It Was 50 Years Ago Today
‘Angel of the Morning’ Randal Hill
By 1967 songwriter Chip Taylor had one hit tune to his credit: the Troggs’ “Wild Thing” from the previous year. Now he was summoning his muse again in hopes of hitting pay dirt for a second time. In the book Behind the Hits by Bob Shannon and John Javna, Taylor explains: “The day I wrote ‘Angel’ I was fooling around with some chords for three or four hours. Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, came ‘There’ll be no strings to bind your hands, not if my love can’t bind your heart.’ “I said, ‘That is beautiful!’ … Within 10 minutes I’d written the whole song, including the chorus.” Then there was the matter of what followed those opening lines. Sex had to be soft-pedaled during rock’s early days; “Angel of the Morning” changed all that. As its story unfolded, listeners heard such eyebrow-lifting lyrics as, “I see no need to take me home/I’m old enough to face the dawn,” as well as “If morning’s echo says we’ve sinned/ Well, it was what I wanted now.” Wow. But, after all, this was the “progressive” ’60s. Taylor and a partner recorded the song — which featured a simple “Louie Louie” chord progression — with a young singer named Evie Sands. Released on Cameo Records, “Angel” quickly caught fire and
won airplay in the Raiders’ 1967 tour. Seattle rhythmseveral key radio While in Memphis, Raiders lead and-blues markets. singer Mark Lindsay introduced Rush collective called But, two to record producer Chips Moman, Tiny Tony weeks after and the Statics who had recorded the Box Tops’ Sands’ 45 was megahit of “The Letter.” (Tony being a released, Cameo Moman had Rush cut a breathy 300-pound soul unexpectedly rendition of “Angel of the Morning,” belter). went bankrupt, a haunting future Top 10 winner. In 1965 and Sands’ rising the Rushes Released on Bell Records, Rush’s star fizzled out. version became a million-seller created Merrilee Later, Taylor Rush and the and even earned her a Grammy received a phone nomination. Turnabouts, a call from Seattle In 1981 country singer Juice rock/R&B group that another that soon became Newton breathed new life into Rush’s artist, Merrilee a top draw on the song, which some rock historians Rush and the local club circuit. now cite as being a forerunner of the Turnabouts, had women’s liberation movement. In time they “Angel of the Morning” cut his song. signed on as the Merrilee Rush and the Turnabouts Randal C. Hill is a rock ’n’ roll historian “I was looking opening act for June 1968 who lives at the Oregon coast. He may be forward to Paul Revere and reached at wryterhill@msn.com. hearing it,” Taylor said. “It came out, and I had a advertisement copy sent to me. But I took one listen and said, ‘Uh-uh, I don’t think so.’” Taylor spoke too soon; Rush’s disc went Top Five in Seattle and then spread rapidly across the country. Merrilee Rush began her life as If you want a funeral with an expensive casket Merrilee Gunst in Seattle in 1944. At and embalming, go to a funeral home! age 16 she became the lead singer of If you are interested in affordable cremation services, a local rock outfit called the Amazing we are the name to remember! Aztecs. We specialize in cremation only, statewide, no removal fees. She eventually married the band’s No Embalming No Caskets sax player, Tom Rush, and the two formed Merrilee and Her Men, which later disbanded. For a while the Rushes worked in an integrated
AFFORDABLE CREMATION SERVICES
Cremation Society of Pennsylvania, Inc. serving all of Lancaster county since 1981 Largest in the state of PA
For FREE brochures and pricing, call:
1-800-720-8221 (toll-free) or mail us ... Please send me FREE brochures and pricing! www.cremationsocietyofpa.com Name______________________________________________________ Address____________________________________________________ _______________________________ Phone (
)_________________
4100 Jonestown Rd., Hbg., PA 17109 Shawn E. Carper, Supervisor
www.50plusLifePA.com
50plus LIFE •
Code LSN
June 2018
9