| "Angel Baby" | |
|---|---|
 Original 7-inch | |
| Single byRosie and the Originals | |
| B-side | "Give Me Love" |
| Released | 1960 |
| Recorded | 1960 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:43 |
| Label | Highland Records |
| Songwriter | Rosie Hamlin (some prints credit David Ponci as the songwriter)[1] |
 Problems playing this file? Seemedia help. | |
"Angel Baby" is a 1960 single byRosie and the Originals. The group recorded the song independently on atwo-track machine, located in a facility in the small farming community ofSan Marcos, California. At the time, lead singerRosie Hamlin was only 15 years old. She had written thelyrics for "Angel Baby" as a poem for "[her] very first boyfriend" when she was a 14-year-old student atMission Bay High School inSan Diego,California.[2]
Initially unable to find a label willing to distribute the song because of its unpolished sound, the group convinced a San Diego department store to pipe theirmaster through the listening booths in the record department. The response from listeners promptedHighland Records to sign the band and promote the single. Since its release the song has become anoldies standard.
The song debuted on theBillboard Hot 100 in December 1960 and remained on the charts for 13 weeks, reaching No. 5 on January 28, 1961.[3] On the R&B charts, "Angel Baby" also peaked at #5 and remained on that chart for eight weeks.[4] In 1961, "Angel Baby" was also released in Canada (#3) on the Zirkon label and in Australia and England on London Records.[5] The British release slightly edited the intro.
Rosie & the Originals later re-recorded aSpanglish version of "Angel Baby", which appears on the UK compilationsThe Best of Rosie & the Originals (1999) andAngel Baby Revisited (2002). In 2018, this recording appeared in anEl Pollo Loco commercial.
John Lennon recorded a version of the song in 1973, eventually released on the 1986 albumMenlove Ave. and later, on the 1990 box setLennon. A remixed version was released in 2004 as a bonus track on a reissue of Lennon's 1975Rock 'n' Roll album. In the intro, Lennon calls it one of his favorite songs and says, "send my love to Rosie, wherever she may be." Rosie called it her favorite cover of the song.[6] Circulating tapes of Lennon's 1971 birthday party also include a busked version of the song.[7]
