Beautiful Brown Eyes

Song

"Beautiful Brown Eyes"
Song
Language	English
Songwriter(s)	Alton Delmore

"Beautiful Brown Eyes" is a country song written by Alton Delmore, originally inspired by his oldest daughter. One of the best known versions of the song was originally arranged by Fiddlin' Arthur Smith & Alton Delmore of The Delmore Brothers in 1951. An award was presented to Alton Delmore for "Beautiful Brown Eyes" in 1951.^[1]

Background

The lyrics are sung from the perspective of a woman unlucky in love, divorced, and remarried, who will "never love blue eyes again". ^[2]^[3]

Recordings

The following recordings are credited to Smith and Delmore only:

Rosemary Clooney 1951 - reached number 11 on Billboard Pop charts in 1951 (Rosemary Clooney discography), reissued on the album, Rosemary Clooney Sings Country Hits from the Heart.
Ethel Smith (organist) 1951
"Beautiful Brown Eyes", Jimmy Wakely and the Les Baxter Chorus - in 1951. This recording peaked at number 5 on the Best Selling Retail Folk Records chart.^[4]
"Beautiful Brown Eyes" (Alton Delmore, Arthur Smith ) from Hum & Strum Along with Chet Atkins
Dickson Hall And The Country All-Stars
Evelyn Knight With The Ray Charles Singers 1951
Lisa Kirk 1951
Mimi Martel 1952
Gene Vincent 1959
The Belvedere Chorale 1959
Kitty Wells 1960
The Manhattans Golden World Records 1964
Grady Martin And The Slew Foot Five 1965

The following credit Smith, Delmore and also Jerry Capehart (1928-1998) who would have only been 23 when the original Smith-Delmore version was published.

The Brothers Four (BMOC: Best Music On/Off Campus) (A. Smith, A. Delmore, J. Capehart) 1960
Judy, Johnny and Billy 1960 - an otherwise unknown trio for whom this was the only single
King Curtis 1962
Kathy Linden released a version of the song as a B-side to her 1962 single "Remember Me (To Jimmy)".^[5]
The Essential Glen Campbell Volume Three

Other songs

Solomon Burke, the Brothers Four, Billy Walker, Connie Francis, Chet Atkins, and Roy Acuff.

"Beautiful Brown Eyes" Trad. Connie Francis Sings Folk Song Favorites
"Beautiful Brown Eyes" Trad. Arr.: O. Henry, hit for Sir Henry and his Butlers 1966
"Beautiful Brown Eyes" Solomon Burke discography B-side 1964 on album Rock 'n' Soul. Covered by Colleen Hewett of The Laurie Allen Revue, single August 1967.
"Beautiful Brown Eyes" written by Grace Walters, an otherwise unknown Motown discography writer, for The Freeman Brothers produced by Berry Gordy, Jr., and covered on The Country and Western Sound of Jazz Pianos.

References

^ Thomas S. Hischak The Tin Pan Alley Song Encyclopedia 2002, p. 34, "Beautiful Brown Eyes" (1951) is a flowing waltz based on a traditional melody with unknown sources. Cisco Houston wrote and performed a version of the ballad in vaudeville in the early years of the twentieth century, but the song had pretty much disappeared until Alton Delmore, Arthur Smith, and Jerry Capehart created a new adaptation in 1951, and Rosemary Clooney had a hit record with it. It has also been recorded in Swedish with the title Leende guldbruna ögon
^ Although the title suggests another gushing ballad about a beautiful girl, the lyric is actually the lament of a woman who fell in love with the seductive blue eyes of Willie, married him, lost him, and married another man, and now, seven years later, she unhappily claims she will "never love blue eyes again."
^ George Batista da Silva, A MÚSICA DE CONNIE FRANCIS: 120 Letras de Sucesso, 2011, p. 20, "BEAUTIFUL BROWN EYES (Traditional) Beautiful, beautiful brown eyes Beautiful, beautiful brown eyes Beautiful, beautiful brown eyes I'll never love blue eyes again. Willie, I love you, my Darlin' I love you with all my heart Tomorrow we might"
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 368.
^ Kathy Linden, "Remember Me (To Jimmy)" single release, 45cat.com, Retrieved January 22, 2016.