Johnny Angel (song)

"Johnny Angel" is a song written and composed by Lyn Duddy and Lee Pockriss. It was originally recorded by both Laurie Loman and Georgia Lee, but those two versions were not successful. It first became a popular hit single when it was recorded by Shelley Fabares in the fall of 1961; she took it to number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Chart when the song was released in 1962. In the same year, British singer Patti Lynn had a moderate hit on the UK Singles Chart with her cover of the song. The American pop music duo The Carpenters recorded "Johnny Angel" in 1973 as part of a medley of oldies on side two of their album '' Now & Then''.

Shelley Fabares version

Background

"Johnny Angel" is the debut pop single by Shelley Fabares. Her cover version was recorded in the fall of 1961, and released in 1962 on the Colpix label. The track was the first single taken from Fabares' debut solo album '' Shelley!'', which was produced and arranged by Stu Phillips.

The single premiered on an episode, "Donna's Prima Donna" of Fabares' sitcom, '' The Donna Reed Show'', during the fourth season (episode 20). It also has a sequel song entitled " Johnny Loves Me", which tells the story of how the girl won Johnny's heart.

Darlene Love and her group, the Blossoms, sang backup vocals on the track. Fabares is quoted in ''The Billboard Book of Number One Singles'' by Fred Bronson as saying she was intimidated by Love's group and their "beautiful" voices and was terrified at the prospect of becoming a recording artist, as she did not consider herself a singer, but was expected to sing on the show anyway. The song also featured an echo chamber, where the intro of the repeated title words: "Johnny Angel, Johnny Angel" was used by Fabares and the backup singers. Musicians who played on the track include Hal Blaine on drums, Carol Kaye on bass and Glen Campbell on guitar.

The song is an expression of a teenage girl's romantic longing for a boy who doesn't know she exists, to the point where she declines other boys' propositions for dates because she would rather concentrate on the boy she loves.

Although Fabares' career as an actress stayed strong for three decades, her career as a singer came to an end within a few years of "Johnny Angel" when she was unable to come up with another Top 20 hit. However, the song has become an oldies radio airplay favorite.

Reception

"Johnny Angel" hit number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on April 7, 1962, during a 15-week run on the chart. It was a number 1 hit on the Top 100 Best Sellers chart in April 1962 as published by '' Cashbox''. It charted number 1 in both Canada and in New Zealand. "Johnny Angel" also peaked at number 41 on the UK Singles chart, where Patti Lynn's recording of the song was a slightly bigger hit.
It sold over one-million copies and was awarded a gold disc.

Track listings

# "Johnny Angel" - 2:19
# "Where's It Gonna Get Me" - 2:08

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

In the media

*It was featured in the 1990 film '' Mermaids'', the film '' Andre'' and the episode "Halloween" in the TV-series '' My So-Called Life''.
*The song was featured in a 1976 episode of ''Saturday Night Live'' hosted by Dyan Cannon, where Johnny Angel turns out to be three Hells Angels all named Johnny.
*In the song ''The Beat of Black Wings'', which appears on Joni Mitchell's album '' Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm'', the words ''Charlie Angel'' are sung at the end of several lines, in the same style as the Shelley Fabares cover, in an apparent reference to the Fabares version of the song.

Patti Lynn version

Background

British pop singer Patti Lynn released a cover of "Johnny Angel" for the Fontana Records label in March 1962. It was produced by Harry Robinson.Patti Lynn - Johnny Angel (Vinyl) at Discogs
/ref> Her version charted on the UK Singles Chart at number 37 in May 1962.

Track listings

# "Johnny Angel" - 2:16
# "Tonight You Belong To Me" - 2:12

Chart performance

The Carpenters version

Background

The pop music duo the Carpenters recorded "Johnny Angel" and included it on their fifth studio album '' Now & Then'' in May 1973. Richard and Karen Carpenter produced it and was issued on the A&M record label. The song was included on Side "B" of the album as part of an oldies medley.

Other versions

*The tune had previously been recorded by Georgia Lee (singer) on the Decca label. It was also covered in French by Canadian singer Renée Martel in 1967.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnny Angel (Song)
1962 debut singles
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Cashbox number-one singles
Number-one singles in Canada
Number-one singles in New Zealand
Shelley Fabares songs
The Carpenters songs
Songs written by Lee Pockriss
1962 songs
Fontana Records singles