10 Best Rock Songs About Angels

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Classic rock history is filled with songs about angels. Sometimes the word is used in a spiritual sense, while other songs use it to describe someone beautiful, loving, mysterious, troubled, or unforgettable.

That leaves us with an enormous number of songs to choose from, but these 10 stand out for the way they use the idea of an angel in very different musical and emotional settings.

#10 – “Earth Angel” – The Penguins

We just had to start with this one. The Penguins recorded “Earth Angel” in 1954, and its simple piano, doo-wop harmonies, and Cleveland Duncan’s tender lead vocal helped turn it into one of the defining love songs of the era. The record reached number one on Billboard’s R&B chart and crossed over to the pop market, an important achievement at a time when rhythm and blues records were still fighting for mainstream exposure. Decades later, the song remained so deeply embedded in American culture that it was selected for the National Recording Registry.

#9 – “Centerfold” – The J. Geils Band

“Centerfold” uses the word angel in a very different way, as the narrator discovers that the girl he once idealized as his high-school “angel” has become a magazine centerfold. Written by Seth Justman and released on the J. Geils Band’s 1981 album Freeze-Frame, the song combined a huge keyboard hook, humor, and a chorus that was almost impossible to forget. It became the band’s biggest hit, spending six weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982, while its classroom-themed video became an early MTV favorite.

Read More: 10 J. Geils Band Songs Fans Love

#8 – “Sleeping Angel” – Stevie Nicks

Stevie Nicks’ “Sleeping Angel” first appeared on the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack in 1982 after originally being recorded during the period surrounding her debut solo album, Bella Donna. Produced by Jimmy Iovine, the track features musicians closely associated with Nicks’ early solo work, including Waddy Wachtel, Roy Bittan, and Russ Kunkel. The song has the romantic, mysterious atmosphere that Nicks has always handled so well, and its combination of vulnerability and independence makes it one of the more overlooked gems in her catalog.

#7 – “My Angel Baby” – Toby Beau

I’m sure you remember this one. The only question is, when was the last time you heard it? Toby Beau’s “My Angel Baby” was a huge soft-rock hit in the summer of 1978, reaching number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Easy Listening chart. Written by band members Danny McKenna and Balde Silva, the song has an easygoing melody and Balde Silva vocal that still sounds instantly familiar. I have always loved that last note he hits at the end of the song.

#6 – “Angel of Harlem” – U2

U2’s “Angel of Harlem,” from Rattle and Hum, is the band’s tribute to Billie Holiday and to the American jazz, blues, and soul music they were exploring during that period. Recorded at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis with the Memphis Horns and produced by Jimmy Iovine, the song has a warmer and looser feel than much of U2’s earlier work. Bono’s references to Holiday, John Coltrane, and New York music history give the track the feeling of a musical pilgrimage, and the horns help make it one of the most distinctive recordings on Rattle and Hum.

Read More: Discovering The Band U2

#5 – “Send Me an Angel” – Scorpions

“Send Me an Angel” closes Scorpions’ 1990 album Crazy World with one of the band’s most atmospheric ballads. Klaus Meine’s unmistakable voice carries a song built around hope, guidance, and the search for a way through difficult times, while Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs keep the guitars restrained and melodic. Coming from the same album as “Wind of Change,” it showed how effectively Scorpions could move away from hard rock without losing the dramatic sound that made the band recognizable.

Read More: Top 10 Scorpions Songs

#4 – “Angel of Mercy” – Dire Straits

“Angel of Mercy” appeared on Dire Straits’ second album, Communiqué, in 1979. Mark Knopfler uses the image of an angel less as a heavenly figure than as someone offering comfort, desire, and reward after a long fight, wrapping the idea in the sly storytelling that characterized so much of his early songwriting. The song’s relaxed groove, clean guitar work, and understated rhythm section make it a fine example of how Dire Straits could say a great deal without ever sounding overproduced.

Read More – Top 10 Dire Straits Songs

#3 – “She Talks to Angels” – The Black Crowes

“She Talks to Angels,” from The Black Crowes’ 1990 debut Shake Your Money Maker, remains one of the band’s most moving songs. Chris Robinson has described it as loosely inspired by a young woman he knew in Atlanta who was involved with heroin, and the song turns that image into a portrait of addiction, pain, loneliness, and escape. Rich Robinson’s acoustic guitar gives the track plenty of room to breathe, while Chris Robinson delivers one of his most memorable vocals. Its restraint made it stand apart from the harder blues-rock tracks around it and helped it become one of the band’s signature songs.

#2 – “Angel from Montgomery” – John Prine

John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery,” from his 1971 debut album, is one of the finest examples of his gift for writing from another person’s point of view. Prine imagined a middle-aged woman who feels much older than she is, trapped in a life that has lost its sense of possibility, and let the entire song unfold through her voice. The writing is simple, direct, and devastating without ever becoming sentimental. Bonnie Raitt later made the song an essential part of her own repertoire, but the heart of it remains Prine’s remarkable ability to make an invented character feel completely real.

Read More: Top 10 John Prine Songs

#1 – “I’m No Angel” – Gregg Allman

Gregg Allman’s “I’m No Angel” became the title track of his 1987 comeback album and one of the biggest solo hits of his career. Written by Tony Colton and Phil Palmer, the song had first been recorded by Bill Medley, but Allman’s weathered voice made its defiant message sound completely natural coming from him. The single reached number one on Billboard’s Album Rock Tracks chart and brought Allman back to rock radio in a major way. A few years later, the Allman Brothers Band reunited, beginning one of the longest and most rewarding stretches of their career.