Brown is a composite colour. In the CMYK colour model used in printing or painting, brown is made by combining red, black and yellow, or red, yellow, and blue. In the RGB colour model used to project colours onto television screens and computer monitors, brown is made by combining red and green, in specific proportions. In painting, brown is generally made by adding black to orange. The brown colour is seen widely in nature, wood, soil, human hair colour, eye colour and skin pigmentation. Brown is the colour of dark wood or rich soil. According to public opinion surveys in Europe and the United States, brown is the least favorite colour of the public; it is often associated with plainness, the rustic, and poverty. More positive associations include baking, warmth, wildlife and the autumn.
“Sweet Georgia Brown” is a jazz standard and pop tune composed in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard, with lyrics by Kenneth Casey. Reportedly, Ben Bernie came up with the concept for the song’s lyrics – although he is not the credited lyricist – after meeting Dr. George Thaddeus Brown in New York City. Dr. Brown, a longtime member of the Georgia State House of Representatives, told Bernie about his daughter, Georgia Brown, and how subsequent to the baby girl’s birth on August 11, 1911, the Georgia General Assembly had issued a declaration that she was to be named Georgia after the state. This anecdote would be directly referenced by the song’s lyric: “Georgia claimed her – Georgia named her.” The tune was first recorded on March 19, 1925, by bandleader Ben Bernie, resulting in a five-week stretch at number one for Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra. One of the most popular versions of “Sweet Georgia Brown” was recorded in 1949 by Brother Bones and His Shadows and later adopted as the theme song of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team in 1952.
“Brown Eyed Handsome Man” is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry, originally released by Chess Records in September 1956 as the B-side of Too Much Monkey Business.” It was also included on Berry’s 1957 debut album, After School Session. The song title was also used as the title of a biography of Berry. “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” was written after Berry visited several African-American and Hispanic areas in California. During his time there, he saw a Hispanic man being arrested by a policeman when “some woman came up shouting for the policeman to let him go.” The song was released in September 1956 and reached number 5 on Billboard magazine’s R&B Singles chart later that year.
“Brown Eyed Girl” is a song by Northern Irish singer and songwriter Van Morrison. Written by Morrison and recorded in March 1967 for Bang Records owner and producer Bert Berns, it was released as a single in June of the same year on the Bang label, peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard. The song spent a total of sixteen weeks on the chart. It featured the Sweet Inspirations singing back up vocals and is considered to be Van Morrison’s signature song.
“Brown Sugar” is a song recorded by The Rolling Stones. Written primarily by Mick Jagger, it is the opening track and lead single from their album Sticky Fingers (1971). It became a number one hit in both the United States and Canada. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it charted number two. In the United States, Billboard ranked it as the number 18 song for 1971. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 495 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and at number five on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.
“Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” is a song written by Richard Leigh, and recorded by American singer Crystal Gayle. It was released in June 1977 as the first single from Gayle’s album We Must Believe in Magic. Despite the title, Gayle herself already has blue eyes. The song became a worldwide hit single. In the United States, it topped the Billboard C&W chart for four weeks, and was Gayle’s first (and biggest) crossover pop hit, reaching number 1 on the Cashbox Top 100 for two weeks, and number 2 on the Billboard for three weeks.
“Golden Brown” is a song by the English rock band the Stranglers released as a 7″ single on EMI’s Liberty label in 1982. It was the second single released from the band’s sixth album La Folie and peaked at No. 2 in the Uk Singles Chart, the band’s highest ever placing in that chart. It has also been recorded by many other artists.
“A Pair of Brown Eyes” is a single by The Pogues, released in March 1985. The single was their first to make the UK Top 100, peaking at Number 72. It featured on the band’s second album, Rum, Sodomy and the Lash, and was composed by Pogues front manShane MacGowan. Its melody is loosely based on that of “Wild Mountain Thyme” (also known as “Will Ye Go Lassie Go”), a song by Francis McPeake in a traditional Irish folk style. The song references the Johnny Cash version of the song A Thing Called Love: “And on the jukebox Johnny sang / About a thing called love”.
