Colours (Donovan song)
{{Short description|1965 single by Donovan}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2011}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Colours
| cover = Donovan-Colours_single.jpg
| alt =
| border = yes
| caption = Dutch (Pye / Negram) sleeve
| type = single
| artist = Donovan
| album = Fairytale
| B-side = {{ubl|"To Sing for You" (UK)|"Josie" (United States)}}
| released = 28 May 1965 (UK)
June 1965 (United States)
| recorded = 1965
| studio =
| genre = Folk{{cite book|first=Bob |last=Stanley|title=Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop|chapter= An English Pastoral: Folk Rock|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9emZAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT7|date=13 September 2013|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0-571-28198-5|page=299}}
| length = 2:44 (Side A)
2:46 ("To Sing For You")
3:29 ("Josie")
| label = Pye 7N15866 (UK)
Hickory 45-1324 (United States)
| writer = Donovan Leitch
| producer = Terry Kennedy, Peter Eden, Geoff Stephens
| chronology = Donovan UK
| prev_title = Catch the Wind
| prev_year = 1965
| next_title = Turquoise
| next_year = 1965
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = Donovan USA
| type = singles
| prev_title = Catch the Wind
| prev_year = 1965
| title = Colours
| year = 1965
| next_title = Universal Soldier
| next_year = 1965
}}
}}
"Colours" is a song written and recorded by British singer-songwriter Donovan for his second album, Fairytale. "Colours" was released as a single in the United Kingdom on 28 May 1965 through Pye Records (Pye 7N 15866) and a few months later in the United States through Hickory Records (Hickory 45-1324). The single was backed with "To Sing for You" on the UK release and "Josie" on the US release. Both B-side selections came from Donovan's first album, What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid (1965).
Release and reception
Image:Donovan-Colours single Sweden.jpg
Donovan followed up the success of "Catch the Wind" with "Colours", which featured a similar folk style. The single matched the success of "Catch the Wind" in the United Kingdom, reaching No. 4 on the charts.{{cite web|title=officialcharts.com|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/11694/donovan/|website=officialcharts.com|accessdate=February 23, 2021}} In the United States, "Colours" reached No.61,{{cite book |title= Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012 |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |authorlink=Joel Whitburn |year=2013 |publisher=Record Research |page=251}} and marked a decline in the artist's popularity relative to "Catch the Wind". A different mix of the song (without harmonica) was released on his second album Fairytale. Billboard praised the "intriguing lyric and melody."{{cite news|newspaper=Billboard|accessdate=2021-03-11|date=July 24, 1965|page=14|title=Spotlight Singles|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1965/Billboard%201965-07-24.pdf}} Cash Box described it as a "tender, slow-moving, rhythmic pledge of romantic devotion sold by the songster in his distinctive Bob Dylan-ish style."{{cite magazine |title=CashBox Record Reviews |date=July 24, 1965 |page=12 |access-date=2022-01-12 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1965/CB-1965-07-24.pdf |magazine=Cash Box}}
For the 1969 Epic Records release Donovan's Greatest Hits, Donovan re-recorded "Catch the Wind" and "Colours" in the studio with Big Jim Sullivan playing guitar, John Paul Jones on bass and keyboards and Clem Cattini on drums, produced by Mickie Most.
The song proved to be quite accessible for more mainstream artists, with covers by Claudine Longet, Percy Faith, Van Dyke Parks, actress Patty Duke, Murray Head, and The Kingston Trio.
Other versions by Donovan
- A live duet with Joan Baez from the 1965 Newport Folk Festival{{cite web|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19823/m1/ |title=Show 48 – The British are Coming! The British are Coming!: With an emphasis on Donovan, the Bee Gees and the Who. [Part 5] : UNT Digital Library |publisher=Digital.library.unt.edu |date= |accessdate=28 June 2014}} is included on the 1995 compilation Folk Music at Newport, Part 1.
- The 2002 album Pied Piper features a re-recorded version by Donovan with new lyrics for children.
- The 2002 film The Rules of Attraction features a re-recorded version by Donovan which would after be used in various television commercials.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://donovan-unofficial.com/music/singles/colours.html Colours (Single) – Donovan Unofficial Site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818003235/http://donovan-unofficial.com/music/singles/colours.html |date=18 August 2010 }}
{{Donovan}}
{{Van Dyke Parks}}
{{No-Man}}
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