckmusic.com/radio/guestcolumns/royandthesweets/. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- ^ Yorke, Into the Music, p. 42
- ^ "Top 200 Songs". discjockeys.com. http://www.discjockeys.com/top_200.php. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
- ^ Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence. p.144-147
- ^ Turner, Too Late to Stop Now. p.76
- ^ Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence?, p.152
- ^ "Interview: Jeff Barry". 29 January 2010. http://music-illuminati.com/interview-jeff-barry/. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- ^ Rogan, No Surrender. p.199
- ^ Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence?. p. 150
- ^ "Meet Gary". gary-chester.com. http://www.gary-chester.com/biography.html. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- ^ Rogan, No Surrender. p.201
- ^ Collis, Inarticulate Speech of the Heart. p81.
- ^ Rogan, No Surrender. p.43
- ^ Hage, The Words and Music of Van Morrison, pp. 33-34
- ^ "Van Morrison at Rancho Nicasio". martaypix.com. http://www.martaypix.com/VAN_at_Rancho_Nicasio/VAN_Rancho.html. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
- ^ Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence. p.148
- ^ TIME Magazine Interviews: Van Morrison. TIME. 26 February 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVHbUPNcTiU. Retrieved 13 February13, 2010.
- ^ "A Perfect DJ 2006". aperfectdj.com. http://www.aperfectdj.com/Z%20Most%20played%20songs.htm#101. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- ^ "A Perfect DJ 2007". aperfectdj.com. http://www.aperfectdj.com/Z%20Most%20played%20songs.htm#200%20from%202007. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- ^ "BMI Honors Top European Writers". 2005-11-28. http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/334626. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ^ "Peter Gabriel Receives Top Honor at BMI Awards". BMI. 16 October 2007. http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/535578. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- ^ "BMI London Awards". BMI. 9 October 2009. http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/539750. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
- ^ "My 10 million radio plays Brown Eyed Girl". Irish Independent. 5 October 2011. http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/my-10-million-radio-plays-brown-eyed-girl-2896314.html. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
- ^ Williams, Rock and Roll: The 100 Best Singles. p. 122
- ^ "Grammy Hall of Fame Award". Grammy. http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ^ "Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 500 Songs". metrolyrics.com. http://www.metrolyrics.com/rs. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
- ^ "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". listsofbests.com. http://www.listsofbests.com/list/37752-500-songs-that-shaped-rock-and-roll. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
- ^ All-Time 885 Greatest Songs
- ^ "365 Songs by Rank". tcotrel.com. http://tcotrel.tripod.com/365songsbyrank.html. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
- ^ "Rolling Stone's and MTV's 200 Greatest Pop Songs". rockonthenet.com. http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2000/rsmtv100.htm. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- ^ "VH1: 100 Greatest Rock Songs". rockonthenet.com. http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2000/vh1rocksongs.htm. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- ^ "Complete list of Top 100 Songs". archer2000.tripod.com. http://archer2000.tripod.com/sbs/awardsbmi.html. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- ^ "Dave Marsh the 1001 greatest Singles Ever". rocklistmusic.co.uk. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/dmarsh_1001.htm. Retrieved 8 April 2007.
- ^ "Acclaimed Music Top 3000 songs". 27 May 2009. http://www.acclaimedmusic.net.
- ^ "Desert Island Discs - Boris Johnson". bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/desertislanddiscs_20051030.shtml. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
- ^ "Desert Island Discs - Betty Jackson". bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/desertislanddiscs_20020428.shtml. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
- ^ "Memorial for Laci Peterson attracts thousands;husband, the suspect, barred". Pwc-sii.com. http://pwc-sii.com/Media/memorial.htm. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
- ^ "CNN Transcripts Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees". cnn.com. 2004-11-29. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0411/29/acd.01.html. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ "Renaissance Van". Rolling Stone. http://web.archive.org/web/20090114081855/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7371946/renaissance_van. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ^ "Clinton picks Morrison & Simon for charity iPod". star magazine.co.uk. 9 March 2009. http://star-magazine.co.uk/posts/view/9191. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
- ^ "Fimtracks: Born on the Fourth of July". filmtracks.com. http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/born_fourth.html. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
- ^ Van Morrison at IMDb
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Brown Eyed Girl - Allmusic". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/song/brown-eyed-girl-t101716http://www.allmusic.com/artist/. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
- ^ "BBC - Radio 2's Great British Songbook: Brown Eyed Girl". BBC Radio 2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/music/great-british-songbook/songs/brown-eyed-girl/. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- ^ "Bruce Springsteen lyrics: Brown Eyed Girl". springsteenlyrics.com. http://www.springsteenlyrics.com/lyrics/b/browneyedgirl.php. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
- ^ "U2 3 Nights Live: Second Night". u2gigs.com. http://www.u2gigs.com/article410.html. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
- ^ "allmusic: Brian Kennedy - All songs". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p13387. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
- ^ "GDA-Song List". greendayauthority. http://www.greendayauthority.com/TheBand/songlist.php. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
- ^ "Allmusic:Lagwagon: Songs> All Songs". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p39945. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
- ^ "allmusic (((Takin' the Country Back > Overview)))". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r307480. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
- ^ "Busted Cover Songs: The Cover Project". coversproject.com. http://www.coversproject.com/artist/busted/. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ^ "Ronan Keating at Blickling". bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/content/articles/2005/07/26/music_review_ronan_keating_20050726.shtml. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
- ^ "Reel Big Fish Cover Songs". coversproject.com. http://www.coversproject.com/artist/reel%20big%20fish/. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
[edit] References
- Collis, John (1996). Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, Little Brown and Company, ISBN 0-306-80811-0
- Hage, Erik (2009). The Words and Music of Van Morrison, Praeger Publishers, ISBN 978-0-313-35862-3
- Heylin, Clinton (2003). Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography, Chicago Review Press ISBN 1-55652-542-7
- Rogan, Johnny (2006). Van Morrison: No Surrender, London:Vintage Books ISBN 9780099431831
- Turner, Steve (1993). Van Morrison: Too Late to Stop Now, Viking Penguin, ISBN 0-670-85147-7
- Williams, Paul (1993). Rock and Roll: The 100 Best Singles, Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., ISBN 0881849669
- Yorke, Ritchie (1975). Into The Music, London:Charisma Books, ISBN 0-85947-013-X
[edit] External links
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