The song is credited, as most Rolling Stones songs are, to both Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, but it is acknowledged to be almost completely written by 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 were arranged by Nicky Harrison. An unusual feature of the original recording is that singer Mick Jagger's vocal guide track is faintly audible throughout the song. Released as a single in August 1973, "Angie" went straight to the top of the US BillboardHot 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, Keith Richards' newborn daughter Dandelion Angela, the actressAngie Dickinson, and others. In 1993, in an interview for the liner notes to the Rolling Stones' compilation album , Richards said that the title was inspired by his baby daughter. 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." According to NME, Jagger's contributions to the lyrics referred to his breakup with Marianne Faithfull. The Rolling Stones have frequently performed the song in concert; it was included in set lists on their 1973, 1975, and 1976 tours, and they have performed it on every tour since their 1982 European tour. Concert renditions were released on the albums Stripped, Live Licks and.
