Angel Eyes

Album: See the Light (1988)
Charted: 5
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Songfacts®:

  • "Angel Eyes" was written by the songwriters John Hiatt and Fred Koller, and produced by Greg Ladanyi. It stands as Jeff Healey's only Billboard Top-40 hit; however, considering what a unique character he was, it seems most unfair to dismiss him as a one-hit wonder. Amongst many other things, he was much bigger on the Canada Singles chart; he picked up Juno Awards, got an Independent Music Award for Best Blues Album, and played alongside such talent as Dire Straits, Stevie Ray Vaughan, BB King, ZZ Top, and Eric Clapton.

    Most fans today know Jeff Healy for the most unique guitar-playing style ever invented: he played sitting down with the guitar flat on his lap, like a piano. But if you know this, you probably also know that this was because he was blind, having been stricken with a rare form of eye cancer at the age of just eight months old. His health was his curse; he also succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 41.
  • Fans of the late Patrick Swayze will recall that this song - as well as the band itself (as the house band for the Double Deuce saloon) - made an appearance in the 1989 film Road House.
  • The artist Paulini covered this song for her debut album One Determined Heart, and the single scored for her on Australia's ARIA Charts as a #1 hit.

Comments: 3

  • Tami from TorontoAngel Eyes was done live in Munich it is the most beautiful song I've ever heard even though it is now 2020 and this was performed in 1989.
  • Scott from Ohio UsaSome songs remind you of certain memories some good some bad. I like the good over the bad.
  • Bill from Pensacola, Flfind video of Jeff Healy and concerts amazing BLUES
    If you are a guitarist he can teach you a whole new way to play that thing!
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