Ask “Mr. Music”
Jerry Osborne



FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 22, 2018

DEAR JERRY: Valentine's Day is coming and I need a CD full of "Angel" songs for my wife, Angel Angie. Unfortunately, not all "Angel" records would be appropriate for this purpose.
—Jack Perkins, Cleveland, Tenn.

DEAR JACK: Don't fret, I will not suggest "Teen Angel," "There's a Honky-Tonk Angel (Who Will Take Me Back In)," "Angel of the Morning," or "The Angel in Your Arms This Morning (Is Gonna Be the Devil in Someone Else's Arms Tonight)."

Supplying you with over three dozen angelic tunes, from 1954 to 1998, representing different genres, gives you more than enough material to fill a 75-80 minute disc.

Sampling any of these tracks you are unfamiliar with should be easy. All can be found on YouTube or other online music sites.

A few have the same or similar titles, but they are not the same songs:

"Angel" (Elvis Presley) 1962
"Angel" (Rod Stewart) 1972
"Angel" (Sarah McLachlan) 1998
"Angel Baby" (Dean Martin) 1958
"Angel Baby" (Rosie and the Originals) 1960
"Angel Face" (Jimmy Darren) 1959
"Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground" (Willie Nelson) 1981
"Angel in an Apron" (Durwood Haddock) 1975
"Angel in Disguise" (Earl Thomas Conley) 1984
"Angel in My Eyes" (John Michael Montgomery) 1998
"Angel in Your Eyes (Brings Out the Devil in Me)" (Ronnie Dove) 1978
"Angel of Love" (The Schoolboys) 1958
"Angel of Love" (Charlie Gracie) 1959
"Angels Don't Lie" (Jim Reeves) 1970
"Angel's Sunday" (Jim Ed Brown) 1971
"Be an Angel" (Dean Martin) 1961
"Betty My Angel" (Jerry Fuller) 1959
"Blue Angel" (Roy Orbison) 1960
"Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel" (Brian Wilson) 1991
"Earth Angel" (The Penguins) 1955
"Eyes of an Angel" (The Legends) 1956
"Got a Date With an Angel" (Billy Williams) 1957
"Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel" (Tavares) 1976
"How Do You Speak to an Angel" (Dean Martin) 1954
"Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" (Charley Pride) 1971
"Little Angel" (Eddie Cochran) 1960
"Look Homeward Angel" (The Four Esquires) 1956
"Morning Angel" (Nana Mouskouri) 1987
"My Angel Lover" (The Cleftones Featuring Herb Cox) 1990
"My Special Angel" (Bobby Helms) 1957
"Pretty Little Angel" (The Crests) 1958
"Pretty Little Angel Eyes" (Curtis Lee) 1961
"Rockin' Little Angel" (Ray Smith) 1959
"Tears From an Angel" (Troy Shondell) 1961
"The Angels Listened In" (The Crests) 1959
"The Fool and the Angel" (Bobby Helms) 1957
"Undercover Angel" (Alan O'Day) 1977
"Walkin' With My Angel" (Bobby Vee) 1962
"Waltz of the Angels" (Wynn Stewart) 1967
"What's in an Angel's Eyes" (The Shells) 1960
"You Must Have Stepped Out of Heaven (When the Angels Looked the Other Way)" (Phil Ryan) 1954

DEAR JERRY: My brother, who just moved to Connecticut, is an avid record collector. Last time we talked, he said his latest mission is finding music by Connecticut artists. I told him I would ask you for names of the better known hit-makers from there. Any suggestions?
—Kathy Floden, Lake Charles, La.

DEAR KATHY: Finding records by this group of Nutmeg natives should keep him busy until the spring thaw. Most of these 32 artists are solo acts, who charted nationally. The few that didn't still appeared on regional surveys in New England.

Following each name is the title and year of their most successful single, or in some cases, LP or CD album. For those whose peak was with a group, that name is shown in parenthesis:

Andy Dio: "Rough and Bold" (1959)
Bernard Jackson: "Together Forever" (1995)
Bill Baker: "To the Aisle" (1962)
Cassie: "Me & U" (2006)
Chris Carrabba (Dashboard Confessional): "Stolen" (2007)
Daryl Hall (later of Hall & Oates): "Dreamtime" (1986)
Dave Brubeck: "Take Five" (1961)
David (Bill Baker) & Goliath (Roger Koob): "(Tell Me Why) I'm Still Lovin' You" (1965)
Dawn Robinson: "Envious" (2001)
Debbie and the Darnels: "Mr. Johnny Jones" (1962)
Emily Saliers (Indigo Girls): "Shame on You" (1997)
Gene Pitney: "Only Love Can Break a Heart" (1962)
Ginny Arnell: "Dumb Head" (1963)
Grayson Hugh: "Talk It Over" (1988)
Horace Silver: "Song for My Father" LP (1965)
Javier Colon: "Stitch By Stitch" (2011)
Jerry Green and the Passengers: "Ramona" (1964)
Joey Gee: "Don't Blow Your Cool" (1962)
John Mayer: "Say" (2007)
Karen and Richard Carpenter (The Carpenters): "Close to You" (1970)
Kris Jensen: "Torture" (1962)
Leonard Bernstein: "West Side Story" LP (1958)
Liz Phair: "Why Can't I" (2003)
Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray): "14:59" LP (1999)
Michael Bolton: "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (1989)
Nick Fradiani: "Beautiful Life" (2015)
Peter McCann: "Do You Wanna Make Love" (1977)
Rivers Cuomo (Weezer): "Beverly Hills" (2005)
Sawyer Fredericks: "Please" (2015)
Seth Swirsky (The Red Button): "She's About to Cross My Mind" CD (2007)
Steve Stevens: "Atomic Playboys" LP (1989)
Vinnie Vincent: "Vinnie Vincent Invasion" CD (1986)

IZ ZAT SO? As for traditionally named groups from Connecticut, here are nine that achieved some degree of success.

All made one or more regional charts, but records by the Five Satins, the Nutmegs, and the Playmates, were Pop and/or R&B hits from coast-to-coast:

The Bachelors: "A Million Teardrops" (1957)
The Ballads: "Somehow" (1960)
The Barries: "Tonight Tonight" (1964)
The Five Satins: "In the Still of the Nite" (1956)
The Frontiers: "I Only Have Eyes for You" (1963)
The Jackson Brothers: "Tell Him No" (1959)
The Nutmegs: "Story Untold" (1955)
The Playmates: "Beep Beep" (1958)
The Starlarks: "Send Me a Picture, Baby!" (1955)


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