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| "Angel from Montgomery" | |
|---|---|
| Song by John Prine | |
| from the album John Prine | |
| Released | January 1, 1971 |
| Studio | American Recording Studios, Memphis, Tennessee |
| Genre | Country |
| Length | 3:43 |
| Songwriter(s) | John Prine |
| Producer(s) | Arif Mardin |
"Angel from Montgomery" is a song written by John Prine, [1] originally appearing on his self-titled 1971 album John Prine . The song has been covered extensively by various artists.
John Prine wrote "Angel from Montgomery" after a friend suggested writing "another song about old people," referring to Prine's song "Hello in There." Although Prine had "said everything I wanted to [about seniors] in 'Hello in There'" he was intrigued by the idea of "a song about a middle-aged woman who feels older than she is...[Eventually] I had this really vivid picture of this woman standing over the dishwater with soap in her hands...She wanted to get out of her house and her marriage and everything. She just wanted an angel to come to take her away from all this." Prine believes he likely was drawn to Montgomery as the song's setting by virtue of being a fan of Hank Williams, who had ties to that city. [2]
Angel from Montgomery was the original title of the Cherie Bennett/Jeff Gottesfeld screenplay that became the 2006 movie Broken Bridges . The screenplay's setting of Montgomery was changed to the fictitious Armour Springs in the movie. [3]
The song is used in the film Who Bombed Judi Bari? . It is also sung by Marc Menchaca, in the last episode of the series Ozark . In 2021, it was ranked at No. 350 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". [4]
John Prine introduced "Angel from Montgomery" on his self-titled debut album in 1971. Carly Simon recorded it, but did not release it, in 1972 in her first session for No Secrets , produced by Paul Buckmaster and featuring James Taylor's vocals and Danny Kortchmar on guitar. Simon recalls: "Elektra rejected [the tracks from that session] and...asked me to work with Richard Perry. [Elektra] didn't think Buckmaster would produce a hit record for me." Simon's version did not surface until she released her 1995 box set, Clouds in My Coffee, for which the track was finally mixed and mastered. [5]
While Bonnie Koloc recorded "Angel from Montgomery" in 1972 on her album Hold on to Me, the song achieved its first high-profile artist cover in 1973 when John Denver included it—as "Angels from Montgomery"—on his Farewell Andromeda. But it was Bonnie Raitt's version, on her 1974 album Streetlights, that first attained wide recognition for the song. In a 2000 interview, Raitt stated: "I think 'Angel from Montgomery' probably has meant more to my fans and my body of work than any other song, and it will historically be considered one of the most important ones I've ever recorded. It's just such a tender way of expressing that sentiment of longing - like 'Hello in There' - without being maudlin or obvious. It has all the different shadings of love and regret and longing. It's a perfect expression from [a] wonderful genius." [6]
Raitt has covered the song several times. She sang it in duet with John Prine in 1985 at a concert in tribute to Steve Goodman. [7] (Prine, Goodman, and Bonnie Koloc were then considered the "trinity of the Chicago folk scene.") She performed the song with Rickie Lee Jones at the original Farm Aid benefit concert held 22 September 1985 in Champaign, Illinois; and with Tracy Chapman at the We the Planet Festival on 20 April 2003 in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. On her 1995 live disc Road Tested, on which "Angel from Montgomery" serves as the concert finale, Raitt is joined on the song by Bryan Adams, Jackson Browne, Bruce Hornsby and Kim Wilson.
Keller Williams performed the song at one of his early recorded shows at Fin's in Virginia Beach on Oct. 4, 1994. [8]
"Angel from Montgomery" is performed in the film Into the Wild by the characters Tracy Tatro (Kristen Stewart) and Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch). It does not appear on the soundtrack album. The chorus is sung briefly in the film Courage Under Fire by the character Captain Karen Emma Walden (portrayed by Meg Ryan) during one of the flashback sequences.
The song was heard on the live television benefit broadcast on CMT May 12, 2011, performed by Gretchen Wilson. The Music Builds concert and fundraiser was to benefit the American Red Cross in the wakes of the floods and tornadoes throughout the Southeastern United States in April and May 2011.
Ruth Langmore imagines her late father, uncle and cousin performing the song in a wistful scene during the final episode of the fourth and last season of the Netflix series Ozark . [9]
"Angel from Montgomery" is a concert staple of Hank Williams' granddaughter Holly Williams.
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk, and country. She was also a frequent session player and collaborator with other artists, including Warren Zevon, Little Feat, Jackson Browne, the Pointer Sisters, John Prine and Leon Russell.
The 37th Annual Grammy Awards were presented on March 1, 1995, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Bruce Springsteen was the night's biggest winner with 4 awards, including Song of the Year while opening the show with his Grammy nominated hit.
John Edward Prine was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He was known for an often humorous style of original music that has elements of protest and social commentary.
Sippie Wallace was an American blues singer, pianist and songwriter. Her early career in tent shows gained her the billing "The Texas Nightingale". Between 1923 and 1927, she recorded over 40 songs for Okeh Records, many written by her or her brothers, George and Hersal Thomas. Her accompanists included Louis Armstrong, Johnny Dodds, Sidney Bechet, King Oliver, and Clarence Williams. Among the top female blues vocalists of her era, Wallace ranked with Ma Rainey, Ida Cox, Alberta Hunter, and Bessie Smith.
Streetlights is the fourth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1974.
Road Tested is a live album and first live album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1995.
Ricky Fataar is a South African musician who has performed as both a drummer and a guitarist. He gained fame as an actor in The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash, a spoof on the actual history of the Beatles in which he also performed as a member of The Rutles. He is also known for his stint as a member of The Beach Boys between 1971 and 1974. He has been the drummer for Bonnie Raitt for the last 35 years. Fataar is also recognized for his contributions as a record producer, and has worked on projects scoring music to film and television.
Richard Francis (Rick) Vito is an American guitarist and singer. He was part of Fleetwood Mac between 1987 and 1991. Vito took over as lead guitarist after Lindsey Buckingham left the group. He is best known for his blues and slide guitar style, whose influences include Elmore James, Robert Nighthawk, B.B. King, Alvino Rey, Les Paul, George Harrison, and Keith Richards.
Bonnie Koloc is an American folk music singer-songwriter, actress and artist. She was considered one of the three main Illinois-based folk singers in the 1970s, along with Steve Goodman and John Prine forming the "trinity of the Chicago folk scene". Her music continues to be recognized and valued by historians of Chicago folk music as well as by her long standing fan base in that area. But her voice, which may be considered crystalline in its clarity, is remembered as well.
Tom Dundee (1946–2006) was a singer/songwriter born in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
John Prine is the debut album by American country/folk singer-songwriter John Prine, issued by Atlantic Records in 1971. In 2012, the album was ranked number 452 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It was later ranked number 149 in a revised version of the list published in 2020.
No Nukes: The Muse Concerts For a Non-Nuclear Future was a 1979 triple live album that contained selections from the September 1979 Madison Square Garden concerts by the Musicians United for Safe Energy collective. Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, and John Hall were the key organizers of the event and guiding forces behind the album.
Bruised Orange is the fifth album by American folk singer and songwriter John Prine, released in 1978.
Common Sense is the fourth album by American folk singer and songwriter John Prine, released in 1975.
The Missing Years is the 10th studio album by American folk musician John Prine, released in 1991 on Oh Boy Records. It won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. In July 2003 the label released a deluxe vinyl reissue of the album with a bonus track called "The Third of July" from Prine's appearance on the PBS concert series Sessions at West 54th in 2001.
Red Pajamas Records is an independent American record label. It was founded in 1982 by Chicago singer-songwriter Steve Goodman and his manager Al Bunetta. Between 1983 and his death in 1984, Goodman released two albums on Red Pajamas: Artistic Hair and Affordable Art. Two more, Santa Ana Winds and the Grammy Award-winning Unfinished Business, were released posthumously in 1984 and 1987. Red Pajamas Records operates under the management of Oh Boy Records, which is owned by Goodman's friend John Prine. Red Pajamas releases archival live performances by Goodman, compilations, and reissues of his earlier material. The label has also released three recordings of tribute performances by Goodman's friends.
German Afternoons is the ninth album by American folk singer and songwriter John Prine, released in 1986.
John Prine Live is a live album by American folk singer and songwriter John Prine, released in 1988. It was originally released as a double-LP.
Great Days: The John Prine Anthology is a compilation album by American folk singer John Prine, released in 1993.
James Hutchinson (born January 24, 1953)is an American session bassist best known for his work with Bonnie Raitt.Though his work takes him nearly everywhere he primarily resides in Studio City, Los Angeles, CA and Haiku-Pauwela, Hawaii.
