More Than a Cover: Unveiling Loretta Lynn’s Unique “Ten Thousand Angels”

In 1968, Loretta Lynn released one of the most soulful renditions of the hit gospel song “Ten Thousand Angels” as part of her album, Who Says God Is Dead! 

The song was originally released by Ray Overholt in 1958. Growing up loving music, Overholf started his career quite early. At the age of 10, he had already written his first song, “The Lonesome Cowboy.” As he started to write different songs, it was only later in his career that he realized his true calling—to become a messenger of God and write songs to spread the word of Christ to everyone. Because of this, the now-famous gospel song “Ten Thousand Angels” was born. 

The song simply reminds us of how vast God’s love is and that no matter what problems or challenges people face in life, as long as the Lord is on their side, everything will be okay. 

Over the coming years, countless artists have released their versions of the song, with Loretta Lynn’s version being one of the most popular ones. 

Loretta Lynn’s Soulful Rendition

Loretta Lynn is considered one of today’s country legends. Her name was so big during the 1950s that people anticipated her rendition of the song. 

Compared to the original, her version has the intro verse, “He could have called ten thousand angels.” It also didn’t have the 3^rd and 4^th verses like the original. 

Also, she ended the song by repeating the chorus, which talks about the undeniably selfless act Jesus Christ made when he died on the cross, emphasizing his sacrifices for everyone even though he had the option just to call the angels and destroy the world. 

This made the song personal and more heartfelt. Her melodic take on the song also gave her an edge, making her rendition one of her best releases throughout her career. 

If you don’t want to miss out, you can watch Loretta Lynn’s soulful rendition of “Ten Thousand Angels” below.