Angel of Harlem

"Angel of Harlem" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the tenth track on their 1988 studio album Rattle and Hum and was released as its second single in December 1988. It peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart, number eight on the Dutch Top 40, number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Written as a homage to Billie Holiday, it was released with two different B-sides; one was an original U2 song called "A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel," while the other was a live version of Rattle and Hum's "Love Rescue Me".

Content

The lyrical content of the song refers to various New York City-area landmarks, including JFK airport, WBLS radio and Harlem. It also refers to jazz-related history including John Coltrane and A Love Supreme, Birdland club, Miles Davis and Holiday herself ("Lady Day").

History

"Angel of Harlem" was written during 1987's Joshua Tree Tour and the in-studio performance on the Rattle and Hum movie dates from a recording session at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee during the later stages of the tour's third leg. The song was a regular on 1989's Lovetown Tour and was played with B.B. King's band. A stripped-down acoustic rendition was performed on the Zoo TV Tour in 1992 and 1993 on a b-stage positioned in the midst of the crowd. It was then not played again until 2001's Elevation Tour, when it was sometimes performed acoustically and sometimes in its original electric style, albeit without the brass section.

The only performances on 2005's Vertigo Tour came when a fan was pulled on stage in Dallas in late October to play guitar. The fan asked to play "Angel of Harlem" and although Bono's knowledge of the lyrics was poor, the band agreed to the request and the fan played the song along with them.

The song has also been performed on 2009's U2 360° Tour with dedications to Michael Jackson, and included snippets of "Man in the Mirror" and "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough." In the Berlin concert of the 360° Tour three young fans from Prague, Czech Republic, held signs asking to play "Angel of Harlem" together with U2, Bono invited them to the stage, the band lent them the instruments and they played the song together.^[2]^[3]

Track listings

7" and cassette release
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Angel of Harlem"	3:47
2.	"A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel"	5:29

12" and CD release
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Angel of Harlem"	3:47
2.	"A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel"	5:29
3.	"Love Rescue Me" (Live in London, England, 16 October 1988; featuring Ziggy Marley and Keith Richards)	5:24

The version of "A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel" on The Best of 1980-1990 B-Sides disc is actually an edit of the version on this single.

Personnel

Bono — vocals, guitar
The Edge — guitar
Adam Clayton — bass guitar
Larry Mullen Jr. — drums, percussion
The Memphis Horns — brass
Joey Miskulin — organ

Chart positions

Chart (1988–89)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[4]	18
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[5]	23
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)^[6]	19
Germany (Official German Charts)^[7]	31
Ireland (IRMA)^[8]	3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[9]	8
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[10]	1
Spain (AFYVE)^[11]	11
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[12]	25
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)^[13]	9
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	14
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	3
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	1

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)^[14]	100

Preceded by "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers	New Zealand Singles Chart 27 January 1989 – 23 February 1989	Succeeded by "Kiss" by Art of Noise feat. Tom Jones

References

↑ http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/u2-vs-rem.htm
↑ http://www.u2poptarts.cz/jak-jsme-hrali-s-u2.php
↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2MKB12qnNY
↑ "Australian-charts.com – U2 – Angel of Harlem". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
↑ "Ultratop.be – U2 – Angel of Harlem" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
↑ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
↑ "Musicline.de – U2 Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
↑ "Irish Singles Chart". The Irish Charts. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-11-23. Note: U2 must be searched manually.
↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – U2 search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
↑ "Charts.org.nz – U2 – Angel of Harlem". Top 40 Singles.
↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
↑ "Swisscharts.com – U2 – Angel of Harlem". Swiss Singles Chart.
↑ "EveryHit.com search results: U2". Everyhit.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-11-22. Note: U2 must be searched manually.
↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved February 15, 2016.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Billie Holiday

Discography Awards and nominations

Albums	Billie Holiday Sings/Solitude An Evening with Billie Holiday Billie Holiday Billie Holiday at JATP Stay with Me Music for Torching Velvet Mood Lady Sings the Blues Body and Soul Songs for Distingué Lovers Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday at Newport All or Nothing at All Lady in Satin Last Recordings The Essential Billie Holiday: Carnegie Hall Concert Recorded Live Lady in Autumn: The Best of the Verve Years Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933–1944 Remixed and Reimagined

Songs	"Ain't Nobody's Business" "As Time Goes By" "Billie's Blues" "Blue Moon" "Body and Soul" "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" "Don't Explain" "Easy Living" "Embraceable You" "Everything Happens for the Best" "Everything Happens to Me" "Fine and Mellow" "Gloomy Sunday" "God Bless the Child" "Good Morning Heartache" "I Cover the Waterfront" "I Loves You, Porgy" "I Thought About You" "I'll Be Seeing You" "I'll Get By" "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" "Just One of Those Things" "Lady Sings the Blues" "Left Alone" "Love for Sale" "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" "Me, Myself, and I" "Miss Brown to You" "My Man" "Moonlight in Vermont" "Night and Day" "No More" "Now or Never" "Our Love Is Different" "P.S. I Love You" "Pennies from Heaven" "Please Don't Do It Here" "Preacher Boy" "Sophisticated Lady" "Stormy Blues" "Strange Fruit" "Summertime" "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" "Too Marvelous for Words" "Trav'lin' Light" "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" "What Is This Thing Called Love?" "Who Needs You (Baby)" "Why Was I Born?" "Willow Weep for Me" "You Go to My Head"

Videography	The Emperor Jones Symphony in Black New Orleans Sugar Chile Robinson, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and His Sextet The Sound of Jazz

Related topics	"Angel of Harlem" Lady Sings the Blues (book) Lady Sings the Blues (film) Lady Sings the Blues (soundtrack)

Book Category

Rattle and Hum track listing

Album	"Helter Skelter" "Van Diemen's Land" "Desire" "Hawkmoon 269" "All Along the Watchtower" "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" "Freedom for My People" "Silver and Gold" "Pride (In the Name of Love)" "Angel of Harlem" "Love Rescue Me" "When Love Comes to Town" "Heartland" "God Part II" "The Star Spangled Banner" "Bullet the Blue Sky" "All I Want Is You"

Film	"Helter Skelter" "Van Diemen's Land" "Desire" "Exit" "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" "Freedom for My People" "Silver and Gold" "Angel of Harlem" "All Along the Watchtower" "In God's Country" "When Love Comes to Town" "Heartland" "Bad" "Where the Streets Have No Name" "MLK" "With or Without You" "The Star-Spangled Banner" "Bullet the Blue Sky" "Running to Stand Still" "Sunday Bloody Sunday" "Pride (In the Name of Love)" "All I Want Is You"

The Joshua Tree Achtung Baby

U2 singles discography

1980s	1980 "Another Day" "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" "A Day Without Me" "I Will Follow" 1981 "Fire" "Gloria" 1982 "A Celebration" "I Will Follow" (live recorded by Veronica's Countdown) 1983 "New Year's Day" "Two Hearts Beat as One" "Sunday Bloody Sunday" 1984 "I Will Follow" (live, from Under a Blood Red Sky) "Pride (In the Name of Love)" 1985 "The Unforgettable Fire" 1987 "With or Without You" "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" "Where the Streets Have No Name" "In God's Country" 1988 "One Tree Hill" "Desire" "Angel of Harlem" 1989 "When Love Comes to Town" (feat. B.B. King) "All I Want Is You"

1990s	1991 "The Fly" "Mysterious Ways" 1992 "One" "Even Better Than the Real Thing" "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" 1993 "Numb" "Lemon" "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" 1995 "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" "Miss Sarajevo" (as Passengers) 1997 "Discothèque" "Staring at the Sun" "Last Night on Earth" "Please" "If God Will Send His Angels" "Mofo" 1998 "Sweetest Thing"

2000s	2000 "Beautiful Day" 2001 "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" "Elevation" "Walk On" 2002 "Electrical Storm" 2004 "Vertigo" 2005 "All Because of You" "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" "City of Blinding Lights" "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (live, with Paul McCartney) 2006 "One" (with Mary J. Blige) "The Saints Are Coming" (feat. Green Day) 2007 "Window in the Skies" 2008 "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew" (with The Dubliners, Kíla, and A Band of Bowsies) 2009 "Get On Your Boots" "Magnificent" "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"

2010s	2011 "I Will Follow" (live from Glastonbury) 2013 "Ordinary Love" 2014 "Invisible" "The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)" "Every Breaking Wave" 2015 "Song for Someone"

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