Teen Angel

“Teen Angel” is a teenage tragedy song written by Jean Dinning and her husband, Red Surrey. It was performed by Jean’s brother, Mark Dinning, and released in October 1959. The record was not an instant success, with some radio stations in the U.S. banning the song, considering it too sad. Nevertheless, despite the reluctance of radio stations, the song continued to climb the charts. In the last week of 1959, the single jumped from #100 to #50 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It went on to reach #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (February 1960) and #37 in the UK Singles Chart (even though it was banned from being played by the BBC). Billboard ranked it as the #5 song of 1960. The song is about a girl and her boyfriend (the song’s narrator) who go out for a ride together. He pulls her to safety when their car is stalled on a railroad track in the path of an oncoming train. But then she runs back to the car, and is killed in the collision. When her body is recovered, the narrator’s high school class ring is in her hand, which was apparently the reason she ran back. The last verse ends with the lyrics: “I’ll never kiss your lips again/They buried you today.” The final line in the coda asks the Teen Angel to: “Answer me, please.” “Teen Angel” and its two predecessors at the Hot 100’s top spot, “El Paso” by Marty Robbins and “Running Bear” by Johnny Preston, continued a string of pop tunes in which someone dies tragically.