Your angelic song of the day is “Angel of the Morning” by the extremely angelic Merrilee Rush. The track was released in February of 1968 and peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 a few months later. It may the best-known song with the word “angel” in the title.
“Angel of the Morning” was written by Chips Moman, famed Memphis-based songwriter and producer. Moman first offered the song to singer Connie Francis, who turned it down. Evie Sands had the first recording, in 1967, but thanks to it getting little or no promotion from Cameo-Parkway Records, it went nowhere. UK singer Billie Davis recorded it next, but that version also didn’t chart. Third time is a charm, however, and the version that Ms. Rush recorded at American Sound Studios in Memphis was a hit.
Merrilee Rush was the lead singer for a group called the Turnabouts, who were the opening act on a Paul Revere and the Raiders tour. Memphis producer Tommy Coghill heard her singing with the group, liked what he heard, and signed her up to sing his friend Moman’s song. Coghill and Moman co-produced both the single and the accompanying album, both credited to Merrilee Rush and the Turnabouts, even though there were no Turnabouts on the recording; it’s the American Sound house band, the same guys who recorded with Elvis (the Memphis one, not the British one), you hear backing her up.
“Angel of the Morning” earned Ms. Rush a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Pop Female Vocalist in 1969; she lost to Dionne Warwick and her recording of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “Do You Know the Way to San Jose.” Ms. Rush released a few more singles and one album after her big hit, none of which made a mark. She continued to perform on the oldies circuit, however, married entertainer Billy Mac, and became a breeder of champion Old English sheepdogs. She currently lives in Seattle, aged 79.
Many younger listeners know “Angel of the Morning” from its 1981 countrified cover by country singer Juice Newton. I kinda like that version, too. Ms. Newton’s version went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, #22 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Ms. Newton also received a Grammy nomination for her recording, in the same category of Best Contemporary Pop Female Vocalist; she (along with Kim Carnes, Olivia Newton-John, and Sheena Easton) inexplicably lost to Lena Horne and her album, Lena Horne: The Lady and the Music.
Juice Newton had a number of pop and country hits in the 1980s, including “Queen of Hearts” (#2 on the Hot 100), “The Sweetest Thing I’ve Ever Known” (#7), “Love’s Been a Little Bit Hard on Me” (#7), and “Break It to Me Gently” (#11). Her hit-making career kind of petered out as the ’80s wore on, however. She continues to perform some but now lives in San Francisco and works as a horse trader, specializing in European horses. She’s 71 years old now.
Chips Moman had a long and illustrious career, producing records for the likes of Elvis Presley, Tammy Wynette, Bobby Womack, Carla Thomas, and the Box Tops; he was the producer of Elvis’ 1969 album Elvis in Memphis (and the hits “In the Ghetto,” “Kentucky Rain,” and “Suspicious Minds”), which I personally think is Mr. Presley’s best. Moman also wrote a ton of hits for Aretha Franklin, Waylon Jennings, and B.J. Thomas, including the Grammy-winning hit “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song.” He passed away in 2016, aged 79.
