Sunday Music – Angie Baby

Posted on Sun 05/15/2011 by TonyfromOz

Today’s music video is ‘Angie Baby’ from Helen Reddy.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

This video was posted at You Tube by saw1110

Helen was born in Australia into a well known Australian show business family. Her father was Max Reddy, a writer, producer and actor, and her mother was Stella Lamond, an actress. Helen’s older half sister Toni Lamond is also a well known Australian singer.

Helen started performing with her family at a young age, and singing came naturally to her.

She won an Australian talent quest and the first prize was a trip to New York and a recording contract. That recording contract was in reality an audition for a record contract, and the Company used her talent quest winning song as that audition, and the record contract did not eventuate.

Now stuck in New York as a single mother with a young daughter, she played the club scene to tiny audiences, struggling to get a green card.

It took Helen a year to finally secure a contract, and her first single was ‘I Don’t Know How To Love Him’ from the enormously successful stage play ‘Jesus Christ, Superstar’. The song became a hit in the U.S. and an even bigger hit back in her homeland Australia.

Her next single was the 1972 Monster smash hit, ‘I Am Woman’, and now Helen was the biggest name in female singing.

More hits followed, including another Number One Monster ‘Delta Dawn’ in 1973.

In 1974, she brought out ‘Angie Baby’, written by Alan O’Day, and this also became another of her Monster Number Ones.

The song is in a similar vein to Bobbie Gentry’s ‘Ode To Billie Joe’, in the way the lyrics are almost cryptic, and just like Gentry, both Helen Reddy and the songs composer have never ‘let on’ as to the true meaning.

That aside, the song is just a wonderful song, one that I liked from the first time I heard it, all those years ago.

In the Pantheon of female singers, Helen Reddy must rank up close to the very top.