The story behind Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” is that of one of the great classics of the 1960s.
Van Morrison wrote and recorded it in March 1967, shortly after disbanding his band Them and signing as a solo artist with Bang Records, owned by producer Bert Berns.
The session took place at A&R Studios in New York between March 28 and 30. It took 22 takes to capture the final version, featuring top-tier session musicians and backing vocals by The Sweet Inspirations.
It was originally titled “Brown-Skinned Girl” and had a strong Jamaican calypso flavor.
It is believed to have been about an interracial romance, a topic too risky for radio in 1967. For that reason, the title was changed to “Brown Eyed Girl” to make it more commercially acceptable. Even so, the lyric “making love in the green grass” was considered too suggestive, and some stations censored or edited it.
Released as a single in June 1967, it reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, spent 16 weeks on the chart, and became Morrison’s first major solo hit. It appeared on his debut album Blowin’ Your Mind! and quickly became his best-known song and one of the most covered songs in history.
Despite its enormous popularity, Van Morrison has always been ambivalent about it. He has called it “a filler song” and said he has “about 300 better songs.”
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