"I'm No Angel" is a rock song written by Tony Colton and

Phil Palmer Philip John Palmer (born 9 September 1952) is a British rock sideman and session guitarist who has toured, recorded, and worked with numerous artists. He is best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Dire Straits. Biography Palmer grew up ...

, and first recorded by

Bill Medley William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer best known as one-half of the Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Medley produced a n ...

The Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the L ...

on his 1982 solo album ''Right Here and Now''. It gained greater fame when it was covered by American

Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...

band the

Gregg Allman Band The Gregg Allman Band, also known as Gregg Allman & Friends, was a Southern rock/blues rock group that Gregg Allman established and had led since the 1970s, during periods when Allman has been recording and performing separate from the Allman B ...

as the title track and lead

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

of their 1987 album ''

I'm No Angel ''I'm No Angel'' is a 1933 American pre-Code black comedy film directed by Wesley Ruggles, and starring Mae West and Cary Grant. West received sole story and screenplay credit. It is one of her early films, and, as such, was not subjected to t ...

'', released on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

. The song was an unexpected hit, gaining heavy

album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. US rad ...

airplay and reaching number one on ''Billboard'''s

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" fo ...

chart.

Background

The song uses a B-A-E progression, and the song's lyrics were inspired by a T-shirt that writer Phil Palmer saw an infant wearing which read "Daddy's No. 1 Angel". Due to a fold in the shirt, Palmer initially read it as "Daddy's No Angel".

Gregg Allman Band cover

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman B ...

began performing "I'm No Angel" live in the mid-1980s and cut the song as a demo in hopes of ending his post-1977 absence from recording. Michael Caplan, a rookie A&R man at Epic and an admitted "longtime, serious Allman Brothers Band fan" would recall "I found Gregg's four-song demo cassette in my boss's garbage...I listened to tand the first song was 'I'm No Angel' which I thought was great. So I got in touch with Willie Perkins and Alex Hodges espectively Allman's tour manager and booking agentand signed Gregg to Epic." The recollection of Perkins is that Hodges was contacted by veteran Epic A&R man Lennie Petze with an interest in signing Allman to Epic, Petze having given a stack of demos to independent radio consultant Bill Bennett to listen to on a flight from New York City to Los Angeles. The demos included Allman's "I'm No Angel", which Bennett had reported back to Petze he (Bennett) could successfully pitch to at least one hundred radio stations. Following Petze's call to Hodges, Perkins brought Allman to CBS Records New York City headquarters to meet Michael Caplan and Epic vice-president Frank Rand: Caplan and Rand would soon afterwards sign Allman to Epic ensuant to seeing perform at a New Jersey gig. The track features Allman's gruff vocals in a

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

sound-alike way, New Orleans music-based statement of boasting yet acknowledging of fault-strewn purpose. Critics noted the song's suitability for Allman in light of his

hellraiser ''Hellraiser'' is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker in his directorial debut. Based on Barker's 1986 novella ''The Hellbound Heart'', the film's plot concerns a mystical puzzle box that summons the ...

persona. Laden with 1980s production touches from

Rodney Mills Rodney Mills is an American mastering engineer based in Atlanta, Georgia. He has been involved in the music industry for over 50 years and has earned over 50 gold and platinum records for engineering, producing, and mastering. Biography A ...

such as heavy keyboards and drums, the record helped revive Allman's image with 1980s pop and rock audiences, and may have even indirectly contributed to

the Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. Its founding members were brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar, lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards), as well as Dickey Betts ( ...

's successful reformation two years later. In subsequent years, "I'm No Angel" was part of Allman's solo concert repertoire, and has also been played by the Allman Brothers Band, with most of the pop gloss of the original recording eliminated.

Personnel

–

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, lead vocals *

Dan Toler Daniel Lee Toler (September 23, 1948 – February 25, 2013), known professionally as "Dangerous" Dan Toler, was an American guitarist. Life and career A native of Connersville, Indiana, Toler became popular in the late 1970s as a member of D ...

– guitar *Tim Heding – keyboards *

Bruce Waibel Bruce Kenneth Waibel (July 9, 1958 – September 2, 2003) was an American musician who played for several artists and bands. He was last remembered for playing bass guitar and touring with rock band FireHouse. He died in 2003 and his death ...

– bass guitar *David Frankie Toler – drums *Chaz Trippy – percussion

Charts

Other covers

Allman's former wife

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

identified with the song, and performed it in the high-profile opening slot of her 1989–1990

Heart of Stone Tour The heart is a muscular organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the tissue ...

In popular culture

The song was the soundtrack for sketch in the ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' episode hosted by

Josh Brolin Josh James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. A son of actor James Brolin, he gained fame in his youth for his role in the adventure film ''The Goonies'' (1985). After years of decline, Brolin had a resurgence with his starr ...

in 2008. In the skit, a pregnant woman (

Amy Poehler Amy Meredith Poehler ( ; born September 16, 1971) is an American actress and comedian. Known for her roles in sketch comedy, sitcoms and comedy films, she has earned acclaim and several accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award (out of 26 nom ...

, who was really pregnant at the time) flirts with a patron (Brolin) while the song plays. In her 2014 book '' Yes Please'', Poehler reveals that she and the co-writer of the sketch, Emily Spivey, were "obsessed" with the song and had been trying for years to shoehorn it into a sketch.

References

{{authority control 1987 singles 1987 songs Cher songs Gregg Allman songs Epic Records singles Songs written by Tony Colton Song recordings produced by Rodney Mills