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 was laying down the lead vocals. I couldn't even look at him. 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. One of the co-writer/producers was standing next to me. After Tony had sung 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 do was just stand there and hold my daughter's hands, looking into her eyes. She had never heard the song before, and, the moment had arrived. During the dance a panicked thought raced through my head, I hope she likes the song and I pray that she really understands how much I love her. As the song ended I backed away from her and just held her hands, again looking into her eyes. She was crying! I said to her; "Its ok, you don't have to do that. I love you Baby."

Well, I thought that I'd had my moment! I walked my baby over to her new husband, Jason, and gave him a big hug. As I turned around, to my amazement, most of the guests were crying, too. Even the waiters! I had never in my wildest dreams expected that to happen. I knew it was a beautiful and touching song, but I thought the tears in my eyes (and others involved in writing the song) were because we were so close to it. Immediately after, people started coming up to me and saying, "That was the most beautiful song I've ever heard. Can I get a copy of it?"

I was astonished, but it didn't stop there. Shortly after, I began receiving telephone calls from wedding guests or friends of wedding guests that had heard about "When Angels Fly", requesting a copy to play at their daughter's wedding or someone elses.

It has been over two years since my daughter's wedding and the calls have not stopped. After thinking about it a great deal and talking it over with my wife and daughter, we decided to make the song available to everyone. If it can bless our lives as much as it has, maybe it will be a blessing to others, too?

Thanks for listening to this blithering old fool profess that special, unexplainable, undying love for his daughter. I do truly believe both my heart, and the writer's hand was guided by The Heavenly Father. "When Angels Fly" is the perfect father-daughter dance song. Every note, straight from The Father's Heart; your angel will understand.

Sincerely,
Alisha's Dad

P.S. The beautiful young bride on the CD is Alisha, my baby.