This was Pride’s eighth #1 Country hit. It also peaked at #7 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
About This Song
In his first Hot 100 entry, country singer Charley Pride offers advice for a happy marriage:
You’ve got to kiss an angel good morning
and let her know you think about her when you’re gone
Kiss an angel good morning
and love her like the devil when you get back home
But the song was inspired by fatherly love rather than marital bliss. Ben Peters, who wrote dozens of tunes for Pride, many of them chart-topping country hits, had just welcomed a baby girl named Angela. When his wife reminded him to kiss the baby before he left for work, the idea for a song was born.
This won the Grammy for Best Country Song at the 1973 ceremony. Pride also took home the award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male for his Heart Songs album, but not specifically for “Kiss An Angel.” His performance on that tune was nominated at the 1972 ceremony, but lost to Jerry Reed for “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot.”
Pride performed this at the 2017 Grammy Awards after being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Video
Lyric
When ever I chance to meet, old friends on the streetThey wonder how does a man get to be this wayAlways got a smiling face, anytime and any placeAnd every time they ask me why I just smile and say‘Cause you’ve got to kiss an angel good morningAnd let her know you think about her when you’re goneKiss an angel good morningAnd love her like the devil when you get back homeThough people may try to guess, the secret of our happinessBut some of them never learn it’s a simple thingThe secret I’ma speaking of, is a woman and a man in loveAnd the answer is in this song that I always sing‘Cause you’ve got to kiss an angel good morningAnd let her know you think about her when you’re goneKiss an angel good morningAnd love her like the devil when you get back homeKiss an angel good morningAnd let her know you think about her when you’re goneKiss an angel good morningAnd love her like the devil when you get back home