The Winstons: Color Him Father

For Father’s Day, The Winston’s 1969 hit “Color Him Father” seems appropriate. The song is about a young boy’s step-father who married his widowed mother and the man with the “big wide grin” took her seven children as his own. The song is sung by Richard Lewis Spencer who also played tenor sax in The Winstons. Spencer, who wrote the tune, won the Grammy in 1970 for “Color Him Father” as the Best R&B Song.

“Color Him Father” charted at #7 on the Hot 100 and #2 on the R&B chart. Selling over a million copies, the Recording Industry Association of America certified “Color Him Father” as a gold record. Unfortunately, “Color Him Father” was the band’s only hit recording; however, the flip side, “Amen, Brother,” is known as being one of the most sampled recordings in history. Previous to their own recording career, The Winstons served as the backup band for The Impressions.