Willie Nelson And Ray Charles – Seven Spanish Angels

The Friendship duet album with various country performers was a major success for Ray Charles. On March 23, 1985, “Seven Spanish Angels” and Friendship record both reached No. 1 on the country charts. This marked Charles’ first and only No. 1 on the country charts. Overall, the single spent an impressive twelve weeks on the chart. Nelson later included their duet on his 1985 compilation record, Half Nelson.

Troy Seals and Eddie Sester co-wrote the song and were inspired by famous country artist Marty Robbins. They were specifically influenced by his song “El Paso” which won the first-ever Grammy for Best Country and Western Song back in 1960. Robbins focused on bringing the Tex-Mex culture into his music.

Nelson first heard the track and wanted to record it at a later date. The songwriting pair sent the song to producer Billy Sherill who was working at Columbia Records at the time. Charles was preparing his Friendship album at Columbia. Once Sherill heard the song, he envisioned holding it for a Ray Charles and Ronny Milsap duet. However, Milsap was signed with a competing major label, RCA, and was not interested according to Classic Country Music Stories.

Sherill then learned that Nelson was interested in the song. Charles recorded his portion of the song in Nashville while Nelson recorded it at his studio in Austin, Texas. The vocals were sent back to Nashville where Sherill orchestrated the production.

One of the most surprising facts about the song is the fact that it was originally a much longer song. Sherill thought it was too long and a bit complicated so he enlisted the writers to rewrite it to simplify it.

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Willie Nelson - Seven Spanish Angels (Video)04:24

Seven Spanish Angels este un cântec compus de Troy Sigilii și Eddie Setser, și înregistrat de către Ray Charles în duet cu Willie Nelson. A fost lansat în Noiembrie 1984 ca single de pe albumul “Friendship” al lui Ray Charles . Charles și Nelson împart versurile, cu Charles cântând prima strofă și Nelson a doua.  Piesa a fost, de asemenea, inclusă pe albumul compilatie “Half Nelson” a lui Willie Nelson din 1985.

“Seven Spanish Angels” a fost cel mai de succes hit lui Charles din cele opt single-uri care au intrat în topul de Country. Single-ul a fost o săptămână pe primul loc la Country.

Setser și Sigilii au scris piesa ca un omagiu adus lui Marty Robbins, un mare muzician tejano (muzică country cu influentă mexicană). Melodia i-a fost prezentată lui Willie Nelson. Înainte ca Willie să o înregistreze, producătorul Billy Sherrill s-a întâmplat să audă demo-ul si a vrut cântecul pentru Ray Charles. Sherrill a propus ca Nelson și Charles sa facă un duet, după ce a aflat că Nelson avea deja melodia rezervată pentru înregistrat.

Versuri:
[Verse 1: Ray Charles]
He looked down into her brown eyes
And said “Say a prayer for me”
She threw her arms around him
Whispered “God will keep us free”
They could hear the riders coming
He said “This is my last fight
If they take me back to Texas
They won’t take me back alive”

[Chorus: Ray Charles]
There were seven Spanish angels
At the altar of the sun
They were praying for the lovers
In the valley of the gun
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared
There was thunder from the throne
And seven Spanish angels
Took another angel home

[Verse 2: Willie Nelson]
She reached down and picked the gun up
That lay smoking in his hand
She said, “Father please forgive me
I can’t make it without my man”
And she knew the gun was empty
And she knew she couldn’t win
Her final prayer was answered
When the rifles fired again

[Chorus: Willie Nelson]
There were seven Spanish angels
At the altar of the sun
They were praying for the lovers
In the valley of the gun
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared
There was thunder from the throne
And seven Spanish angels
Took another angel home

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