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Back in 2002, Steve Holy Sang “Good Morning Beautiful” for the 40 Newlyweds’ First Dance

by
  • Arden is a Senior Country Music Journalist for Country Thang Daily, specializing in classic hits and contemporary chart-toppers.
  • Prior to joining Country Thang Daily, Arden wrote for Billboard and People magazine, covering country music legends and emerging artists.
  • Arden holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Tennessee, with a minor in Music Studies.

It’s a Good Morning Beautiful Indeed!

Songs do offer different effects on people. This is true with the number one hit, “Good Morning Beautiful” that was recorded by Steve Holy. During a mass wedding celebration in Virginia back on February 14, 2002, Steve Holy was asked to serenade the forty couples by singing his hit,  Good Morning Beautiful for their first dance.

Song Digest

“Good Morning Beautiful” was a song that was written by Zack Lyle and Todd Cemey. The song was released in July 2001 and slowly became a hit, peaking at number 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks on February 2, 2002. “Good Morning Beautiful” was released as the fourth single of the album Blue Moon. The song stayed at a total of 5 weeks on the top of the charts and a total of 41 weeks on the chart. The movie “Angel Eyes” features the song, “Good Morning Beautiful,” as a cut from the movie’s soundtrack.

As for the song’s conception, Zach Lyle said that he saw the phrase “Good Morning Beautiful”  written on the wall which inspired him to create a song. This was also the time when as a rising songwriter, Zach needed to come up with a song he can present to a veteran songwriter, Todd Cemey.

As Lyle and Cemey were about to meet and sit down for a new song, Zach immediately presented the phrase “Good Morning Beautiful.”  To his surprise, Todd Cemey, who was a songwriter for more than 20 years, immediately approved the song’s title. Furthermore, Todd was so excited about Zach’s composition for he has never heard a song that contained such lines. As they were starting to do the record of the song, Todd and Zach had one thing in my mind. That was to make the songs as simple as it could be.

When they finished writing “Good Morning Beautiful,” a new challenge came up. Major stars were rejecting the song, probably because of the simplicity that it had with its lyrics and tunes. Steve Holy, who was yet an unknown figure in the country music scene recorded a cut of the song in  1998. It wasn’t released until the end of the year. It felt like an eternity for Zach Lyle, but he knew that the song was something special, so did the fun when the chart success of the song speaks for itself.

Song Interpretation

Good Morning Beautiful was a personification of the famous line, “Behind every man’s success is a woman.” The song revolved around a man verbalizing how happy his life had become after meeting someone who would always be there for him. The second verse of the song depicted how sad the narrator’s life was before meeting the love of his life.

The narrator had a 180-degree turn after meeting the beautiful woman he had. The word “beautiful” both described the way he felt and the way he admired the physical attributes of the person.

Steve Holy

Steve Holy is an American Country Singer who signed with Curb Records in 1999. He released three studio albums namely: “Blue Moon (2000),” “Brand New Girlfriend (2006),” and “Love Don’t Run (2011).” Fifteen of his singles belonged to the top of the Billboard Hot Country  Songs which included “Good Morning Beautiful” and “Brand New Girlfriend.”

Holy was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. He was the youngest of eight children. He started his musical career journey as a 19-year-old when he auditioned in the Mesquite Opry and later earned a spot on Johnny High’s Country Music Revue. Later on, this earned him the revue’s Entertainer of the Year award. Eventully, Wilbur Rimes would encourage Steve Holy to moved to Nashville and make a name for himself.

Blue Moon

This was Steve Holy’s debut album which featured several top charted songs. Holy’s first single for the label, “Don’t Make Me Beg” peaked at number 29  of the Billboard Country Charts in 2000. It was also during October of the same year that “Blue Moon” was released. It was during late 2001 that Holy’s finally able to  reach number one on the chart  for the song, “Good Morning Beautiful.”  The song’s popularity was boosted when it was selected as part of the soundtrack for the film “Angel Eyes.”

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