Released June 1952 (U.S.) Genre Country Label Decca 28232 | Format 7", 78 rpm Length 2:38 | |
Recorded May 3, 1952
Castle Studios,
Nashville, Tennessee | ||
"It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" is a 1952 country song written by J. D. "Jay" Miller, and originally recorded by Kitty Wells. It was an answer song to the Hank Thompson hit "The Wild Side of Life."
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The song — which blamed unfaithful men for creating unfaithful women — became the first No. 1 Billboard country hit for a solo female artist. In addition to helping establish Wells as country music's first major female star, "It Wasn't God..." paved the way for other female artists, particularly Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and Tammy Wynette, and songs where women defied the typical stereotype of being submissive to men and putting up with their often unfaithful ways.
Song history
In the late 1940s, Wells had recorded on RCA Victor, but had little success there. By 1952, she was recording on Decca Records, and recorded "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" at her first recording session.
In "The Wild Side of Life," Thompson expresses regret his bride-to-be has left him for another man whom she met in a roadhouse, stating, "I didn't know that God made honky tonk angels." That song and its appeal to people who "thought the world was going to hell and that faithless women deserved a good deal of the blame...just begged for an answer from a woman".
The rebuttal song, as it turned out, was written by Jay Miller, although it was Wells who made it a hit. In "It Wasn't God..." – which follows the same melody, but more uptempo – she cites the original song and counters that, for every woman who had been led astray, it was a man who led her there (often through his own infidelity). She also expresses frustration about how women are always made scapegoats for the man's faults in a given relationship.
Refrain: It wasn't God who made honky tonk angels As you said in the words of your song. Too many times married men think they're still single And that's caused many a good girl to go wrong.Reception
Wells' statement was a rather daring one to make in 1952, particularly in the conservative, male-dominated realm of country music; women's liberation and their sentiments in song were still more than 10 years away. There was plenty of resistance to the song and its statement: the NBC radio network banned the song for being "suggestive," while Wells was prohibited from performing it on the Grand Ole Opry and NBC's "Prince Albert" radio program.
Yet, Wells struck a chord with her fans, as "It Wasn't God..." went to number one for six weeks on Billboard magazine's country charts. In topping the charts, Wells became the first woman to ever accomplish the feat, at least as a solo act; if all female singers are considered, then Margaret Whiting gets the honor (in a 1949 duet No. 1 with Jimmy Wakely called "Slippin' Around").
Wells was at first reluctant to record the song, but eventually agreed, if only to get the standard $125 session fee payment. Eventually, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels" outsold Thompson's "The Wild Side of Life," and launched the then little-known Wells to stardom. Years later, Wells told an interviewer she was shocked over the song's success and endurance. "Women never had hit records in those days. Very few of them even recorded. I couldn't believe it happened," she said.
Historian Charles Wolfe noted "It Wasn't God..." was one of the few notable exceptions to the rule of an answer song not enjoying the same success as the original.
A familiar melody
"The Wild Side of Life" and "It Wasn't God ..." are set to an apparently traditional tune used in the song "Thrills That I Can't Forget" recorded by Welby Toomey and Edgar Boaz in 1925, and more familiarly in the Carter Family's "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes" recorded in February, 1929, as well as the Rev. Guy Smith's "Great Speckled Bird"—popularized in 1936 by Roy Acuff. In view of the common associations and Wells' 1959 "Great Speckled Bird" recording, the correspondence was hardly accidental.
In addition to Wells' vocals, husband Johnnie Wright played bass guitar and Jack Anglin played rhythm guitar. Paul Warren played fiddle and Shot Jackson played steel guitar, traits prevalent on many of Wells' biggest hits.
Cover versions
Several cover versions of the song have been recorded, including the following: