Today is Father’s Day, so it’s only fitting that today’s classic Father’s Day song of the day is “Color Him Father” by the Winstons. This song is about the singer’s appreciation of his stepfather, who stepped in when his real father was “killed in the war.” (The Vietnam War, presumably.) The lyrics say it best:
I love this man I don’t know why
Except 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
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 him love
“Color Him Father” was written by Richard Lewis Spencer, who played sax with Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions, and the Winstons, for whom he was also the bandleader. Spencer left the music business in 1970, went back to college and got a few degrees, then worked for the Washington Metro system for several decades. He retired from that in 2000 and became a Baptist minister and high school teacher. Good for him.
The Winstons were a multiracial R&B group from Washington, D.C. They’re known primarily for “Color Him Father” and for the single’s B-side, “Amen, Brother.” The latter track featured a famous drum break (the so-called “Amen break”) that’s been sampled by thousands of artists across a multitude of genres. The band, however, broke up shortly after the release of this tune, in 1970.
“Color Him Father” was released as a single in May of 1969—just in time for Father’s Day. The song peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on Billboard’s Best Selling Rhythm & Blues Singles chart.
Interestingly, “Color Him Father” was also a hit on the country charts, for singer Linda Martell. She was one of the first Black artists in the country genre, and her cover of “Color Him Father” went all the way to #22 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart later in 1969.
Happy Father’s day, everybody!
