"Angel in Your Arms" is a song composed by Herbert Clayton Ivey, Terrence Woodford, and Tom Brasfield, which was a 1977 Top Ten hit for Hot, and also a Top Ten

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

hit in 1985 for

Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful music artist ...

Content

The song is about a woman who 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 has assuaged his neglect and infidelities by indulging in illicit trysts of her own.

Hot version

Although "Angel in Your Arms" belongs to the tradition of cheating songs prevalent in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

, the song was introduced by pop/R&B act Hot on their self-titled debut album, recorded in 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 country song, and Ivey and Woodford obliged with "Angel in Your Arms", whose third co-writer was Muscle Shoals resident Tom (Tommy) Brasfield. Although Hot was officially a trio consisting of Owens, Cathy Carson, and Juanita Curiel, Owens has stated that she recorded "Angel in Your Arms" with only Carson as background vocalist: Irene Cathaway, with whom Owens and Carson had been performing and who was expected to record with them at Muscle Shoals, was a no-show at the recording studio, and "Angel in Your Arms" was recorded prior to the recruitment of Curiel as Cathaway's replacement. Ivey played keyboards on Hot's recording of "Angel in Your Arms", which featured

Mac McAnally Lyman Corbitt McAnally Jr. (; born July 15, 1957), known professionally as Mac McAnally, is an American country music singer-songwriter, session musician, and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. ...

on guitar. At the time of Hot's success with their single version, the group also recorded a Spanish-language version entitled "Angel en Tus Brazos".

Chart history

Picked up by

Big Tree Records Big Tree Records was a record label founded by Doug Morris in 1970. It was best known for releases by Lobo, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Brownsville Station, Johnny Rivers, Dave and Ansel Collins, Canadian band April Wine, and British R&B ...

, "Angel in Your Arms" accrued sufficient airplay to by February 1977 to enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, entering the Pop

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

that April to peak that July at #6; the track also charted R&B (#29) and Easy Listening (#9). ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1977. Certified a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

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).

C&W charting versions

*The success of Hot with "Angel in Your Arms" brought an expedient cover aimed at the C&W market by Vivian Bell, a March 1977 release which failed to become a major hit with a #71 C&W peak. *

Robin Lee Robin Huntington Lee (December 2, 1919 in Saint Paul, Minnesota – October 8, 1997 in Minneapolis) was an American figure skater. He was the 1935-1939 U.S. national champion. At age 12, he became the youngest skater to win the junior nationa ...

recorded "Angel in Your Arms" in late 1982, the track originally serving as B-side of her inaugural single release "Turning Back the Covers" (#81 C&W): the single was re-released December 1982 with "Angel in Your Arms" as the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

and as such more successful though still not a major hit with a #54 C&W peak. *"Angel in Your Arms" subsequently served as the B-side for two single releases by Lee: "I Heard It on the Radio" (#71 C&W) and the duet with Lobo: "Paint the Town Blue" (#54 C&W). *

, who had scored a 1982 #1 C&W hit with Brasfield's "Till You're Gone", recorded "Angel in Your Arms" in June 1985 in Nashville to serve as an advance single from the album '' Get to the Heart'', marking the first newly recorded release by Mandrell after 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" is a song written by Stax Records songwriters Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, and Raymond Jackson. Originally written for The Emotions, it has been performed by many singers, most notably by Lut ...

", "Angel in Your Arms" reached #8 C&W.

Other versions

"Angel in Your Arms" has also been recorded by: * Lynn Anderson ('' I Love What Love Is Doing to Me'' 1977), *

Red Hurley Brian "Red" Hurley (born 11 November 1949) is an Irish singer. Hurley's career includes singing lead for bands such as The Colours, The Wheels, and The Nevada (né The Nevada Showband). He had a series of number one records in the 1970s while p ...

(as "The Angel in Your Arms") (''With Love'' 1978) *

Millie Jackson Mildred Virginia Jackson (born July 15, 1944) is an American R&B and soul recording artist. Beginning her career in the early 1960s, three of Jackson's albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies sold. Jackson's songs o ...

(''Feelin' Bitchy'' 1977) * Reba McEntire ('' Reba McEntire'' 1977) *

Billie Jo Spears Billie Jo Spears (born Billie Joe Moore; January 14, 1938 – December 14, 2011) was an American country music singer. She reached the top 10 of the country music chart five times between 1969 and 1977, her biggest being "Blanket on the Ground", ...

(''

I Will Survive "I Will Survive" is a song by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 as the second single from her sixth album, '' Love Tracks'' (1978). It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. A top-selling song, it is a popular di ...

'' 1979). *In the UK, where the Hot original had had an unsuccessful April 1977 release, "Angel in Your Arms" was recorded in 1979 by veteran vocalist

Carol Deene Carol Deene (born Carole Carver; 3 August 1944) is an English pop singer and radio host who achieved success in the early 1960s. Biography Early career After appearing on Joan Regan's BBC TV programme ''Be My Guest'' in 1961,Larkin C., ''Vir ...

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''.

References

{{authority control 1977 singles 1985 singles Lynn Anderson songs Reba McEntire songs Millie Jackson songs Barbara Mandrell songs MCA Records singles Songs written by Tom Brasfield Song recordings produced by Tom Collins (record producer) 1976 songs Big Tree Records singles Songs about infidelity