"Blue Angel"
Single by Roy Orbison
from the album Lonely and Blue
B-side"Today's Teardrops"
PublishedSeptember 19, 1960 (1960-09-19) Acuff-Rose Publications, Inc.[1]
ReleasedAugust 1960 (1960-08)
RecordedAugust 8, 1960[2]
StudioRCA Victor Studio B, Nashville, Tennessee
GenrePop rock
Length2:43
LabelMonument
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Fred Foster
Roy Orbison singles chronology
"Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel)"
(1960) 		"Blue Angel"
(1960) 		"I'm Hurtin'"
(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.[3][4]

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.[5] 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."[6]

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.[7] 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.[8]

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1960–61) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 28
Canada (CHUM)[11] 14
Ireland (Evening Herald)[12] 8
UK Disc Top 20[13] 17
UK Melody Maker Top 20[14] 11
UK New Musical Express Top 30[15] 10
UK Record Mirror Top 20[16] 13
UK Record Retailer Top 50[4] 11
US Billboard Hot 100[3] 9
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[17] 23
US Cash Box Top 100[18] 13

References

  1. ^ Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1960). Catalog of Copyright Entries 1960 Music July-Dec 3D Ser Vol 14 Pt 5. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
  2. ^ a b Orbison, Roy Jr. (2017). The Authorized Roy Orbison. Orbison, Wesley,, Orbison, Alex,, Slate, Jeff (First ed.). New York: Center Street. ISBN 9781478976547. OCLC 1017566749.
  3. ^ a b "Roy Orbison Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  4. ^ a b "ROY ORBISON | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  5. ^ "The Lonely Man of Rock" (PDF). Radio One's Story of Pop. 1973. pp. 114–115. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  6. ^ Kruth, John (2013). Rhapsody in Black: The Life and Music of Roy Orbison. Backbeat Books. ISBN 9781480354937.
  7. ^ Roy Orbison - Blue Angel, retrieved January 15, 2023
  8. ^ Roy Orbison - Blue Angel, retrieved January 15, 2023
  9. ^ The Monument Singles – A-Sides (1960–1964) (booklet). Monument Records/Legacy Recordings. 2011. 88697 85594 2.
  10. ^ Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
  11. ^ "CHUM Hit Parade Week of October 31, 1960". October 31, 1960. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  12. ^ "Irish Top Ten". Evening Herald. January 19, 1961.
  13. ^ "Top Twenty" (PDF). Disc. November 26, 1960. p. 3. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  14. ^ "Top Twenty". Melody Maker. December 17, 1960.
  15. ^ "NME Music Charts". New Musical Express. January 13, 1961.
  16. ^ "Top Twenty". Record Mirror. November 19, 1960.
  17. ^ "Roy Orbison Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  18. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending November 12, 1960". Cash Box magazine. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
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