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Flashback To Martina McBride’s First No. 1 Hit “Wild Angels” That Sealed Her Star Status

by
Arden Lambert
Arden Lambert
  • Arden is a Senior Country Music Journalist for Country Thang Daily, specializing in classic hits and contemporary chart-toppers.
  • Prior to joining Country Thang Daily, Arden wrote for Billboard and People magazine, covering country music legends and emerging artists.
  • Arden holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Tennessee, with a minor in Music Studies.
In 1996, Martina McBride hit a new career milestone. It was on that year that the country singer scored her first No. 1 hit with “Wild Angels.”  The song was released in 1995 as the second single and title track off McBride’s album of the same name. It also peaked at No. 5 on Canada Country Tracks charts.

Don’t You Think Wild Angels Are Watching Over Us?

Written by Gary Harrison, Matraca Berg, and Harry Stinson, “Wild Angels,” tells the tale of a woman who reflects on her relationship and realizes that there must be wild angels watching over her and her man – keeping their love alive. “Wild Angels, Wild Angels. Watching over you and me. Wild Angels, Wild Angels. Baby, what else could it be,” the song goes. Berg recalled to The Boot the story of how the three of them crafted the hit song. “I started it with Harry. I don’t know what we were smoking that day, but it was a very lofty, kind of poetic lyric. I heard it [recently] and thought, ‘What was I thinking?'” he said. “We demoed it, and every time Pat [Higdon, my publisher] would play it for somebody, they would say, ‘What does this mean?’ – I knew that the lyric was off, but they loved the music, they loved the title.” So Berg and Stinson brought in Harrison to rewrite the song. “And after we got that figured out, Martina snatched it up,” Berg said.  McBride, on the other hand, found epiphany with “Wild Angels.” Interestingly, the singer gave birth to her daughter Delaney in 1994, and the little girl’s laugh can be heard in the song’s intro.

The Song Comes With A Daring Video

The success of “Wild Angels” may also have been possible, thanks to its daring video. Directed by Thom Oliphant, the short clip was shot on top of the Clock Tower Building in New York City. Down below were angels touching the lives of people. The shoot was actually a precarious one. “Up there, it’s pretty dangerous. There’s nothing to keep you from stepping off the side of the building,” Oliphant said. “For every shot of somebody, from Martina sitting on the side to the extras, there’s three guys with safety harnesses crouched behind the ledge, making sure that those people are attached to a bungee cord.” The concept – as well as its black-and-white visuals – were inspired by the film Wings of Desire in 1987, which was about an angel who fell in love with a human woman. Make sure to watch it below.

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