| "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Looking Glass | ||||
| from the album Looking Glass | ||||
| B-side | "One by One" | |||
| Released | May 1972 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Genre | Jersey Shore sound | |||
| Length | 2:55 (Single remix/edit) 3:10 (Album mix version) |
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| Writer(s) | Elliot Lurie | |||
| Looking Glass singles chronology | ||||
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"Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" is a 1972 pop song written and composed by Elliot Lurie and recorded by Lurie's band, Looking Glass, on their debut album Looking Glass. The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, remaining in the top position for one week. Horns and strings were arranged by Larry Fallon. It was the group's first and only hit, making them a one hit wonder.
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The lyrics tell of Brandy, a barmaid in a port town. She wins the admiration of many of the sailors, but she cannot return their feelings--the love of her life was unwilling to abandon his true love, the sea. In spite of this, Brandy continues to love the sailor and wears a braided silver chain with a locket that bears his name. It has been suggested that the song was inspired by the real life story of Mary Ellis, whose grave resides in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where the band was formed.[1]
"Brandy" was the B-side of another Looking Glass song and is rumored to have become an accidental hit when a DJ played the wrong side of the 45. However, the flip side, "One by One," has a running time of 6:01, which makes the rumor somewhat improbable due to the 5 minute 20 second time capacity of 45 rpm recordings.
The success of "Brandy" created a bit of difficulty for Looking Glass in that the song's mellow pop sound was atypical of their somewhat harder-edged style; many fans of the single who attended the band's concerts were reportedly taken aback by a more rockish sounding band than they'd been expecting to hear.[2]
Barry Manilow's 1974 "Mandy" was originally titled "Brandy" but Manilow changed it following the success of the Looking Glass single, so as not to get the two songs confused.[3]
This song was used in the films Lords of Dogtown, Charlie's Angels, and LymeLife. It was also used in an episode of the 2009 television show Harper's Island.
Doug Heffernan (Kevin James) sings this song at karaoke in an episode of The King of Queens.
Following the song's release in 1972, "Brandy" increased in popularity as a girl's name in the United States. According to data from the Social Security Administration,[1] drawn from "Social Security card applications for births that occurred in the United States," Brandy was the 353rd most popular name in 1971, 140th in 1972, and, in 1973 (the first full year after the song's popularity), 82nd.
| Preceded by "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single August 26, 1972 (one week) |
Succeeded by "Black and White" by Three Dog Night |