Angel in Your Arms
Encyclopedia
"Angel in Your Arms" is the title of a 1977 Top Ten hit for Hot - also a Top Ten country music
1985 hit for Barbara Mandrell
- composed by Herbert Clayton Ivey, Terrence Woodford and Herbert Thomas Brasfield Jr.
In "Angel in Your Arms", a woman advises an unfaithful mate: "The angel in your arms this morning is gonna be the devil in someone else's arms tonight", meaning that she's assuaged his neglect by indulging in illicit trysts of her own.
Although "Angel in Your Arms" belongs to the tradition of cheating songs prevalent in C&W music, the song was introduced by Pop/R&B act Hot on their self-titled debut album, recorded 1976 at Wishbone Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama
with Wishbone's owners Clayton Ivey and Terrence (Terry) Woodford producing. It was Hot's lead singer Gwen Owens who requested the group be given a C&W song, and Ivey and Woodford obliged with "Angel in Your Arms" whose third co-writer was Muscle Shoals resident Tom/Tommy Brasfield.
Ivey played keyboards on Hot's recording of "Angel in Your Arms", which featured Mac McAnally
on guitar. Picked up by Big Tree Records
, "Angel in Your Arms" accrued sufficient airplay to by February 1977 to enter the Billboard Hot 100
, entering the Pop Top 40 that April to peak that July at #6; the track also charted R&B (#29) and Easy Listening (#9). Certified a gold record
for U.S. sales of one million units, "Angel in Your Arms" was also a hit for Hot in Australia (#27), Canada (#3) and New Zealand (#7).
At the time of Hot's success with their single version, the group also recorded a Spanish language version entitled "Angen En Tus Brazos".
The success of Hot with "Angel in Your Arms" brought an expedient cover aimed at the C&W market by Vivian Bell; however this March 1977 release was not a major hit with a #71 C&W peak and a 1983 remake by Robin Lee also charted low both in its original A-side release (#54 C&W) and as the B-side of Lee's 1985 #49 C&W duet with Lobo
: "Paint the Town Blue".
Barbara Mandrell, who had scored a 1982 #1 C&W hit with Brasfield's "Till You're Gone", recorded "Angel in Your Arms" June 1985 in Nashville
to serve as advance single from the album Get to the Heart
, marking the first newly recorded release by Mandrell subsequent to her 11 September 1984 automobile accident. A thematic return by Mandrell to the connubial concerns prevalent in her early hits, including her 1978 career record "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right
", "Angel in Your Arms" reached #8 C&W.
"Angel in Your Arms" has also been recorded by Lynn Anderson
(I Love What Love Is Doing to Me 1977), Millie Jackson
(Feelin' Bitchy 1977), Reba McEntire
(Reba McEntire
1977) and Billie Jo Spears
(I Will Survive 1979).
In the UK, where the Hot original had had an unsuccessful April 1977 release, "Angel in the Morning" was recorded in 1979 by veteran vocalist Carol Deene
who had been inactive for some years: Deene's version, released on her own Koala label, failed to effect a chart comeback. "Angel in Your Arms" was one of a number of tracks recorded in the spring of 2009 at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
by Queen Emily; Wolf Stephenson produced the sessions which featured Clayton Ivey on keyboards. The Queen Emily album was released in the UK in December 2010. A Finnish rendering: "Älä Kysy Kuka On Sylissäin", was recorded by Vicky
for her 1978 album Tee Mulle Niin.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
1985 hit for Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Ann Mandrell is an American country music singer best known for a 1970s–1980s series of Top 10 hits and TV shows that helped her become one of country's most successful female vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s...
- composed by Herbert Clayton Ivey, Terrence Woodford and Herbert Thomas Brasfield Jr.
In "Angel in Your Arms", a woman advises an unfaithful mate: "The angel in your arms this morning is gonna be the devil in someone else's arms tonight", meaning that she's assuaged his neglect by indulging in illicit trysts of her own.
Although "Angel in Your Arms" belongs to the tradition of cheating songs prevalent in C&W music, the song was introduced by Pop/R&B act Hot on their self-titled debut album, recorded 1976 at Wishbone Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the city to be 12,846. The city is included in The Shoals MSA. It is famous for its contributions to American popular music.-Geography:Muscle Shoals is located...
with Wishbone's owners Clayton Ivey and Terrence (Terry) Woodford producing. It was Hot's lead singer Gwen Owens who requested the group be given a C&W song, and Ivey and Woodford obliged with "Angel in Your Arms" whose third co-writer was Muscle Shoals resident Tom/Tommy Brasfield.
Ivey played keyboards on Hot's recording of "Angel in Your Arms", which featured Mac McAnally
Mac McAnally
Lyman Corbitt "Mac" McAnally, Jr. is an American country music singer-songwriter, session musician and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. Two of his singles were hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and six more on the Hot Country Songs charts...
on guitar. Picked up by Big Tree Records
Big Tree Records
Big Tree Records was a record label founded by current Sony Music Entertainment chairman Doug Morris in 1970. They were best known for releases by Lobo, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Brownsville Station and British R&B group Hot Chocolate....
, "Angel in Your Arms" accrued sufficient airplay to by February 1977 to enter the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, entering the Pop Top 40 that April to peak that July at #6; the track also charted R&B (#29) and Easy Listening (#9). Certified a gold record
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
for U.S. sales of one million units, "Angel in Your Arms" was also a hit for Hot in Australia (#27), Canada (#3) and New Zealand (#7).
At the time of Hot's success with their single version, the group also recorded a Spanish language version entitled "Angen En Tus Brazos".
The success of Hot with "Angel in Your Arms" brought an expedient cover aimed at the C&W market by Vivian Bell; however this March 1977 release was not a major hit with a #71 C&W peak and a 1983 remake by Robin Lee also charted low both in its original A-side release (#54 C&W) and as the B-side of Lee's 1985 #49 C&W duet with Lobo
Lobo (musician)
Roland Kent LaVoie, better known by the stage name Lobo , is an American singer-songwriter who was successful in the early 1970s, scoring several U.S...
: "Paint the Town Blue".
Barbara Mandrell, who had scored a 1982 #1 C&W hit with Brasfield's "Till You're Gone", recorded "Angel in Your Arms" June 1985 in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
to serve as advance single from the album Get to the Heart
Get to the Heart
Get to the Heart is the eighteenth studio album by American country artist Barbara Mandrell. The album was released in August 1985 on MCA Records and was produced by Tom Collins...
, marking the first newly recorded release by Mandrell subsequent to her 11 September 1984 automobile accident. A thematic return by Mandrell to the connubial concerns prevalent in her early hits, including her 1978 career record "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right
(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right
" I Don't Want to Be Right" is a soul song written by Stax Records songwriters Homer Banks, Carl Hampton and Raymond Jackson. It has been performed by many singers, most notably by Luther Ingram, whose version topped the R&B chart for four weeks and rose to number three on the Billboard Hot 100...
", "Angel in Your Arms" reached #8 C&W.
"Angel in Your Arms" has also been recorded by Lynn Anderson
Lynn Anderson
Lynn Rene Anderson is an American country music singer and equestrian known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably her Grammy Award-winning, worldwide mega-hit, " Rose Garden." Helped by her regular exposure on national television, Anderson was one of the most...
(I Love What Love Is Doing to Me 1977), Millie Jackson
Millie Jackson
Mildred "Millie" Jackson is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter and comedienne. Three of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies....
(Feelin' Bitchy 1977), Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...
(Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire (album)
Reba McEntire is Reba McEntire's first studio album. It featured her first single I Don't Wanna Be A One Night Stand, as well as a cover of the Jennifer Warnes hit "Right Time of the Night". It was re-issued on CD in 1993...
1977) and Billie Jo Spears
Billie Jo Spears
Billie Jo Spears is an American country music singer. She reached the top-10 of the Country music charts five times between 1969 and 1977, her biggest hit being "Blanket on the Ground", which, in 1975, became her only number one...
(I Will Survive 1979).
In the UK, where the Hot original had had an unsuccessful April 1977 release, "Angel in the Morning" was recorded in 1979 by veteran vocalist Carol Deene
Carol Deene
Carol Deene was an English pop singer.After appearing on Joan Regan's BBC TV programme 'Be My Guest' in 1961, when she was 16, Deene was signed to the HMV label, and scored three Top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart in 1962...
who had been inactive for some years: Deene's version, released on her own Koala label, failed to effect a chart comeback. "Angel in Your Arms" was one of a number of tracks recorded in the spring of 2009 at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was formed in Muscle Shoals, Alabama,in 1969 when musicians Barry Beckett , Roger Hawkins , Jimmy Johnson and David Hood left FAME Studios to create their own studio...
by Queen Emily; Wolf Stephenson produced the sessions which featured Clayton Ivey on keyboards. The Queen Emily album was released in the UK in December 2010. A Finnish rendering: "Älä Kysy Kuka On Sylissäin", was recorded by Vicky
Vicky Rosti
Virve "Vicky" Rosti is a Finnish singer of popular music. Her most famous songs include "Kun Chicago kuoli" , "Tuolta saapuu Charlie Brown" , "Menolippu" , "Oon voimissain" , "Sata salamaa"...
for her 1978 album Tee Mulle Niin.