"Angie Baby" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Alan O'Day which became a hit for Australian singer Helen Reddy. The song reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart December 28, 1974, and became one of Reddy's biggest-selling singles. The song also topped the U.S. adult contemporary chart, Reddy's fifth #1 on this chart.[3]
| "Angie Baby" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Side A of the Australian single | ||||
| Single by Helen Reddy | ||||
| from the album Free and Easy | ||||
| B-side | "I Think I'll Write a Song" | |||
| Released | October 7, 1974 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:29 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Alan O'Day | |||
| Producer(s) | Joe Wissert | |||
| Helen Reddy singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song's cryptic lyrics have inspired a number of listener theories as to what the song is really about. Reddy never said what her interpretation of the storyline was, partly because she said she enjoyed hearing listeners' interpretations. Reddy also said that "Angie Baby" was the one song she never had to push radio stations into playing.
Lyrics story
editThe song tells the story of Angie, a young girl who "lives [her] life in the songs" she hears on "rock and roll radio," her mental disturbances leading to her being removed from school and having no friends. She then spends most of her time listening to the radio, imagining lovers entering her room and then disappearing when her father knocks on the door. One day, a neighbor arrives at Angie's house with intent to do her harm, but once he enters Angie's room he is disoriented by the loud music. The song then turns surreal when, as Angie turns the volume of the radio down, the boy begins to shrink and is pulled into the radio. The closing verse describes the disappearance of the boy and the townsfolks' speculation that he was dead, but nobody asks Angie for an explanation; the lyrics imply that the boy has become her "secret lover."[4]
Though not an official video, John D. Wilson of Fine Arts Films made an accompanying animated short film for the song when it appeared on The Sonny & Cher Show in the mid-1970s (Wilson made many other animated shorts for various hit records of the era and his work became a prominent regular feature of the show).[5] The film does not feature Reddy herself but is a literal interpretation of the song's lyrics.
Background
editIn an article he wrote in 2006, Alan O'Day said the song took three months to write. Originally it was loosely based on the character in the Beatles' "Lady Madonna". In order to make the character more interesting, O'Day decided to make her abnormal, and he thought of a young next door neighbor girl he had known who had seemed "socially retarded". O'Day said he also thought of his own childhood. As an only child who was often ill, many of his days were spent in bed with a radio to keep him company. He named the character Angie, possibly inspired by the Rolling Stones' 1973 hit song "Angie".[6]
Originally the character was portrayed as mentally "slow", but while writing the song, O'Day showed it to his therapist, who pointed out that the character's reactions in the song were not those of a mentally disabled person, so O'Day changed the lyric from "slow" to "touched," and the character's image changed from being mentally disabled to being "crazy". This expanded to her living in a dream world of lovers, inspired by the songs on her radio. When a "neighbor boy with evil on his mind" tries to enter her room to take advantage of the girl, he is instead drawn into her reality, with weird and unexpected consequences. The intent was to show that the Angie character had more power than he or the listener expected; she shrank him down into her radio, where he remained as her slave whenever she desired him to come out.[6]
Interpretation of lyrics
editO'Day's lyrics inspired a great deal of speculation about their meaning. The song was compared to Bobbie Gentry’s "Ode to Billie Joe" (which had a mystery about "something" thrown off the Tallahatchie Bridge). Some also thought of it as a "Women's Lib" song along the line of Reddy's other hits, like her other #1's, "I Am Woman" and "Delta Dawn", though O'Day says that that was not his intent, and that he was not consciously making a public statement.[6]
O'Day revealed in 1998 that the "crazy" heroine in the song had "magic power" and "special abilities", and that he had deliberately blurred the lines between fantasy and reality.[7] Reddy joked that the boy had become "a sound wave",[8] an explanation that O'Day later denied.
Recording history
editJeff Wald, who at the time was Reddy's husband and manager, would recall being bowled over upon first hearing the demo of "Angie Baby": "I heard 'Angie...' at 11 am...By noon, Helen had heard it. By three, we were beginning to put an arrangement together. Eight days later it was on the street. Her biggest hit. It had story, melody, everything."[9]
"Angie Baby" became Helen Reddy's first charting single in the British Isles reaching #5 in both the UK and Ireland in February 1975; Reddy would chart again once in both nations with "I Can't Say Goodbye to You" - (#43 UK/ #16 Ireland) - in 1981.[10] "Angie Baby" was also Reddy's final major hit in her native Australia at #13 while affording Reddy her sole charting single in Italy at #36.
Chart history
edit
Weekly chartsedit
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Year-end chartsedit
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Later uses
editThe song was also featured as the sole Helen Reddy track as part of a promotional-only compilation album issued by Capitol Records entitled "The Greatest Music Ever Sold" (Capitol SPRO-8511/8512), which was distributed to record stores during the 1976 Holiday season as part of Capitol's "Greatest Music Ever Sold" campaign, promoting 15 "Best Of" albums that were released by the record label.
Covers and sampling
editIn 1975 a Finnish rendering of the song retaining the English title was recorded by Cascade and also by Päivi Paunu while Zandra - the duo of Örjan Englund and Liza Öhman - recorded a Swedish version which renamed the title character "Carolina". Alan O' Day recorded his composition for his 1977 album Appetizers. "Angie Baby" has also been recorded by Barbara Dickson.
The song was covered by Robin Fox on her 2000 album I See Stars.
The song was sampled in the song "Radio" by Backini. It was covered by The Uncle Devil Show for their record A Terrible Beauty.
| Title | Artist[22] | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angie Baby | Laurie Bower Singers | 1974 | |
| Angie Baby (French version) | Sylvie Vartan | 1974 | L'amour au Diapason |
| Angie Baby (Finnish version) | Cascade | 1975 | |
| Angie Baby | Ray Conniff | 1975 | Laughter in the rain |
| Angie Baby | Anne Lise Gjostel | 1975 | |
| Angie Baby | Tina Charles | 1975 | |
| Angie Baby | Reggie David | 1975 | Live |
| Angie Baby | Peter Dean et son Orchestre | 1975 | Trompette Success Vol 3 |
| Angie Baby | Sylvia Murdock | 1975 | Live at Southwest High School Folk Music Assembly |
| Angie Baby | Tombstones | 1975 | |
| Angie Baby | Top Hits International | 1975 | |
| Angie Baby | Lin Yang & Prinstar Punchers | 1975 | |
| Carolina (Swedish version) | Zandra | 1975 | |
| Angie Baby | Marx | 1976 | |
| Angie baby (Finnish version) | Paivi Paunu | 1976 | Maailmalla Soi 13 |
| Angie Baby | Jennifer Florence | 1977 | The hits of Helen Reddy |
| Angie Baby | Alan O'Day | 1977 | Appetizers |
| Angie baby (live in london) | Helen Reddy | 1978 | Live in London |
| Rare Lina (Norwegian version) | Hanne Krogh | 1978 | Hanne Krogh |
| Angie Baby | B.T. Kimbrough | 1979 | Girl for Every Season |
| Angie Baby | Reg Livermore | 1979 | Sacred cow |
| Angie Baby | Barbara Dickson | 1986 | The right moment/the essential |
| Angie Baby | 6 volts | 1991 | Stretch |
| Angie Baby | Siobhan Pettit | 1999 | Don't try to cushion the blow |
| Angie Baby | Laini Risto | 2000 | where I belong |
| Angie Baby | Mark Aaron James | 2001 | Adventures with a Plastic Bag |
| Angie Baby | Syd Dale Orchestra | 2001 | love isn't just for the young |
| Angie Baby | Robin Fox | 2001 | I see stars |
| Angie Baby | Dick Heckstall-Smith | 2001 | blues and beyond |
| Hip hop Radio | Erick Sermon | 2002 | react |
| Angie Baby | Melissa Langton | 2002 | when the rain falls up |
| Angie Baby | Mary Callanan and Brian Patton | 2003 | How I spent my summer vacation |
| Angie Baby | The Uncle Devil Show | 2004 | A terrible beauty |
| Radio (Angie baby sample) | Backini | 2005 | re:Creation |
| Angie Baby | Paul Mauriat | 2007 | |
| Angie Baby | Morrismovies | 2007 | |
| Angie Baby | Pete Ware | 2007 | |
| Angie Baby | Rain 910 | 2008 | American Dreamin |
| Angie Baby | Comptones | 2008 | |
| Angie Baby | 1970's karaoke band | 2009 | |
| Angie Baby | Backtrack Professional Karaoke | 2009 | In style of helen reddy |
| Angie Baby | John & Linda | 2009 | |
| Angie Baby | perilousRelish | 2009 | |
| Angie Baby | Craig Hood | 2009 | |
| Angie Baby | Ashley | 2010 | |
| Angie Baby | Lynda Baldwin | 2010 | |
| Angie Baby | Sandra Porter Bohlken | 2010 | |
| Angie Baby | Debbie | 2010 | |
| Angie Baby | SexyVampKat2011 | 2011 | |
| Angie Baby | Nicky Kurta | 2011 | |
| Angie Baby | Popettes | 2011 | cheesy guilty pleasures |
| Angie baby (rerecording) | Helen Reddy | 2011 | Very best of Helen Reddy rerecorded |
| Angie Baby | Ron Goodwin | 2012 | |
| Angie Baby | Graham Blvd | 2012 | |
| Angie Baby | Helen Reddy & Alan O'Day | 2012 | |
| Angie Baby | Let the Music Play | 2012 | Essential Pop Divas Hit Collection |
| Angie Baby | Richard Hildebrand | 2012 | |
| Angie Baby | Maria Lawson | 2012 | |
| Angie Baby | TingleTrees | 2012 | |
| Angie Baby | Charmaine | 2013 | the beginning |
| Angie Baby | ProSound Karaoke Band | 2013 | karaoke in the style of Helen Reddy |
| Angie Baby | SBI Audio Karaoke | 2013 | SBI Superstars- Helen Reddy, Melissa Manchester |
| Angie Baby | Paris Music | 2013 | Karaoke Hits 1974 Vol 2 |
| Angie Baby | Kevin Rosentreter | 2013 | |
| Angie Baby | Krissie Lees | 2013 | |
| Angie Baby | Kelley | 2013 | |
| Angie Baby | Seankerry72 | 2013 | |
| Angie Baby | A* Karaoke Jukebox | 2013 | 70s Karaoke Hits Vol 10 |
| Angie Baby | Ameritz karaoke hits | 2013 | karaoke in the style of Helen Reddy |
| Angie Baby | Charmaine | 2013 | The Beginning |
| Angie Baby | Hit crew | 2013 | best pop hits of 70s, vol 2 |
| Angie Baby | Knightsbridge | 2013 | 70s pop songs that you love- 1974 |
| Angie Baby | Miss Michelle | 2013 | All I Need Is You |
| Angie Baby | ProSound Karaoke Band | 2013 | karaoke in the style of Helen Reddy |
| Angie Baby | Paris Music | 2013 | Karaoke Hits 1974 Vol 2 |
| Angie Baby | SBI Audio Karaoke | 2013 | SBI Superstars- Helen Reddy, Melissa Manchester |
| Angie Baby | Wahl Collins | 2013 | |
| Angie Baby | angela | 2014 | is this love |
| Angie Baby | Careysingsjustforyou | 2014 | |
| Angie Baby | Corey Farrell | 2014 | |
| Angie Baby | Memory Lane | 2014 | remember 1974 |
| Angie Baby | w1av | 2014 | |
| Angie Baby | Beyer, Matt | 2014 | Yesterday Once More |
| Angie Baby | Williams, Brad | 2015 | |
| Angie Baby | Dame Gayna Tension | 2015 | |
| Angie Baby | Jukebox Pete | 2015 | |
| Angie Baby | Emma Robson & Federico Bernardini | 2015 | |
| Angie Baby | Anna Gramm | 2015 | Favorite Playbacks, Vol. 125 |
| Angie Baby | Lisa Azzolino | 2015 | |
| Angie Baby | Ellen Lang | 2015 | Popular Backing Tracks, Vol. 125 |
| Angie Baby | Jenni Rudolph | 2015 | |
| Angie Baby | Danny McEvoy | 2015 | |
| Angie Baby | Tracey Roberts Quartet | 2015 | |
| Angie Baby | Inger Lise Rypdal | 2016 | 20 Perler |
| Angie Baby | Karafun Karaoke | 2016 | |
| Angie Baby | Christine Pflueger | 2016 | |
| Angie Baby | Chris from Covington | 2016 | |
| Angie Baby | Richard H. | 2016 | Has Been Man vol 3 |
| Angie Baby | Plum Busby | 2016 | Live at Hideaway, London |
| Angie Baby | Karaoke Maestro | 2017 | Backing Tracks |
| Angie Baby | Nello Pinello | 2017 | |
| Angie Baby | Rosie Brake & Alan Jackson | 2017 | |
| Angie Baby | Harmony TH | 2017 | |
| Angie Baby | Chris Gandy | 2017 | |
| Angie Baby | Centipeed | 2017 | |
| Angie Baby | Half Brit | 2017 | Live at O'Neill's |
| Angie Baby | Terri B. | 2017 | |
| Angie Baby | Sara Collins | 2017 | |
| Angie Baby | Jenny Daniels | 2017 | |
| Angie Baby | Karaoke Diamonds | 2017 | chart songs vol 1 |
| Angie Baby | Loveydoves | 2017 | |
| Angie Baby | Zerabio | 2017 | |
| Angie Baby | AngeLofLourdes | 2018 | |
| Angie Baby | Maya and Robin | 2018 | |
| Angie Baby | Party Tyme Karaoke | 2018 | |
| Angie Baby | Some Other Band | 2018 | |
| Angie Baby | Werner K. | 2018 | |
| Angie Baby | Yopporai Kyabetsu | 2018 | |
| Angie Baby | Snorkel Parka | 2018 | |
| Angie Baby | Shatner's Hairpiece | 2018 | |
| Angie Baby | Lightship Band | 2019 | Live at the Royal George, Pembroke |
| Angie Baby | Videoke King | 2019 | |
| Angie Baby | Billboard Band | 2019 | Back to 70s Vol 5 |
| Angie Baby | Chancellorpink | 2019 | |
| Angie Baby | Countdown Singers | 2019 | Throwback Thursday 70s hits |
| Angie Baby | Ceri Justice | 2019 | justified |
| Angie Baby | Electric Parrot | 2019 | |
| Angie Baby | Haysweed Lannett | 2019 | |
| Angie Baby | Cyrus Vesuvala | 2019 | |
| Angie Baby | Mark Anderson | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Bettina sings | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Shruti Chakravarti | 2020 | |
| Angie baby | Chelsea Cullen | 2020 | I am woman soundtrack |
| Angie Baby | Dave's Guitar Channel | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Paul Gaspot | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Angie Gray | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Idaho Muscle | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Kim n Dennis | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | M454b | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Margaret | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Mel | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Barbie Milliard | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Mrj | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Piano Nuts | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Pickin Mix Diary | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Sharta Rae | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | C.R. Sherman | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Brenna Stage | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Charlee Tea | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Andy Watmore | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | John Wurzer | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Zoom Karaoke | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Ian How | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Nichole Madsen | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Dame the Real | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Cyndi Burger | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | John Burns | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Kimberly Dawn | 2020 | |
| Angie Baby | Kimberlee | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | Mark Feven | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | facemac91 | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | Sudhanshu Laddha | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | Ivor Sorefingers | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | lefthanderfrog | 2021 | Ukelele- Vol. 891 |
| Angie Baby | origin888 | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | Darkraven93 | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | Trisha Gaffey-buck | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | Chris H. | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | Homebirds | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | Sarah Jones | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | La tribe university society | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | Scott Lenz | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | Isobel Martin | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | Stuart Pendrill | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | Lisa Rosey | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | Suze Singer | 2021 | |
| Angie Baby | Rhonda Swindell | 2021 | |
| Angie Babe | j.ezzer and co. | Noise machine | |
| Angie Baby | 70s greatest hits | ||
| Angie Baby | To Ada | ||
| Angie Baby | Latcho Drum | ||
| Angie Baby | John Gregory | ||
| Angie Baby | Dave Major and the Minors | Our 3rd record | |
| Angie Baby | Sarah Moore | Women of Folk | |
| Angie Baby | Anne Murray, Judy collins & Helen Reddy | ||
| Angie Baby | Pmc all-stars | ||
| Angie Baby | Queen Beaver | ||
| Mo Wei Ai Shang Be! (Cantonese version) | Stephanie Lai Ming Sze | ||
| Angie Baby | George Greeley | ||
| Angie Baby | Seeburg | ||
| Angie Baby | Pete Moore Orch. | ||
| Angie Baby | Vocal Music Laserdisc | ||
References
edit- ^ Unterberger, Andrew (October 1, 2020). "Forever No. 1: Helen Reddy's 'Angie Baby'". Billboard. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (June 19, 2019). "The Number Ones: Helen Reddy's "Angie Baby"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
It sounds like standard mid-'70s popcraft...But "Angie Baby" takes those ideas further, into a truly wild psychedelic realm...'60s psychedelia must've made for a good time, but it has absolutely nothing on what it would become in '70s pop...
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
- ^ "Angie Baby". Song Facts.
- ^ "John D. Wilson credits". Fine Arts Films.
- ^ a b c O'Day, Alan (2006). "The Story Of Angie Baby". Forgotten Hits.
- ^ "The Story Behind the #1 Hit: Alan O'Day and Angie Baby". Just Plain Folks. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
- ^ Fred Bronson's Book of Number One Hits, (2003 edition).
- ^ Los Angeles Times 21 February 1977 View section p. 12
- ^ "Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ a b "National Top 100 Singles for 1975". Kent Music Report. 29 December 1975. Retrieved 15 January 2022 – via Imgur.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1974-12-21. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
- ^ "Top Singles" (PDF). Collectionscanada.gc.ca. RPM. January 25, 1975. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Angie Baby". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, December 21, 1974". Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
- ^ "1974 Wrap Up" (PDF). collectionscanada.gc.ca. RPM. December 28, 1974. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 27, 1974". Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
- ^ Lyttle, Brendan (December 27, 1975). "Top 200 singles of 1975" (PDF). collectionscanada.gc.ca. RPM. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- ^ Musicoutfitters.com
- ^ "BMI | Songview Search". repertoire.bmi.com. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
