"Black and White" is a song written in 1954 by David I. Arkin (lyricist and father of actor Alan Arkin) and Earl Robinson (music). It was first recorded by Pete Seeger featuring an African-American child, in 1956 from the album Love Songs for Friends & Foes.
The most successful recording of the song was the pop version by Three Dog Night in 1972, when it reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Easy Listening charts. Billboard ranked it as the number 63 song for 1972.[1]Danny Hutton sang the lead vocals with a children's chorus adding their voices to the song.
Following Seeger's version, the song's co-writer Earl Robinson released his own recording in 1957, on the Folkways album A Walk in the Sun and other Songs and Ballads. (The album title refers to a song written for the 1945 film A Walk in the Sun.[2]) Sammy Davis Jr. released his version also in 1957.[3]
Having heard the Greyhound version, Three Dog Night covered the song and included it on their 1972 album Seven Separate Fools.[6] Their version, which featured a group of children, peaked at number one on the U.S. Pop chart on September 16, 1972, and topped the Easy Listening chart on October 7.[7]Billboard ranked it as the number 63 song for 1972.[1] The album version featured a freely spoken recitation by Danny Hutton in the coda section of the song.
The original lyrics of the song opened with this verse, in reference to the court:
Their robes were black, their heads were white, The schoolhouse doors were closed so tight, Nine judges all set down their names, To end the years and years of shame.
However, the versions of the song recorded by Greyhound and subsequently by Three Dog Night did not include this verse, making the song more universal and less historically specific.
^Earl Robinson. "A Walk in the Sun and Other Songs and Ballads". Retrieved February 19, 2015.
^"Second Hand Songs database, Decca records 45: Sammy Davis Jr., 'Songs for Americans to live by', rec. 20 Feb. 1957". SecondHandSongs.. This has not been reissued and is now a rare collector's item.
^"Black and White". Archived from the original on 2021-12-14 – via www.youtube.com.
^Trojan Records box set, The Trojan Story (1972, reissued 1980)
^"Liner notes". Ultimate Seventies: 1972. Time Life Records.
^Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (6th ed.). Billboard Publications.
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Black and White is a song written in 1954 by David I Arkin lyricist and father of actor Alan Arkin and Earl Robinson music It was first recorded by Pete Seeger featuring an African American child in 1956 from the album Love Songs for Friends amp Foes Black and White Single by Three Dog Nightfrom the album Seven Separate FoolsB side Freedom for the Stallion ReleasedAugust 1972GenrePopLength3 51 album 3 24 single LabelDunhillSongwriter s David I Arkin Earl RobinsonProducer s Richard PodolorThree Dog Night singles chronology The Family of Man 1972 Black and White 1972 Pieces of April 1972 The most successful recording of the song was the pop version by Three Dog Night in 1972 when it reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Easy Listening charts Billboard ranked it as the number 63 song for 1972 1 Danny Hutton sang the lead vocals with a children s chorus adding their voices to the song Contents 1 Early recordings 1 1 Other versions 2 Meaning 3 Chart history 3 1 Weekly charts 3 2 Year end charts 4 Certifications 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksEarly recordings editFollowing Seeger s version the song s co writer Earl Robinson released his own recording in 1957 on the Folkways album A Walk in the Sun and other Songs and Ballads The album title refers to a song written for the 1945 film A Walk in the Sun 2 Sammy Davis Jr released his version also in 1957 3 Reggae groups the Maytones from Jamaica and Greyhound from the UK both recorded the song in 1971 the latter achieving a top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart at No 6 4 5 Having heard the Greyhound version Three Dog Night covered the song and included it on their 1972 album Seven Separate Fools 6 Their version which featured a group of children peaked at number one on the U S Pop chart on September 16 1972 and topped the Easy Listening chart on October 7 7 Billboard ranked it as the number 63 song for 1972 1 The album version featured a freely spoken recitation by Danny Hutton in the coda section of the song Other versions edit Inner Circle recorded a cover for their 1989 album Identified 8 9 Meaning editThe song was inspired by the United States Supreme Court decision of Brown v Board of Education 1954 which outlawed racial segregation of public schools The original lyrics of the song opened with this verse in reference to the court Their robes were black their heads were white The schoolhouse doors were closed so tight Nine judges all set down their names To end the years and years of shame However the versions of the song recorded by Greyhound and subsequently by Three Dog Night did not include this verse making the song more universal and less historically specific Chart history editWeekly charts edit Three Dog Night version Chart 1972 Peakposition Australia Kent Music Report 10 21 Austria 8 Canada RPM Top Singles 1 Canada RPM Adult Contemporary 11 1 New Zealand Listener 12 1 US Billboard Hot 100 13 1 US Billboard Adult Contemporary 14 1 US Cash Box Top 100 15 1 Year end charts edit Chart 1972 Rank Canada 13 US Billboard Hot 100 16 63 US Cash Box 17 42Certifications editRegion Certification Certified units sales United States RIAA 18 Gold 1 000 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone See also editList of Hot 100 number one singles of 1972 U S List of number one adult contemporary singles of 1972 U S References edit a b Billboard Year End Hot 100 singles of 1972 Earl Robinson A Walk in the Sun and Other Songs and Ballads Retrieved February 19 2015 Second Hand Songs database Decca records 45 Sammy Davis Jr Songs for Americans to live by rec 20 Feb 1957 SecondHandSongs This has not been reissued and is now a rare collector s item Black and White Archived from the original on 2021 12 14 via www youtube com Trojan Records box set The Trojan Story 1972 reissued 1980 Liner notes Ultimate Seventies 1972 Time Life Records Whitburn Joel 1996 The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits 6th ed Billboard Publications Inner Circle Black amp White Discogs 1989 Inner Circle Identified Discogs 1989 Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 doc Australian Chart Book St Ives N S W ISBN 0 646 11917 6 Item Display RPM Library and Archives Canada Collectionscanada gc ca 1972 10 28 Retrieved 2019 07 01 flavour of new zealand search listener Flavourofnz co nz Retrieved 29 April 2021 Joel Whitburn s Top Pop Singles 1955 1990 ISBN 0 89820 089 X Whitburn Joel 1993 Top Adult Contemporary 1961 1993 Record Research p 240 Cash Box Top 100 Singles September 30 1972 Archived from the original on September 13 2016 Retrieved January 13 2018 Musicoutfitters com Archived from the original on 2017 04 27 Retrieved 2018 01 13 Cash Box Year End Charts Top 100 Pop Singles December 30 1972 Archived from the original on September 28 2018 Retrieved January 13 2018 American single certifications Three Dog Night Black amp White Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved February 14 2019 External links editVersion by The Maytones on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Black and White Pete Seeger song amp oldid 1220473796, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
