Today we are beginning a series of posts highlighting colours, starting appropriately with Red the first colour in the rainbow. However our explorations will enivitably go far beyond the rainbow itself but perhaps not to the extent of Jospeh’s Coat of Many Colours. Red is the colour at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light. Red pigment made from ochre was one of the first colours used in prehistoric art. The Ancient Egyptians and Mayans coloured their faces red in ceremonies; Roman generals had their bodies coloured red to celebrate victories. It was also an important colour in China, where it was used to colour early pottery and later the gates and walls of palaces. Since red is the colour of blood, it has historically been associated with sacrifice, danger, and courage. Modern surveys in Europe and the United States show red is also the colour most commonly associated with heat, activity, passion, sexuality, anger, love, and joy. In China, India and many other Asian countries it is the colour of symbolizing happiness and good fortune.
“Little Red Rooster” (or “The Red Rooster” as it was first titled) is a blues standard credited to arranger and songwriter Wilie Dixon. The song was first recorded in 1961 by American blues musician Howlin’ Wolf in the Chicago blues style. His vocal and slide guitar playing are key elements of the song. The Rolling Stones were among the first British rock groups to record modern electric blues songs. In 1964, they recorded “Little Red Rooster” with original member Brian Jones, a key player in the recording. Their rendition became a number one record in the UK and continues to be the only blues song to reach the top of the British chart. The Stones frequently performed it on television and in concert and released several live recordings of the song. “Little Red Rooster” continues to be performed and recorded, making it one of Willie Dixon’s best-known compositions.
“Li’l Red Riding Hood” is a 1966 song performed by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. It was the group’s second top-10 hit, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1966 It was kept out of the No. 1 spot by both “Wild Thing” by The Troggs. Outside the US, it peaked at No. 2 on the Canadian RPM magazine charts. It was certified gold by the RIAA on August 11, 1966. The song is built around Charles Perrault’s fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood”, adapted by ending before the grandmother makes her entrance, and explicitly using the ambiguity of modern English between wolf, the carnivore, and wolf, a man with concealed sexual intentions. The effect, whether intentional or incidental, is to strip away the fairy tale’s metaphorical device and present the relationship between the two characters without literary pretense.
“Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” is a novelty song written by Phil Gernhard and Dick Holler and recorded in 1966 by The Royal Guardsmen. It peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 during the week of December 31, 1966 (behind the Monkees I’m a Believer); made No.6 on the UK chart in February 1967; was also a hit in Australia and Canada.
You’re More than a Number in My Little Red Book is a song by The Drifters, written by Johnny Moore and Clyde Brown and recorded on the Arista label and taken as lead single from their album ‘Every Nite is a Saturday Nite’ in 1976. It reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart and was to be the last chart hit.
“Red Red Wine” is a song originally written, performed, and recorded by American singer Neil Diamond in 1967. It is included on Diamond’s second studio album, Just for You. The lyrics are sung from the perspective of a person who finds that drinking red wine is the only way to forget his woes. Jimmy James and the Vagabonds released a cover version the same year as Diamond’s version (1968) for the UK market. It charted at No. 36. UB40 recorded a cover version in 1983 that went to No. 1 in the UK and was moderately successful in the United States; it was re-released in 1988 and went to No.1 on the Billboard.
“Little Red Corvette” is a song by Prince. The song combines a LInn LM-1 beat and slow synth buildup with a rock chorus, over which Prince, using several automobile metaphors, recalls a one-night stand with a beautiful but promiscuous woman. Backing vocals were performed by Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson, who also performs a guitar solo, the only instrumentation on 1999 not provided by Prince himself. Released in 1983 as the second single from 1999, the song was at that point Prince’s highest charting and his first to reach the top 10 in the U.S., peaking at number 6 on the Billboard. It was also his first single to perform better on the pop chart than the R&B chart. Later, it was rereleased as a double A-side with “1999”, peaking at number two on the Uk Singles Chart in January 1985.
“Red” is a song written and recorded by Taylor Swift for her fourth studio album, Red (2012). It was released onto the iTunes Store in October 2012, as Red‘s second U.S. promotional single, The lyrics are about different stages of an intense relationship, likening the conflicting emotions to a spectrum of colours, including the colour red which corresponds to the peak of a tumultuous romance. The single received generally positive reviews from contemporary critics, most of whom praised Swift’s songwriting. “Red” peaked within the top 30 on record charts of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the U.K. In the U.S., it peaked at number six on the Billboard and number two on the Hot Country Songs, on which it stayed for 42 weeks and became Swift’s longest-charting song.
