A modern take on an old country classic… and it’s perfect.
Today, Ella Langley released her very highly-anticipated sophomore album Dandelion, which was executive produced by country superstar Miranda Lambert and finds Ella embracing life and enjoying the fruits of her labor and everything she’s worked so hard for up until this point.
And of course, there are so many country women who came before her and carved this path, one of them being Mrs. Miranda, and as a nod to all of those women and everything they did for the current generation of women, Ella included a studio cover of “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels,” a song she’s also been performing on the road at her live shows.
The history behind this song feels so fitting in terms of Ella including a studio cut on what will very likely be a massively successful album, and it was first recorded by pioneer and icon Kitty Wells in 1952. It was written by J.D. Miller, and at the time of its original release, the song became the first Billboard country hit by a solo female artist. Ella recently became only the seventh woman in history to top the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, and she also became the first woman ever to triple up and top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay and Hot 100 charts simultaneously. Additionally, last week, she’d dethrone Taylor Swift and officially become the first female country artist ever to spend 4+ weeks at #1 on the Hot 100.
Ella has such respect for the history and roots of country music that I wasn’t worried one bit that she wouldn’t do this song justice, and I absolutely love how she recorded “Honky Tonk Angels.” It has all of the elements of a true country song while still sounding fresh and modern, and she proves its true timelessness because the subject matter and message is evergreen and I love that a new generation of fans will hopefully fall in love with it now.
Of course, like any classic country song, there’s a great story behind it, and if you don’t know much about it, you’re in for a treat.
Behind The Song
Believe it or not, Kitty was actually reluctant to even record the song because the content was quite suggestive for the time (remember, this was in the 50s), but went ahead with it mainly because she wanted to get paid. I respect that… and it definitely seemed to work out for her because it basically launched her career and sent her into country music superstardom.
As it turns out, the song was created as a response to Hank Thompson’s 1952 song “The Wild Side Of Life,” where he laments that he was cheated on by his wife… well, allegedly. In Thompson’s song, he sings:
“I didn’t know God made honky tonk angels,
I might have known you’d never make a wife,
You gave up the only one that ever loved you,
And went back to the wild side of life”
The chorus in Wells’ version goes like this:
“It wasn’t God who made honky-tonk angels
As you said in the words of your song
Too many times married men think they’re still single
That has caused many a good girl to go wrong”
The searing, unapologetic sass in the chorus is genius. Ladies, how many times have you felt like the crazy one in a relationship when it turns out, you were right about whatever it was the entire time? It’s usually the case I think… We’ve probably all felt like that before, and this song sums up all those feelings perfectly. If women felt like that in the ’50s, don’t hold your breathe that it will ever change… but at least it makes for really good music.
But it didn’t stop with Wells in terms of iconic country music artists who have put their touch on the song, as Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette teamed up for a collaborative album called Honky Tonk Angels, which of course includes a cover of the title track, where Kitty makes an appearance on Dolly, Loretta and Tammy’s version, too.
Their album was released in 1993 and was apparently spearheaded by Dolly. All three of these ladies started their careers in the ’60s and were easily convinced to sign on to the project after Dolly approached them about it. I mean, who could say no to her? More importantly, why would you? Ultimately, it only produced one single for the trio, “Silver Threads and Golden Needles,” which was nominated for a Grammy award in 1995.
Dolly Parton also recorded a solo version of it for her 1963 tribute album Hits Made Famous By Country Queens, which was created to honor Kitty Wells and Patsy Cline. She was only 17 at the time that album was released, and it’s nearly impossible to find audio of any of the tracks from it. You can hear a short sample of it on her website, though her voice is hardly recognizable way back then when she was just a teenager.
Starting with legends like Kitty Wells and Patsy Cline, and through generations of incredibly talented icons like Dolly, Tammy and Loretta, to the current generation of country stars like Ella and her executive producer Miranda Lambert, so many women have been part of making country the genre that it is, and with Ella’s career currently exploding, seeing her pay tribute to all of them on this brilliant song in particular feels incredibly fitting.
It’s a classic country song in every sense, all about girl power and owning what that means, and Ella comes from a long line of honky tonk angels who have poured their heart into song and changed the industry through their tenacity and honesty. It’s exciting to see her continuing to carry that torch, so to speak, and do it so well, and this is easily one of my favorites from Dandelion.
Turn it up:
“It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”
“It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”
The Kitty Wells version:
Dandelion Tracklist
- “Froggy Went A Coutrin’ – Intro”
- “Dandelion”
- “Choosin’ Texas”
- “We Know Us”
- “Low Lights”
- “Be Her”
- “You & Me Time”
- “Loving Life Again”
- “Bottom Of Your Boots”
- “Speaking Terms”
- “I Gotta Quit”
- “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”
- “Last Call For Us”
- “Broken”
- “Somethin’ Simple”
- “Butterfly Season” (feat. Miranda Lambert)
- “Most Good Things Do – Acoustic”
- “Froggy Went A Coutrin’ – Outro”
