Rolling Stones: Angie

I must have heard the Rolling Stones' hits in the Sixties, but I don't remember them the way I can remember hearing and liking Penny Lane and Eleanor Rigby.

So Angie, which reached number 5 in the UK single chart in the autumn of 1973 and topped the US chart, was my introduction to them.

Discover Music describes its genesis:

It was their 24th US single (18th in Britain) and over the years many have speculated that it was inspired by Angie, David Bowie’s wife, or even Keith’s daughter. Keith, who wrote the majority of the song’s music and lyrics, said in his autobiography that the name Angie came to him while in Switzerland detoxing from his heroin addiction. 

"I wrote 'Angie' in an afternoon, sitting in bed," the Rolling Stones guitarist wrote. "Because I could finally move my fingers and get them in the right place again…It was not about any particular person, it was a name, like 'Ohhh, Diana.'"

And Wikipedia explains the single's distinctive sound:

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"). Cash Box said that "Jagger is at his best - slurring words by the dozens to ring out the feeling of every important line."