Angie (song)

For the Davey Graham song, see Anji (instrumental).

"Angie" is a song by the English rock band The Rolling Stones, featured on their 1973 album Goats Head Soup. It also served as the lead single on the album, released on 20 August 1973.

"Angie"
Single by The Rolling Stones
from the album Goats Head Soup
B-side	"Silver Train"
Released	20 August 1973 (1973-08-20)
Recorded	November–December 1972, Dynamic Sounds Studio Kingston, Jamaica
Genre	Soft rock[1] glam rock[2]
Length	4:33
Label	Rolling Stones
Songwriter(s)	Jagger–Richards
Producer(s)	Jimmy Miller
The Rolling Stones singles chronology
"Happy" (1972) "Angie" (1973) "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" (1973)
Alternative cover
German picture sleeve
Goats Head Soup track listing
10 tracks Side one "Dancing with Mr. D" "100 Years Ago" "Coming Down Again" "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" "Angie" Side two "Silver Train" "Hide Your Love" "Winter" "Can You Hear the Music?" "Star Star"

Background

The song is credited, as most Rolling Stones songs are, to both Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. "Angie" was recorded in November and December 1972 and is an acoustic guitar-driven ballad characterizing the end of a romance. The song's distinctive piano accompaniment, written by Richards, was played on the album by Nicky Hopkins, a Rolling Stones recording-session regular. The strings on the piece (as well as on another song, "Winter") were arranged by Nicky Harrison.^[3] An unusual feature of the original recording is that singer Mick Jagger's vocal guide track (made before the final vocals were performed) is faintly audible throughout the song (an effect sometimes called a "ghost vocal").^[3] Cash Box said that "Jagger is at his best—slurring words by the dozens to ring out the feeling of every important line."^[4] Record World called it a "tender ballad" on which "Mick Jagger's vocal is moving and sensuous."^[5]

Released as a single in August 1973, "Angie" went straight to the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 5 on the UK singles chart. The song was also a No. 1 hit in both Canada and Australia for five weeks each and topped the charts in many countries throughout Europe and the rest of the world.

Because of the song's length, some radio stations made edits to shorten it to 3 minutes, omitting the longer coda and the second instrumental section of the song.

There was speculation that the song was about David Bowie's first wife Angela,^[5][6][7][8] Keith Richards' newborn daughter Dandelion Angela,^[9][10] the actress Angie Dickinson,^[9] and others. In 1993, in an interview for the liner notes to the Rolling Stones' compilation album Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones, Richards said that the title was inspired by his baby daughter.^[11] However, in his 2010 memoir Life, Richards said that he had chosen the name at random when writing the song—before he knew that his baby would be named Angela or even knew that his baby would be a girl—and that the song "was not about any particular person."^[12] According to NME, Jagger's contributions to the lyrics referred to his breakup with Marianne Faithfull.^[7]

The Rolling Stones have frequently performed the song in concert; it's included in set lists on their 1973, 1975 and 1976 tours; it's available on two of their "Vault" recorded concerts including 1973 Brussels Affair (using electric guitars with Mick Taylor soloing) and Live at the L.A. Forum 1975 (played by Keith Richards and Ron Wood acoustically). It has been a touring staple since their 1982 European Tour.^[13] Concert renditions were released on the albums Stripped, Live Licks and The Rolling Stones: Havana Moon.

"Angie" was covered by the American musical duo Womack & Womack in their 1983 album "Love Wars".^[14] Also, it was covered by Welsh rock band Stereophonics in 1999, as the B-side to the single "Hurry Up and Wait".^[15] The song was also included on the 2010 deluxe re-issue of their 1999 second studio album Performance and Cocktails..^[16] Angie was also covered in Latin America, by the Chilean rock band La Ley, appearing as a single^[17] and on the 1992 album Doble Opuesto^[18]

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon:^[19]

The Rolling Stones

• Mick Jagger – vocals
• Keith Richards – acoustic guitar
• Mick Taylor – acoustic guitar
• Bill Wyman – bass
• Charlie Watts – drums

Additional personnel

• Nicky Hopkins – piano
• Nicky Harrison – string arrangement

Music video

Two music videos were shot to promote the song.^[20]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1973–1974) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report) 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[21] 8 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[22] 1 Canada (RPM) Top Singles 1 Canada (RPM) Adult Contemporary[23] 39 Denmark (Tracklisten) 4 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) 16 France (SNEP) 1 Germany (GfK)[24] 2 Ireland (IRMA)[25] 9 Italy (Hit Parade) 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[26] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[27] 2 Norway (VG-lista)[28] 1 South Africa (Springbok)[29] 2 Spain (AFE)[30] 4 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 1 UK Singles (OCC)[32] 5 US Billboard Hot 100[33] 1 US Billboard Adult Contemporary[34] 38 US Cash Box Top 100[35] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1973) Rank Australia[36] 19 Canada[37] 6 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[38] 2 Switzerland[39] 2 US Billboard[40] 85 US Cash Box[41] 69

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[42]	2× Platinum	140,000‡
France (SNEP)[43]	Gold	700,000[44]
Italy (FIMI)[45] sales since 2009	Gold	25,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[46]	Gold	30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[47]	Silver	250,000^
United States (RIAA)[48]	Gold	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Malvinni, David (25 February 2016). Experiencing the Rolling Stones: A Listener's Companion. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-8108-8920-0.
2. Pepinster, Catherine (16 August 1998). "Gold Dust: Glam rock's top 10 singles". The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
3. Janovitz, Bill. "Angie". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
4. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 8 September 1973. p. 16. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
5. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 8 September 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
6. Schragis, Steven (August 1987). "Love Was a Many-Splendored Thing". Spy. New York City: Thomas L. Phillips, Jr. p. 20. Retrieved 26 January 2016. Jagger, it was rumored, had earlier written 'Angie' (Goats Head Soup, 1973) for David Bowie's wife, Angela.
7. "Revealed - The Stories Behind The Rolling Stones' Classic Songs: 'Angie'". NME. London. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2016. Rumored to be inspired by Angie Bowie, it was actually inspired by Marianne Faithful after her relationship with Jagger collapsed.
8. Brown, Adam Tod (26 June 2008). "6 Famous Songs That Don't Mean What You Think". Cracked.com. Demand Media. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
9. Fornatale, Pete (2013). 50 Licks: Myths and Stories from Half a Century of the Rolling Stones. New York City: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 167–168. ISBN 978-1408833827.
10. McPherson, Ian. "Track Talk: Angie". timeisonourside.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
11. Richards, Keith; Sandall, Robert (1993). Interview, Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones (Liner notes). Hollywood, California: Virgin Records. 72438-64682-2-2. "The basic melody and the title were mine...I'd recently had my daughter born, whose name was Angela, and the name was starting to ring around the house. But I'm into writing about my babies. Angie just fitted. I mean, you couldn't sing 'Maureen'...
12. Richards, Keith; Fox, James (2010). Life. New York City: Back Bay. p. 323. ISBN 978-0316034418. While I was in the [Vevey drug] clinic, Anita was down the road having our daughter, Angela. Once I came out of the usual trauma, I had a guitar with me and I wrote Angie in an afternoon, sitting in bed, because I could finally move my fingers and put them in the right place again...I just went, 'Angie, Angie'. It was not about any particular person; it was a name, like 'ohhh, Diana'. I didn't know Angela was going to be called Angela when I wrote 'Angie'. In those days you didn't know what sex the thing was going to be until it popped out.
13. Zentgraf, Nico. "The Complete Works of the Rolling Stones 1962–2008". Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
14. Womack & Womack – Love Wars (accessed on 4 April 2024)
15. "Stereophonics - Hurry up and Wait".
16. "Stereophonics - Performance and Cocktails Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic.
17. "La Ley - Angie".
18. "La Ley - Doble Opuesto".
19. Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2016). The Rolling Stones All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. pp. 407–408. ISBN 978-0-316-31774-0.
20. The Rolling Stones - Angie - official promo on YouTube, director Michael Lindsay-Hogg
21. "The Rolling Stones – Angie" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
22. "The Rolling Stones – Angie" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
23. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 24 November 1973. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
24. "The Rolling Stones – Angie" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
25. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Angie". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
26. "The Rolling Stones – Angie" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
27. "The Rolling Stones – Angie". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
28. "The Rolling Stones – Angie". VG-lista. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
29. Currin, Brian. "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Songs (A-B)". www.rock.co.za.
30. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
31. "The Rolling Stones – Angie". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
32. "The Rolling Stones: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
33. "The Rolling Stones Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
34. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 204.
35. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending October 27, 1973". Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.. Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
36. "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
37. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
38. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1971" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
39. Swiss Year-End Charts, 1973
40. "Top Pop Singles" Billboard 29 December 1973: TA-28
41. "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1973". Tropicalglen.com. 29 December 1973. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
42. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
43. "French single certifications – The Rolling Stones – Angie" (in French). InfoDisc. Select THE ROLLING STONES and click OK. 
44. "WEA Filipacchi: A Sleeper That Came Alive & Well". Billboard. 25 May 1974. p. 58. Retrieved 25 December 2021 – via Google Books.
45. "Italian single certifications – The Rolling Stones – Angie" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 8 October 2018. Select "2018" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Angie" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
46. "Spanish single certifications – The Rolling Stones – Angie". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
47. "British single certifications – The Rolling Stones – Angie". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
48. "American single certifications – The Rolling Stones – Angie". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 12 January 2015.