I wanted to do some Christmas music columns, but I thought I had drained that well. There just wasn’t anything more to do after years of writing here. However, when I mentioned this to a friend of mine at a recent lunch, she said, “Angels are Christmas-y. Have you done songs about angels?”
Well, no, I haven’t. I mean, even a quick think gave me more than fifteen songs before I even looked through the music collection. So, why not? There are a lot of ballads coming, and some glorious singing… as well as three columns. Again.
Sorry.
Anyway, here’s Early Songs About Angels!
Image by Pexels from Pixabay
Angels normally refer to a person who is wonderful and good, or it describes a body part of a person seen as “perfect.” So, a lot of these songs are about people, so I hope that does not diminish the idea behind this.
Usual rules apply: the word “angel” appears in the title, one song per artist over the three columns, one version of each song over the three columns, no live only tracks, I need to like the song. They are listed in chronological order, the date of first release, either as single or the home album, and for this column, that is before the year 1980. These are not only charting singles, but songs from my collection that fulfill the requirement and that I like. Oh, and there are no Christmas carols here.
Here are Early Songs About Angels!
’Earth Angel’ by The Penguins (1955)
I have a few versions of this classic, but went to the earliest one here just because the name of the group is so weird. To me. A nice slow ballad with doo-wop styled vocal harmonies to start this list.
’Teen Angel’ by Mark Dinning (1960)
This was one of the first “angel” songs I thought of. A teenage death song , so common in the 1960s. Designed to make the members of the audience cry, I think, with its mournful sound and sad singing.
’Next Door To An Angel’ by Neil Sedaka (1960)
And so we go to something cheerier, as Sedaka sings about his next door neighbour being good looking. Icky when you realise her age, but at the time it seemed that was acceptable. This may not be a personal high-ranking favourite, but my mum likes it, so it’s here.
’Pretty Little Angel Eyes’ by Curtis Lee (1961)
Grew up with this one on 45, and I played it often. I liked the juxtaposition of the bass voice and the singer’s normal voice, and it has always struck me. Again, up-tempo, and it is in my extended workout playlist.
’Angel’ by Jimi Hendrix (1971) (posthumous)
This was one of the first posthumous releases to come from the Jimi Hendrix archives, from an album released not long after his death, and so it was nearing completion when he passed. Blues done in the way only Hendrix could.
’Angel Fingers (A Teen Ballad)’ by Wizzard (1973)
A lot of Wizzard’s songs were accused of having a very similar sound. Not just musically – that’s common – but actual tune, and this song was an example of that, being unfavourably compared to their Christmas song. But I really like it anyway.
’My Little Angel’ by William Shakespeare (1974)
I always thought this Australian singer’s stage-name was pretentious, but there is no denying he was popular, with a string of charting singles. This was one of his very popular ones, and is a decent song for all that.
’Angel Face’ by The Glitter Band (1974)
Gary Glitter’s backing band had a bunch of hit singles without him, and this is one, with the standard clapping and percussion, and with added vocal harmonies. A fun song, designed for people to sing along to.
’Angel From The Coast’ by Thin Lizzy (1976)
From the classic Jailbreak album, this is a decent bit of rock from the band, with some fine guitar playing throughout. Just a good rock song, and it made me go back and listen to the whole album again. Such a classic.
’Angel Eyes’ by Abba (1979)
Abba released and recorded so many great pop songs, and not all of them were released as singles. My sister liked this track – from the Voulez-Vous album – and it grew on me. Just another good pop song. Modern song-writers could learn a lot from Bjorn and Benny.
Ten songs to start the “angels” columns. Pop, rock, glam and blues from the early days… a nice way to start this. Some all-time classics here as well. Hope you enjoyed this one!