Pop Music

Part of the fun of the music of 1950s music is all the pioneering going on where artists take different strands of American music and weave them together.  This is true of one of the golden oldies favorites “My Special Angel,” sung by Bobby Helms. The song, written by Jimmy Duncan, was a crossover hit for Helms, who is best known as a country singer. In 1957, the song went to #7 on the Billboard Pop Chart, #1 on the Country & Western Best Sellers in Stores Chart, and #8 on the R&B chart. The background vocals are provided by the Anita Kerr Singers. There have been numerous covers of the song, including those by Bobby Vinton, Frankie Avalon, The Crests, and The Vogues.

Bobby Helms was the professional name of singer and guitarist Robert Lee Helms, from Bloomington, Indiana. Some of Helms’s other popular songs were “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Fraulein.” Jimmy Duncan, from Houston, Texas, was a songwriter, singer and producer. In addition to writing “My Special Angel,” he co-wrote “String Along,” which charted for Fabian in 1960 and for Ricky Nelson in 1963.

Here are the lyrics to “My Special Angel” by Bobby Helms:

“(Angel, angel, whoa-oh-oh-oh, whoa)
(Angel, angel, whoa-oh-oh-oh, whoa)

You are my special angel
Sent from up above
The Lord smiled down on me
And sent an angel to love (to love)

You are my special angel
Right from paradise
I know that you’re an angel
Heaven is in your eyes

A smile from your lips brings the summer sunshine
The tears from your eyes bring the rain
I feel your touch, your warm embrace
And I’m in heaven again

You are my special angel
Through eternity
I’ll have my special angel
Here to watch over me

(A smile from your lips brings the summer sunshine)
(The tears from your eyes bring the rain)
I feel your touch, your warm embrace
And I’m in heaven again

You are my special angel
Through eternity
I’ll have my special angel
Here to watch over me (watch over me)

Here to watch over me
(Angel, angel, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh, oh oh, oh)”

For More Golden Oldies Music

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop, rock and roll, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday Night, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s. Please click here for our Daily Doo Wop Youtube channel, to which you can subscribe. Thank you for stopping by The Daily Doo Wop. Hope you enjoyed “My Special Angel” by Bobby Helms.