'Kiss an Angel Good Mornin' Ranked Among 'Best Country Songs of All Time'

Charley Pride's 1971 smash hit "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" was ranked No. 19 on Rolling Stone's list of the 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time. The song was a massive commercial success, and one that defined the country genre going into the '70s.

Originally written by Ben Peters, the song was recorded by Pride in 1971 and released as the lead single from his 13th album, Charley Pride Sings Heart Songs. The country legend was already an established singer at this point in his career, but "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" was the song that finally allowed him to break through with mainstream audiences.

The track was Pride's eighth to peak at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, but his first to break into the pop charts—landing at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was an enormous success for the artist, whose success had previously been confined to country music fans.

The song also broke into the Top 10 on the Adult Contemporary charts, proving that Pride's song superceded the barriers of genre that he'd previously been restricted by. It spend over four months on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Pride's most successful track ever.

The song's lyrics detail the story of a man and woman who are happily married, and when his friends ask the secret to this blissful marriage, the narrator replies that he gets to "kiss an angel good morning" every day and "love her like a devil". It's a sweet and romantic track about appreciating the small things in a relationship and culturing them to make a marriage work.

Pride's song blends the traditional acoustic sounds of American country music with growing rock and roll influences that were becoming more and more prominent in the early '70s. His sound would evolve even more over the years, but "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" represents the peak of his more accessible, traditional sound.

In their ranking, Rolling Stone writes: "Pride’s métier has always been an easygoing effortlessness, which perfectly suits this ode to the pleasures and virtues of “Drunk in Love”-style domesticity."

The song has become a country classic in the decades since its release, with several musical icons covering the song on their own records. These include George Jones, Roy Clark, and Alan Jackson.