# Angie Baby > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Angie_Baby > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Angie_Baby.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_Baby > Source revision: 1356790523 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|1974 song written by Alan O'Day}} {{Infobox song | name = Angie Baby | image = Angie baby by helen reddy Australian single side-A.png | alt = side-A label by Capitol Records | caption = Side A of the Australian single | type = single | artist = [Helen Reddy](/source/Helen_Reddy) | album = [Free and Easy](/source/Free_and_Easy_(album)) | B-side = I Think I'll Write a Song | released = 1974 | recorded = | studio = | venue = | genre = {{hlist|[R&B](/source/Rhythm_and_blues){{cite magazine|first= Andrew |last= Unterberger |title= Forever No. 1: Helen Reddy's 'Angie Baby' |magazine= [Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine)) |url= https://www.billboard.com/pro/helen-reddy-angie-baby-forever-number-one/|date= October 1, 2020|accessdate= September 16, 2022}}|[psychedelic pop](/source/psychedelic_pop){{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: Helen Reddy's "Angie Baby"|website= [Stereogum](/source/Stereogum) |date= June 19, 2019 |url= https://www.stereogum.com/2048101/the-number-ones-helen-reddys-angie-baby/columns/the-number-ones/|quote= 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...|accessdate= June 21, 2023}}|[soft rock](/source/soft_rock){{AllMusic |class=album|id=mw0000594730|title=Various Artists - ''Billboard Top Soft Rock Hits: 1974'' (1997) Review|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|access-date=April 3, 2026}}}} | length = 3:29 | label = [Capitol](/source/Capitol_Records) | writer = [Alan O'Day](/source/Alan_O'Day) | producer = [Joe Wissert](/source/Joe_Wissert) | prev_title = [You and Me Against the World](/source/You_and_Me_Against_the_World_(song)) | prev_year = 1974 | next_title = [Emotion](/source/Amoureuse) | next_year = 1974 }} "'''Angie Baby'''" is a song written by American singer-songwriter [Alan O'Day](/source/Alan_O'Day) which became a hit for Australian singer [Helen Reddy](/source/Helen_Reddy). The song reached #1 on the U.S. [''Billboard'' Hot 100](/source/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](/source/Hot_Adult_Contemporary_Tracks) chart, Reddy's fifth #1 on this chart.[Whitburn, Joel](/source/Joel_Whitburn) (1996). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 6th Edition (Billboard Publications) 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== The song tells the story of Angie, a teenage 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 seduce her, 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 townsfolk's speculation that he was dead, but nobody asks Angie for an explanation; the lyrics imply that the boy has become her "secret lover."{{cite web |title=Angie Baby |url=https://www.songfacts.com/lyrics/helen-reddy/angie-baby |publisher=Song Facts}} Though not an official video, [John D. Wilson](/source/John_David_Wilson) of [Fine Arts Films](/source/Fine_Arts_Films) made an accompanying animated short film for the song when it appeared on ''[The Midnight Special](/source/The_Midnight_Special_(TV_series))'' (broadcast October 31, 1975), as well as on ''[The Sonny & Cher Show](/source/The_Sonny_%26_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).{{cite web |title=John D. Wilson credits |url=http://www.fineartsfilms.com/credits.html|publisher=Fine Arts Films}} The film does not feature Reddy herself but is a literal interpretation of the song's lyrics. ==Background== In an article he wrote in 2006, [Alan O'Day](/source/Alan_O'Day) said the song took three months to write. Originally it was loosely based on the character in [the Beatles](/source/the_Beatles)' "[Lady Madonna](/source/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](/source/Rolling_Stones)' 1973 hit song "[Angie](/source/Angie_(song))".{{cite web |last1=O'Day |first1=Alan |title=The Story Of Angie Baby |url=https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2009/12/angie-baby-story-behind-song.html |work=Forgotten Hits |date=2006}} 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. ==Interpretation of lyrics== O'Day's lyrics inspired a great deal of speculation about their meaning. The song was compared to [Bobbie Gentry](/source/Bobbie_Gentry)’s "[Ode to Billie Joe](/source/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](/source/Women's_Lib)" song along the line of Reddy's other hits, like her other #1's, "[I Am Woman](/source/I_Am_Woman)" and "[Delta Dawn](/source/Delta_Dawn)", though O'Day says that that was not his intent, and that he was not consciously making a public statement. 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.{{cite web|title=The Story Behind the #1 Hit: Alan O'Day and Angie Baby|url=http://www.jpfolks.com/Mentors/Articles/odayangiebaby.html|work=Just Plain Folks|accessdate=7 February 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205165429/http://www.jpfolks.com/Mentors/Articles/odayangiebaby.html|archivedate=2012-02-05}} Reddy joked that the boy had become "a sound wave",''Fred Bronson's Book of Number One Hits'', (2003 edition). an explanation that O'Day later denied. ==Recording history== Jeff Wald, who at the time was Reddy's husband and manager, would recall being bowled over upon first hearing the [demo](/source/demo_(music)) 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."Los Angeles Times 21 February 1977 View section p. 12 "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.{{cite web|title=Official Charts Company|website=[Official Charts](/source/Official_Charts_Company) |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artists/|accessdate=7 February 2013}} "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== {{col-begin}} {{col-2}} ===Weekly charts=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- !Chart (1974–1975) !Peak
position |- |Australia ([Kent Music Report](/source/Kent_Music_Report)){{cite book|title=[Australian Chart Book 1970–1992](/source/Kent_Music_Report)|type=doc|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|publisher=Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W |year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6}} | style="text-align:center;"|13 |- |Canada ''[RPM](/source/RPM_(magazine))'' Adult Contemporary{{cite web|url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.3906&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.3906.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.3906|title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |date=1974-12-21 |accessdate=2019-02-25}} | style="text-align:center;"|1 |- |Canada ''RPM'' Top Singles{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.6157a.pdf |title=Top Singles |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca|publisher=RPM |date=January 25, 1975 |accessdate=December 19, 2018}} | style="text-align:center;"|3 |- |{{single chart|Ireland2|5|song=Angie Baby|accessdate=August 1, 2017}} |- |New Zealand (''Listener'') | style="text-align:center;"|8 |- |[UK](/source/UK_Singles_Chart) ([OCC](/source/The_Official_Charts_Company)) | style="text-align:center;"|5 |- |US ''[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))'' [Hot 100](/source/Billboard_Hot_100)''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990'' - {{ISBN|0-89820-089-X}} | style="text-align:center;"|1 |- |US ''Billboard'' [Easy Listening](/source/Adult_Contemporary_(chart)) | style="text-align:center;"|1 |- |US [''Cash Box''](/source/Cash_Box_(magazine)) Top 100{{Cite web |url=http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19741221.html |title=Cash Box Top 100 Singles, December 21, 1974 |access-date=August 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802040451/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19741221.html |archive-date=August 2, 2017 |url-status=dead }} |align="center"|1 |} {{col-2}} ===Year-end charts=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- !Chart (1974) ! style="text-align:center;"|Rank |- |Canada{{cite web |title=1974 Wrap Up |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.3893b.pdf |website=collectionscanada.gc.ca |publisher=RPM |accessdate=December 19, 2018 |date=December 28, 1974}} | style="text-align:center;"|128 |- |US ''Cash Box'' {{Cite web |url=http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/1974YESP.html |title=Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 27, 1974 |access-date=August 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722221522/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/1974YESP.html |archive-date=July 22, 2019 |url-status=dead }} | style="text-align:center;"|68 |- |} {| class="wikitable sortable" |- !Chart (1975) ! style="text-align:center;"|Rank |- |Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite web|url=https://imgur.com/a/8a2fnGs|title= National Top 100 Singles for 1975|publisher= [Kent Music Report](/source/Kent_Music_Report) |issue= 79 |via= [Imgur](/source/Imgur) |date= 29 December 1975 |access-date= 15 January 2022 }} | style="text-align:center;"|67 |- |Canada{{cite web |last1=Lyttle |first1=Brendan |title=Top 200 singles of 1975 |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.4057a.pdf |website=collectionscanada.gc.ca |publisher=RPM |accessdate=December 19, 2018 |date=December 27, 1975}} | style="text-align:center;"|52 |- |US ''Billboard'' Hot 100[http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1975.htm Musicoutfitters.com] | style="text-align:center;"|27 |- |} {{col-end}} ==Later uses== The song was also featured as the sole Helen Reddy track as part of a promotional-only compilation album issued by [Capitol Records](/source/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. ==References== ==External links== * {{YouTube|Ibqb2P7Pky0|Helen Reddy - Angie Baby}} {{Helen Reddy}} {{authority control}} Category:1974 singles Category:1974 songs Category:Helen Reddy songs Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Category:Cashbox number-one singles Category:Capitol Records singles Category:Songs written by Alan O'Day Category:Song recordings produced by Joe Wissert Category:Songs about radio Category:Songs about music --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Angie Baby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_Baby) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_Baby?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.