Blue Angel (song) explained

Blue Angel
Cover:	Roy Orbison Blue Angel.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Roy Orbison
Album:	Lonely and Blue
B-Side:	Today's Teardrops
Published:	Acuff-Rose Publications, Inc.^[1]
Recorded:	August 8, 1960^[2]
Studio:	RCA Victor Studio B, Nashville, Tennessee
Genre:	Pop rock
Label:	Monument
Producer:	Fred Foster
Prev Title:	Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel)
Prev Year:	1960
Next Title:	I'm Hurtin'
Next Year:	1960

"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 (Know the Way I Feel)", 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.^[3] 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… [and that] 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."^[4]

Co-written with collaborator Joe Melson, Orbison recorded "Blue Angel" in early August 1960 at RCA Victor Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee. It 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 (Know the Way I Feel)" was top of the charts there.

Personnel

• Roy Orbison – vocals^[5]
• Hank Garland – guitar
• Harold Bradley – guitar
• Bob Moore – bass
• Buddy Harman – drums
• Floyd Cramer – piano
• Boots Randolph – saxophone
• Anita Kerr Singers – backing vocals^[2]
• Joe Melson Singer – backing vocals^[2]

Charts

Chart (1960–61)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[6]	28
Canada (CHUM)^[7]	14
Ireland (Evening Herald)^[8]	8
UK Disc Top 20^[9]	17
UK Melody Maker Top 20^[10]	11
UK New Musical Express Top 30^[11]	10
UK Record Mirror Top 20^[12]	13
UK Record Retailer Top 50^[13]	11
US Cash Box Top 100^[14]	13

Notes and References

1. Book: Library of Congress. Copyright Office.. Catalog of Copyright Entries 1960 Music July-Dec 3D Ser Vol 14 Pt 5. 1960. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.. United States Copyright Office. English.
2. Book: Orbison, Roy Jr.. The Authorized Roy Orbison. Center Street. Orbison, Wesley,, Orbison, Alex,, Slate, Jeff. 2017. 9781478976547. First. New York. 1017566749.
3. 1973. The Lonely Man of Rock. Radio One's Story of Pop. 114–115. 13 January 2022.
4. Book: Kruth . Rhapsody in Black: The Life and Music of Roy Orbison . Backbeat Books . 2013 . 9781480354937.
5. The Monument Singles – A-Sides (1960–1964) . 2011 . booklet . Monument Records/Legacy Recordings. 88697 85594 2.
6. Book: Kent, David. Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. . 2005. 0-646-44439-5. Kent Music Report.
7. Web site: CHUM Hit Parade Week of October 31, 1960. 13 January 2023. 31 October 1960.
8. News: 19 January 1961. Irish Top Ten. Evening Herald.
9. 26 November 1960. Top Twenty. Disc. 3. 9 January 2023.
10. 17 December 1960. Top Twenty. Melody Maker.
11. 13 January 1961. NME Music Charts. New Musical Express.
12. 19 November 1960. Top Twenty. Record Mirror.
13. Web site: ROY ORBISON full Official Chart History Official Charts Company . 2023-01-13 . www.officialcharts.com.
14. Web site: Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending November 12, 1960. 13 January 2023. Cash Box magazine.