Search - Tony Ransom & The Heavenly Light Orchestra :: When Angels Fly

History of "When Angels Fly" (The Song) Love is born in Heavenly places and put on earth to fill empty spaces Then given to the Spirit of someone, just like you The father smiles, a tear falls from his eye and with that tear an Angel flies... With that thought, the song "When Angels Fly" began to emerge. Without my knowing, this song had actually been writing itself for the last 26 some-odd years. This is how it all began: Approximately 3 years ago, my daughter met and fell in love with a wonderful young man. He was her perfect match, and the kind of son-in-law who makes a father proud. I wanted to do something special, giving my daughter the ?storybook wedding?, i.e. the Four Seasons Hotel, a tropical daytime setting outside, the tent, the works. I began to realize, this was the easy part. A father?s love for his daughter is different from any other kind. Only a father having a daughter can possibly understand this. And, like all fathers, I wanted everything to be perfect for the wedding. The perfect toast would be as required as the tuxedo I?d choose. The meaningful lyrics of a father-daughter dance song would have to demonstrate the feelings that were so hard for most fathers to express. My little girl was kind enough to set the wedding date a year ahead, allowing me plenty of time to find an appropriate song affirming my (overflowing) feelings. When I began, I was amazed. No one song expressed the feelings I longed, no, ached for her to know. Indeed, there are some nice, time-worn songs (by major artists) that might typically be used for the father daughter dance. But, there were none containing lyrics expressing how I felt, or said it in the way I wanted her to hear it. There was only one thing left to do. Write it myself! Fortunately, I have some very special long-time friends in the music business, so I made a call. Iona, Clarence, and David were very excited about the wedding and pleased to help out. As they immediately learned, there was only one criterion. ?I want to see tears in my daughter?s eyes when the song is over.? The song became a labor of love between us for next eleven months. I took several trips back east for the recording sessions and we were on the phone almost daily. From the very beginning the song seemed to take on a life of its own. I can assure you that the words and music did truly come from heaven; we were just the messengers. At the final recording session, Tony Ransom was laying down the lead vocals. I couldn?t look at Tony. The moment his beautiful voice began the opening riff that ends with ?my baby?, I began to cry. I was in the control booth facing the back wall, tears streaming down my face. The words and music were everything I had prayed for, and much more. Iona, one of the co-writer/producers was standing next to me. After Tony sang about four lines, I glanced at her, tears splattering her silk blouse. We just nodded to each other in a knowing glance, both having experienced something we would never forget. It would not be the last time we would cry. Over the next few weeks leading up to the wedding, I probably listened to the song a hundred times. Each time I cried at a different spot in the song. The count down for the wedding day had begun. I could not wait to give the toast that I had also worked on for a year and dance the father-daughter dance with my baby. Finally, the big day arrived and all was ready. Iona and Clarence had flown in from Chicago, Iona, to give a very special introduction to our song. This is how it went: "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a very special song. It has been in the works and has been writing itself for the last 27 years, 3 months, & 16 days. And, it's ready to be presented today. A few of us were fortunate enough, including Alisha's father, myself, and my husband Clarence, to listen to words from The Heavenly Father and pass them on." This is what we heard: As the song began, all I could