Rosalie "Rosie" Méndez Hamlin was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon, to a Mexican mother and an Anglo-American father. She spent part of her childhood between Anchorage, Alaska and California, before her family moved to National City, California. She started singing with a band at thirteen. She wrote the lyrics for "Angel Baby" as a poem for "my very first boyfriend" when she was 14 years old, still attending Mission Bay High School in San Diego, California. When she was 15, she and some friends rented the only recording studio they could find within 100 miles of San Diego located in San Marcos, California, to record the song. The studio was owned by an airplane mechanic who had taken part of his hangar to make it. The resulting record had a very simplistic sound, and, in fact, was eventually slightly damaged from excessive playing, so the group was unable to find a record label to distribute it. Finally, after taking the master to a department store, they convinced a manager to play it in the listening booth of the store's music department. The song received positive reactions from teenage listeners, and a scout from Highland Records offered the group a recording contract, under the condition that the company take possession of the master recording, and that David Ponce be named as the author of the song, as he was the eldest member of the group.
"Angel Baby" made its radio debut in November 1960, before the group had even received their contract. When the contract finally came, Hamlin found that she was ineligible to collect record royalties from the song because she was not listed as the songwriter. This led to the group's break-up, and although Hamlin secured the copyright to her music in 1961, decades of battles over royalties followed.
In 1961, "Angel Baby" was also released in Canada on the Zirkon label and in Australia and England on London Records. The British release slightly edited the intro.
After leaving Highland Records, Hamlin recorded a full-length album with guitarist Noah Tafolla for Brunswick Records and toured with the label's other artists.
Hamlin and Tafolla married and had two children together. Their son, Joey Tafolla, is well known Jag Panzer guitarist. In 1963, Hamlin retired from singing to spend time with her family.
She returned to record singles in 1969 and again in 1973, performing occasionally throughout the 1970s and 1980s and more regularly throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
In a 1969 interview with Life magazine, John Lennon named Hamlin as one of his favorite singers. As can be heard on circulating recordings, the Beatles mention the song "Give Me Love" during sessions on 01/24/69. Lennon and friends can be heard in a quickly busked version of "Angel Baby," taped at his birthday in 1971. Lennon recorded a studio version of "Angel Baby" for his 1975 Rock 'n' Roll album, but the track would go unissued until 1986's Menlove Avenue. Rosie and the Originals are referenced by Led Zeppelin in the liner notes from their 1973 album Houses of the Holy, following the printed lyrics of the song "D'yer Mak'er" (pronounced, "Jamaica"). The quote is "Whatever happened to Rosie and the Originals?" "Rosie" also shows up in the Led Zeppelin song "How Many More Times".
In 1995, Rosie & the Originals were portrayed in the film My Family, performing "Angel Baby." Hamlin's part was played by Jeanette Jurado, of the group Expose. In 1996, Linda Ronstadt recorded a version of "Angel Baby" for her album Dedicated to the One I Love.
In 1999, Ace Records released The Best of Rosie & the Originals, including all the Highland tracks as well as Brunswick recordings and unreleased tracks. The following year, the label released the album Angel Baby Revisited, with previously unreleased material.
In 2002, Hamlin performed "Angel Baby" on a PBS-TV program, Red White & Rock.
Rosalie Hamlin passed away on March 30, 2017.
Discography
Singles
"Angel Baby"/"Give Me Love" (Highland, 1960)
"Why Did You Leave Me"/"Angel from Above"(Highland, 1961)
"Lonely Blue Nights"/"We’ll Have a Chance" (Brunswick, 1961)
"Lonely Blue Nights"/"We’ll Have a Chance" (Highland, 1961) [9]
"My Darling Forever"/"The Time is Near" (Brunswick, 1961)
"Kinda Makes You Wonder"/"My One and Only Love" (Globe, 1962)
"You're No Good"/"You Don’t Understand" (Wax World, 1973)
Albums
Lonely Blue Nights (Brunswick, 1962)
The Best of Rosie & the Originals (Ace, 1999)
Angel Baby Revisited (Ace, 2000)
Angel From Above
Rosie & The Originals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wanted to find true love.
I looked up to the sky,
And wished to the stars above.
I want to hold him tight,
Each and every night...
'Cause he's my angel,
Angel from above.
Who came down from the skies.
Symbol of true love,
Who heard my pleading cries.
I'll love him every night,
And hold him tight.
'Cause he's my angel,
Angel from above.
And now I have my angel,
I know he will be true.
I know he'll never leave me,
The way all others do.
Because I love him so,
Never, ever let him go.
Angel, my angel from above
Ooh ooh ooh... (until fades out)
The song "Angel From Above" by Rosie & The Originals is a classic love ballad that tells the story of a lonely person who wished for true love and found it in the form of an angel. The singer of the song was feeling lonely and wanted to find someone to love who would be there to hold and comfort them each night. They looked to the sky and wished to the stars for their perfect match. Then, their wish was granted when an angel came down from the skies to give them the love and companionship they had been yearning for. The singer is grateful for their newfound relationship and sings of their determination to never let go of their angel.
This song highlights the incredible power of love and how it can bring people together even in the most unlikely of circumstances. The idea of an angel from above represents the idea of a perfect soulmate, someone who is sent to us from a higher power to be our perfect match. The lyrics are simple but very heartfelt, expressing the depth of the singer's emotions and their hope for a bright future with their angelic partner.
Overall, "Angel From Above" is a moving and romantic song that speaks to the basic human desire for love and companionship. It reminds us that no matter how lonely we feel, there is always hope for finding true love with someone who is just right for us.
Line by Line Meaning
Last night I was lonely,
Rosie was feeling lonely the previous night
I wanted to find true love.
Rosie desired to find real and genuine love
I looked up to the sky,
Rosie gazed at the sky
And wished to the stars above.
She made a wish to the stars that were visible in the sky
I want to hold him tight,
It is her desire to hold her lover very closely
Each and every night...
She wants to enjoy his company for every night
'Cause he's my angel,
She refers to her lover as her angel
Angel from above.
She believes her lover is an angel that came down from heaven
My angel from above,
She reiterates that he is her angel, descended from heaven
Who came down from the skies.
She emphasizes that her lover came down from the skies
Symbol of true love,
She considers her lover a representation of genuine love
Who heard my pleading cries.
Her lover was attentive to her pleadings
I'll love him every night,
She assures her lover of her love and commitment
And hold him tight.
She promises to hold him tightly
'Cause he's my angel,
Again, she refers to him as her angel
Angel from above.
Emphasizing her belief that he is an angel descended from heaven
And now I have my angel,
She is happy that she has found her angel
I know he will be true.
She trusts that he will be faithful and loyal to her
I know he'll never leave me,
She has confidence that he will never abandon her
The way all others do.
She believes that other people leave their loved ones, but her lover won't
Because I love him so,
She establishes that the reason why she believes he won't leave is that she loves him very much
Never, ever let him go.
She promises to never let go of him, to keep holding him tightly
Angel, my angel from above
Again, she reiterates that he is her guardian angel sent from heaven
Ooh ooh ooh...
She expresses her love for her angel
Contributed by Gabriel E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@brentamador171
I’m still finding “new” songs by this amazing woman. Her voice is so haunting in a beautiful way
@rubenazevedo7894
A
@richardskola6982
There is so much more music Rosie left for us to enjoy for years to come. Let us never forget her either.
@frdjr2527
I agree! Rosie should've had many more hits.
@madywolf253
OLD SCHOOL FOREVER!!
@michaelcraig9449
I pray so hard that I can find a girl like her!!! Her songs and voice is soooo romantic!! and the guitar with the echo sound!!
@raulmacias1311
Michael Craig The Guitarist was Rosie's boyfriend Noah Fatolla. This is her original band. When Rosie signed with the Brunswick label, the band had broken up for contractual reasons. Brunswick recorded Rosie with polished studio musicians and her sound was never the same! ROSIE AND THE ORIGINALS WERE ~ ROSALIE "ROSIE" MENDEZ HAMLIN ~ LEAD VOCAL, NOAH FATOLLA ~ LEAD GUITAR, DAVID PONCI ~ RHYTHM GUITAR, TONY GOMEZ ~ BASS, CARL VON GOODART ~ DRUMS & ALFRED BARRETT ~ TENOR SAXOPHONÉ.
@frdjr2527
@@raulmacias1311 I've listened to the Brunswick recording of this song and it doesn't compare to this one. It sounds so much better and is far more emotional in the unpolished Highland recording.
@raulmacias1311
frdjr252 Absolutely! Sadly, Rosie's band only recorded a handful of songs before disbanding. Their first single, "Angel Baby", featured a "B" side by an Afro-American R 'n' B artist. Had "Angel From Above" been released shortly after "Angel Baby" in Mid 1961, it would have been a hit. As it turned out, Brunswick only signed Rosie Hamlin and polished up her sound with studio musicians and their releases failed to chart. Highland belatedly released "Angel From Above" in 1962 and unbelievably failed to chart. By that time, Rosie And The Originals had broken up.
You know, one of my greatest regrets was not taking advantage of meeting Rosie Hamlin Mendez at the Orange County Records collectors show back in the early 1990's. The show's organizers announced that Rosie was there and if we wanted to come over to meet her. I could see her from a distance but I was so emersed in looking for Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd collectables that the time just flew by. I then found out she had left! I deeply regret that!
@lionheartroar3104
She's kind of creepy sounding