| "Color Him Father" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byThe Winstons | ||||
| from the album Color Him Father | ||||
| B-side | "Amen, Brother" | |||
| Released | May 1969 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:06 | |||
| Label | Metromedia | |||
| Songwriter | Richard Lewis Spencer | |||
| Producer | Don Carroll | |||
| The Winstons singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Color Him Father" is a song written byRichard Lewis Spencer and recorded by Americanrhythm and blues groupthe Winstons. It was released in 1969 as their debut single forMetromedia and was a No. 7 hit on theBillboard Hot 100 that year, representing the Winstons' highest entry there. A cover by American singerLinda Martell onPlantation Records also charted in the same year, reaching No. 22 on theHot Country Songs chart. In 2025, the cover version by Martell was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[1]
"Color Him Father" is a song about a boy expressing his love for hisstepfather. The stepdad is portrayed as a hardworking and loving gentleman who married the narrator's widowed mom, 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 theVietnam War. The word "color", in the song, means "designate" 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" byAnderson .Paak.
The B-side to "Color Him Father" is "Amen, Brother", an instrumental interpretation of the gospel standard "Amen".[2] The Winstons recorded it in early 1969 in Atlanta, Georgia.[3] With the rise ofhip hop in the 1980s, the break was widelysampled and additionally became a staple ofdrum and bass andjungle. It has been used on thousands of tracks of many genres, making it one of the most sampled recordings of all time.[4]
It was released in May 1969,[5] and reached No. 2 on the R&B charts and No. 7 on theBillboard Hot 100 that same year. Its composer,Richard Lewis Spencer, won aGrammy Award forBest R&B song in1970.[6]
7" vinyl single[5]
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Top Singles (Kent Music Report)[7] | 80 |
| USHot 100 (Billboard)[8] | 7 |
| USBest Selling Rhythm & Blues Singles (Billboard)[9] | 2 |
"Color Him Father" has been notably covered multiple times by performers of various musical styles.Lorene Mann released "Color Him Father" on her 1969 RCA albumA Mann Called Lorene.O C Smith released it on his 1969 Columbia albumO.C. Smith at Home.Bobby Womack recorded the song for his 1994 albumResurrection.Keb' Mo' included it on his 2001 albumBig Wide Grin.
| "Color Him Father" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byLinda Martell | ||||
| from the albumColor Me Country | ||||
| B-side | "I Almost Called Your Name" | |||
| Released | July 1969 (1969-07) | |||
| Studio | Singleton Sound Studios | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:20 | |||
| Label | Plantation | |||
| Songwriter | Richard Lewis Spencer | |||
| Producer | Shelby Singleton | |||
| Linda Martell singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
In late 1969, "Color Him Father" was notably covered for the country market byLinda Martell. Martell was among country music's first black artists and the first black woman to perform at theGrand Ole Opry.[11][12] In May 1969 she signed withShelby Singleton'sPlantation label inNashville, Tennessee. It was soon after her signing that Martell made her first recording sessions in summer 1969. The Winstons' version of "Color Him Father" was brought to Martell's attention through Singleton.[11]
The session was produced entirely by Singleton at "Singleton Sound Studios," located in Nashville. Additional tracks were cut at the same session that would later appear on her 1970 album.[13] The song was cut twice in the studio. In the first take, Singleton found that Martell did not put enough of her own individuality on the record. "I don’t want to hear the Winstons. I want to hear you," he told her.[11]
"Color Him Father" was released several days after its recording.[11] The single of the track was released via the Plantation label in July 1969. It was the debut single of Martell's country music career.[14] The song spent a total of ten weeks on theBillboardHot Country Songs chart, peaking at number 22 in September 1969.[15] The single became Martell's highest-peaking track on the Country Songs chart. Her next single release would be her last to reach the country top 40.[14] "Color Him Father" was later released on Martell's 1970 studio album,Color Me Country.[10]
Martell's version of "Color Him Father" has since received positive reviews since its original release. In his review ofColor Me Country, Mark Deming of Allmusic praised her "rich, smooth voice" on the track, also commenting that it " fares well in a subtle C&W arrangement fortified with pedal steel."[10]Oxford American also praised the song. Reviewer Alice Randall explained how the word "color" in the lyric held a special meaning in Martell's interpretation of the song: "Linda Martell effectively directs, not pleads, not suggests, directs us to understand that stepfather's fundamental identity is as father, not his skin color."[16]
In 2024,Rolling Stone ranked Martell's rendition at #86 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.[17]
7" vinyl single[18]
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[19] | 22 |
'It's not the worst thing that can happen to you. I'm a black man in America and the fact that someone wants to use something I created — that's flattering,' he says.
