Oct 20th in Pop History

On this day, October 20th in…

• 1973 - The Rolling Stones had the number one song in the US with Angie. The Stones are of course a rock and roll band, so they’re not primarily known for mellow love songs, though they did create a few. But this one, in my opinion, is their best. It is a very beautiful song, and was all over the radio in the Fall of 1973.

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 song was their 7th US # 1. It was also a # 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.

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 English pop singer Marianne Faithfull.

The Rolling Stones frequently perform the song in concert; it was included in set lists on their 1973, 1975 and 1976 tours. It has been a touring staple since their 1982 European Tour.

Take a moment to listen below. This is such a really nice record.

Here is the official 1973 promotional video by The Rolling Stones for this single, Angie:

Angie on Spotify:

Angie • The Rolling Stones

Also, on this day, October 20th, in…

• 1979 - Bob Dylan makes his only appearance on Saturday Night Live where he performed 3 songs from the first of his trilogy of Christian albums, Slow Train Coming

• 1950 - Tom Petty, American singer and songwriter, was born in Gainesville, Florida. He was the frontman for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys, as well as a band known as Mudcrutch. Throughout his career, he sold over 60 million albums. He died in 2017