Forever No. 1: Shelley Fabares, ‘Johnny Angel’
When she dethroned Connie Francis, it marked the first time female singers had back-to-back No. 1s on the Hot 100.
Billboard honors the late TV star Shelley Fabares for her hit "Johnny Angel," which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1962. This innocent and chaste song, along with classics like The Chordettes' "Mr. Sandman" and The Teddy Bears' "To Know Him, Is To Love Him," evoke a simpler time. "Johnny Angel" is a classic "crush" ballad, as the singer pines for a boy who is oblivious to her feelings.
The song's pre-chorus features lyrics such as "I'm in heaven, I get carried away/ I dream of him and me/ And how it's gonna be," while the chorus includes the line "And I pray that someday he'll love me/ And together we will see/ How lovely Heaven will be." Darlene Love and her group, the Blossoms, sang backup vocals on the track, alongside legendary musicians Hal Blaine, Carol Kaye, and Glen Campbell.
"Johnny Angel" was not Shelley Fabares' idea to pursue a recording career; it was forced upon her by The Donna Reed Show's producer, Tony Owen. Owen, who produced the show, decided to follow the lead of other successful family series in having younger stars perform their own pop hits. When Fabares initially declined the opportunity, she later changed her mind after being encouraged by her co-star Paul Petersen, who also enjoyed the experience.
Written by urgent.news from Billboard's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
