Those of a certain age – and who were fortunate to have a cool radio station or two within reach while growing up – will remember Angel’s 1978 Christmastime hit, “Winter Is Here.” However, rock fans on the shy side of 50 probably don’t know the song, which I consider to be one of the coolest holiday numbers of the last 50 years.
I was indeed lucky, as a young person, to have some great radio stations around Seattle – and one or two of those echoed counterparts around the country, playing “Winter Is Here” – at least during the holidays – for years after its debut on Angel’s fourth album, White Hot.
Then, what was arguably Angel’s signature song seemed to disappear from the airwaves – and thus, from the public consciousness. I probably went 25 years without ever hearing it, during any season.
“Winter Is Here” certainly deserves to be remembered – or discovered. A song – and a band – that should’ve never fallen off the radar. Damn, you’d think their all-white costumes alone would’ve made them rock immortals.
Angel, for the novices, was a Casablanca-signed hard-rock group whose original members all went on to other successes with other bands or as solo artists – most notably, keyboardist Gregg Giuffria. Since their 70s run, Angel has enjoyed a decent cult following, – and have reunited several times with various lineups. A version of Angel is still performing; they released a new album, Once Upon A Time, in 2023.
