"Angelia" is a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

recorded by

Richard Marx Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American adult contemporary music, adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Marx's Richard Marx (album), self-titled debut album went tri ...

and the third released single on his second album, ''

Repeat Offender Recidivism (; from ''recidive'' and ''ism'', from Latin ''recidīvus'' "recurring", from ''re-'' "back" and ''cadō'' "I fall") is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of th ...

''. "Angelia" reached number 2 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' singles chart, and reached number 4 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on December 2, 1989. It was also a top-40 hit in Australia and made the top 50 in the UK. On the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart, "Angelia" peaked at number 2 for several weeks behind the

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

Aaron Neville Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is a retired American R&B and soul singer. He has had four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits in the United States, including three that reached number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. ...

duet "

Don't Know Much "Don't Know Much" is a song written by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil and Tom Snow. Mann was the first to record the song in 1980, gaining a minor chart hit in the US. The song was made famous when it was covered as a duet by Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Ne ...

Background

Richard Marx based the sound of "Angelia" on

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...

's 1983 album ''

Pyromania Pyromania is an impulse control disorder in which individuals repeatedly fail to resist impulses to deliberately start fires, to relieve some tension or for instant gratification. The term ''pyromania'' comes from the Greek word (''pyr'', 'fi ...

'' and the 1987 album ''

Hysteria Hysteria is a term used colloquially to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that ...

''. During recordings of "Angelia", engineer and co-producer David Cole along with Richard Marx tried to copy the sounds of the guitars and drums that Def Leppard and producer

Robert "Mutt" Lange The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

had used on the ''Hysteria'' and ''Pyromania'' records. During a night out with Def Leppard guitarist

Phil Collen Philip Kenneth Collen (born 8 December 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard, joining the band in 1982 during the recording of the ''Pyromania'' album. Prior to joining Def Leppa ...

, Richard Marx was told that Def Leppard attempted to emulate Angelia for a song that was to appear on the next Def Leppard album, ''

Adrenalize ''Adrenalize'' is the fifth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 31 March 1992 through Mercury Records. It is the first album by the band recorded without guitarist Steve Clark who died in 1991 and the only one recorded ...

''. The song Def Leppard recorded with "Angelia" in mind was likely the hit " Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)". The production and sound of the song "Angelia" is Richard Marx's favorite from his second album, ''Repeat Offender''.

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitch ...

played the guitar solo on the song.

Personnel

* Richard Marx – lead and backing vocals *

C. J. Vanston Cj (Jeffrey) Vanston is an American film composer, record producer, songwriter, and keyboardist, based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, Hollywood, California. He was born in Denver, Colorado, the son of Bonnie L. Smith and Paul L. Vanston. ...

– keyboards, arrangements *

Bruce Gaitsch Bruce R. Gaitsch (; born February 7, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is best known for working with notable bands and musicians such Chicago, Peter Cetera, Madonna, and Agnetha Fältskog as a session musician and songwri ...

– guitar *

– guitar, guitar solo * Jim Cliff – bass *

Prairie Prince Charles Lempriere "Prairie" Prince (born May 7, 1950) is an American drummer and graphic artist. He came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the San Francisco–based rock group The Tubes, was a member of Jefferson Starship from 1992 to ...

– drums *

Marc Russo Yellowjackets is an American jazz fusion band founded in 1977 in Los Angeles, California. History In 1977, guitarist Robben Ford, for his first solo album, recruited keyboardist Russell Ferrante, electric bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Rick ...

– saxophone

Track listing

All songs written

and produced by Marx and David Cole. # "Angelia" – 4:08 # "Endless Summer Nights" ive at the Palace Theatre– 5:44

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1989 singles 1989 songs 1980s ballads Richard Marx songs Songs written by Richard Marx Rock ballads RPM Top Singles number-one singles Music videos directed by Michael Bay Capitol Records singles {{1980s-pop-song-stub