Wings Of A Dove: A Song History
Bob Ferguson, who came from Willow Springs, Missouri, wrote "Wings of a Dove" in 1958.[1] According to a KRCU Public Radio history segment, Ferguson was then managing a fellow Missourian, the country singer Ferlin Husky, and passed the freshly finished song along to him.[2] Husky's recording followed in 1960.[1]
Frederic Leighton, David: “Oh, that I had wings like a Dove! For then would I fly away, and be at rest.” Psalm 55:6, oil on fabric, 1865. Shown for its subject; it has no connection to the song.
The Country Music Hall of Fame describes the record as a big crossover success in 1960 and 1961, reaching No. 1 on the country chart and No. 12 on the pop chart.[3] It stayed at the top of the country chart for ten weeks, not all of them in a row.[1][4] MusicRow's 2011 report of Husky's death named it as his signature hit.[4] Ferguson became a senior producer at RCA Victor, where his productions included Dolly Parton's "Jolene," and he also wrote "The Carroll County Accident," the Country Music Association's Song of the Year for 1969.[1]
The song was used in the 1983 film Tender Mercies.[1][2] Dana Gruber includes it in Grace, her Fingers Of Steel book of hymns and reflective songs for mountain dulcimer, set in tablature with guitar chords.[5]
Sources
- American Songwriter: "25 Years Ago Today Country Music Said Goodbye to the Nashville Sound Innovator Behind Hits by Porter Wagoner and Ferlin Husky".
- KRCU Public Radio: "Almost Yesterday: On the Wings of a Dove".
- Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum: "Ferlin Husky".
- MusicRow: "Ferlin Husky Passes".
- Fingers Of Steel: "Dana Gruber, Grace".
- Image: Frederic Leighton, David: “Oh, that I had wings like a Dove! For then would I fly away, and be at rest.” Psalm 55:6, oil on fabric, 1865. The Cleveland Museum of Art.