The Rolling Stones usually had hits with their up-tempo songs. But in 1973 it was the ballad “Angie” that was a hit on the record charts. It was at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of Oct. 14 -21. It was #1 on the Cash Box Top 100 chart for the week of Oct. 21 – 27.

The song is credited to both Keith Richards and Mick Jagger but it was probably mostly written by Richards. 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”) (listen for it in the video). Later releases of the song have that ghost voice being less notable.

Even though Jagger is now 80 and Richards will be 80 in December, the group just released a new album a few days ago. This one has all new songs except one, “Rolling Stone Blues,” by Muddy Waters. It was the song that inspired the name of the group. There are a bunch of songs that feature guest artists. As a promotion, they played a seven song concert in at a club in NY City on Oct. 19th with Lady Gaga as their guest artist.