Brown Eyed Girl

Infobox Single
Name = Brown Eyed Girl


Artist = Van Morrison
from Album = Blowin' Your Mind!
A-side = "Brown Eyed Girl"
B-side = "Goodbye Baby"
Released = June 1967
Format =
Recorded = 28 March 1967
Genre = Pop
Length = 3:03
Label = Bang Records
Producer = Bert Berns
This single ="Brown Eyed Girl"
(1967)
Next single ="Ro Ro Rosey"
(1967)
Misc = Audiosample
Upper caption = Audio sample
Audio file = Van Morrison-Brown Eyed Girl.ogg"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. [Turner. (1993). p.77] It featured the Sweet Inspirations singing back-up vocals and is widely-considered to be Van Morrison's signature song. [ [http://www.ladyluckmusic.com/radio/guestcolumns/royandthesweets/ Roy and the Sweets] ] [Yorke, Into the Music, p. 42] [ [http://www.musicremedy.com/v/VA/album/Greatest_Irish_BandsSightings_of_Bono_DVD-528.html Greatest Irish Bands] ]

This song would prove to be the impetus for Morrison's whole career as a solo artist. It was to be his first single after leaving his position as lead singer for the Belfast formed band 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".

Paul Williams included "Brown Eyed Girl" in his book "Rock and Roll: The 100 Best Singles", [Williams, Rock and Roll: The 100 Best Singles, p. 122] 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.

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. [ [http://www.aperfectdj.com/Z%20Most%20played%20songs.htm#101 A Perfect DJ 2006] ] [ [http://www.aperfectdj.com/Z%20Most%20played%20songs.htm#200%20from%202007 A Perfect DJ 2007] ] 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". The only song with more airplays by a top European writer was "Every Breath You Take" by The Police with 9 million. [ [http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/334626 BMI Honors Top European Writers, 2005-11-28] ] [ [http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/535578 2007 BMI London Awards] ]

Recording

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.) [Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence, p.144-147] During a two day recording session starting 28 March 1967, he recorded eight songs intended to be used as four singles. [Turner, Too Late to Stop Now, p.76] The recording session took place at A & R Studios and "Brown Eyed Girl" was captured on the 22nd take on the first day. [Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence?, p.152] Of the musicians Berns had assembled there were three guitarists, including Eric Gale and Al Giorgioni, bassist Russ Savakus, pianist Paul Griffin and drummer Gary Chester. [Rogan, No Surrender, p.199] [Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence?, p. 150] [ [http://www.gary-chester.com/meetgary.php Gary Chester website] ] It was released as a single in mid-June 1967. [Rogan, No Surrender, p.201]

Music and lyrics

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."Collis 1996. p81.] "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." [Rogan, No Surrender, p.43]

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 excised the lyrics "making love in the green grass", replacing them with "laughin' and a-runnin'" 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.

Aftermath

Due to 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. [cite web|url=http://www.martaypix.com/VAN_at_Rancho_Nicasio/VAN_Rancho.html|title=Van Morrison at Rancho Nicasio|publisher=martaypix.com|accessdate=2008-08-27] 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." [Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence, p.148] Morrison vented his frustration about this penurious contract in his sarcastic nonsense song "The Big Royalty Check".

Critical acclaim and influence

*In January 2007, "Brown Eyed Girl" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
*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. [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/11028260/the_rs_500_greatest_songs_of_all_time 500 Greatest Songs of All Time] ]
*It is also one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
*It was listed as #79 on the All Time 885 Greatest Songs compiled in 2004 by WXPN from listener's votes. [ [http://www.xpn.org/music/885ATGS.php All-Time 885 Greatest Songs] ]
*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. [ [http://www.rbgilbert.com/log/songs.html Songs of the Century] ]
* In 2000, it was listed at #21 on Rolling Stone and MTV's list of 100 Greatest Pop Songs and it also was listed as #49 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Rock Songs. [ [http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2000/rsmtv100.htm rockonthenet.com] RS and MTV's 100 Greatest Pop Songs] [ [http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2000/vh1rocksongs.htm VH1's 100 Greatest Rock Songs] ]
*In 1999, It was listed as one of the Top 100 Songs of the Century by BMI. [ [http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/232893 Top 100 Songs of the Century] ] [ [http://archer2000.tripod.com/sbs/awardsbmi.html Complete list of Top 100 Songs] ]
*"Brown Eyed Girl" was rated at No. 386 on Dave Marsh's 1989 book, "The Heart of Rock and Soul, The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever". [web cite |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/dmarsh_1001.htm |title= Dave Marsh the 1001 greatest Singles Ever |publisher=rocklistmusic.co.uk |accessdate=2007-04-08]

Cultural references

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." [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/7371946/vanmorrison?pageid=rs.Home&pageregion=single2 Rolling Stone Magazine (Renaissance Van)] ]

At the televised memorial for Laci Peterson, Morrison's original version of "Brown Eyed Girl" was played as the closing music.

It has been featured in several popular movies, including the 1989 movie, "Born on the Fourth of July" and the 1991 movie, "Sleeping With the Enemy", starring Julia Roberts.

Cover versions

"Brown Eyed Girl" has been recorded by numerous artists including Jimmy Buffett, Skatallica and Everclear. It is popularly performed by beginning bands as well as performed by many popular and well-known artists such as Billy Ray Cyrus, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, Green Day, Lagwagon, John Mayer, Weezer, The Sex Pistols, Busted, Eagles, The Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival, James Taylor and Ziggy Marley. Cover versions have also been performed in other languages, notably in Catalan by Els Pets (as "Ulls de color mel", "Honey-colored eyes"), in Finnish by Aki Sirkesalo (as "Punatukkainen") and in German by Stefan Gwildis (as "Nur Wegen Dir").

Appearance on other albums

*It 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 the compilation is a recent re-recording of the original version of the song.
*It 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".

Notes

References

*Collis, John (1996). "Inarticulate Speech of the Heart", Little Brown and Company, ISBN 0-306-80811-0
*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). "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

External links

* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:kifqxqlgldde All Music Guide Song Review]
* [http://www.vanmorrison.co.uk/?m=Content&Content(record_id)=bcdf0ba5fecbc0ef8494bf0c7a15c7dc# Videos: Brown Eyed Girl, 1973, 1978 and 2008]