Top Ten Angelic Songs: Waltz of the Angels (#1)

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And so another series comes to a close. As I said when I began, this was hard to narrow down to just ten songs with "angel" in the title, then to put them in order. There was no issue with the number one song, however: this is one of my all-time favorite songs, ever, period. Here's my favorite "angel" song." #1: Waltz of the Angels - Wynn Stewart It's playing in another window right now on my computer, and I have goosebumps. One of the most powerful, and yet sorely overlooked, figures in the "Bakersfield scene" of west coast country music, no less a powerhouse than Merle Haggard stated once that, without Wynn Stewart, there would never have been a Merle Haggard or a Buck Owens. If you want some seriously intense, great honky tonk country music, find The Best of the Challenge Masters CD, which showcased Stewart's singles in the 1959-1962 era when he was between stints on Capitol, and put it in. It'll knock you over. "Waltz of the Angels" was Stewart's first top 40 country hit, peaking at #14 in 1956 when he was on Capitol Records the first time. (During his second stint on Capitol he scored his biggest hit, "It's Such a Pretty World Today" in 1967.) This song is amazing in and of itself: you really have to work hard to screw it up (and some have such as Johnny Paycheck's version). George Jones and Margie Singleton had a hit with it in the early 1960s which is also terrific, and many acts have covered it. But I always go back to that first hit version, by the long-forgotten, highly underrated, late, great Wynn Stewart. Everything about his version is perfect: the voice, the fiddles, and the mood it sets. Thanks for reading. Waltz of the Angels Written by Dick Reynolds and Jack Rhodes Recorded by Wynn Stewart Released as a single, 1956 A writer of love songs way up in the sky: