Blue Angel (song)


"Blue Angel" is a song by Roy Orbison, released as a single in August 1960. Released as the follow-up to the international hit "Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel)", "Blue Angel" peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and number eleven on the UK's Record Retailer Top 50.

Background and release

"Blue Angel" followed its predecessor, "Only the Lonely ", in very much the same style with Orbison once again able to show off his falsetto and semi-operatic vocals and also followed its theme of lost love. However, whilst "Only the Lonely" was a gloomy song of self-pity, "Blue Angel" was, according to musician and writer John Kruth, "a dollop of commercial fluff… lyrically, it was rather sappy, a trite knock-off about teen love, all too typical of its time. Its power lay in its simple but insidious melody."
Co-writer Joe Melson came up with the song after receiving a speeding ticket. He had just become a father for the second time and was on his way to the hospital when he was pulled over by a police officer who after hearing Melson pleading about why said "You won't be a father very long speedin' like that". Following this, Melson decided to write a song about this event, coming up with "Blue Angel". Orbison recorded the song on August 8, 1960 at RCA Victor Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, and was then quickly released as a single at the end of August with the B-side "Today's Teardrops", written by a then-relatively unknown Gene Pitney. Whilst the single was first released on Monument Records in the US, its UK release came in October 1960 on parent label London Records when "Only the Lonely " was top of the charts there.

Personnel