Sweet Black Angel

“Sweet Black Angel” (sometimes known as “Black Angel”) is a song by The Rolling Stones, featured on their 1972 album Exile on Main St. It was also released on a single as the B-side to "Tumbling Dice" prior to the album.

Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, “Sweet Black Angel” is one of the few outright political songs written by the Rolling Stones. A country-blues ballad, it was written about civil rights activist Angela Davis, who was facing murder charges at the time. Steve Kurutz says in his review, “Having never heard of Angela Davis, a listener could easily overlook the political lyrics and get lost in the circular acoustic plucking or the washboard rhythm that propels the song so well. Yet, by knowing the case history one realizes how deft and clever Mick's lyrics could be, even if he hides behind his best backwoods diction and garbled annunciation [sic] obscure[s] the point. ”

Initial recording took place at Mick Jagger’s “Stargroves” home in England during the mid 1970 Sticky Fingers sessions with overdubs and final mixing being completed later at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles between December 1971 and March 1972. Jagger is on lead vocals and harmonica, Richards and Mick Taylor on guitars and backing vocals, Bill Wyman on bass and Charlie Watts on drums. Richard “Didymus” Washington plays marimba while producer Jimmy Miller lends support on percussion.

Black Angel Blues

"Black Angel Blues", also known as "Sweet Black Angel" or "Sweet Little Angel", is a blues standard that has been recorded by numerous blues and other artists. The song was first recorded in 1930 by Lucille Bogan, one of the classic female blues singers. Bogan recorded it as a mid-tempo, twelve-bar blues, featuring her vocal with piano accompaniment.

In 1934, Tampa Red recorded "Black Angel Blues" for Vocalion Records (no. 2753). The song was performed at a slower tempo and featured prominent slide-guitar lines by Tampa Red. These early songs were released before Billboard or a similar reliable service began tracking such releases, so it is difficult to gauge which version was more popular, although subsequent versions showed Tampa Red's influence. Robert Nighthawk recorded "Black Angel Blues" in 1949 for Aristocrat Records (no. 2301); accompanying Nighthawk on vocal and electric slide guitar were bassist Willie Dixon, and pianist Ernest Lane (the single, with its flip side "Annie Lee Blues", listed the performers as "The Nighthawks"). The following year Tampa Red recorded an updated version of the song, substituting a lyric and calling it "Sweet Little Angel" for Victor Records 22-0107); in 1953, Earl Hooker recorded it as "Sweet Angel" (Rockin' 513).

Sweet Black Angel (album)

Sweet Black Angel is an album recorded by blues pianist Pinetop Perkins and released in 1998. The title track is a cover of Robert Nighthawk's 1949 "Black Angel Blues (Sweet Black Angel)" (based on Lucille Bogan's "Black Angel Blues" from 1930 (covered by Tampa Red in 1934 with the same title and recut by Tampa Red in 1950 as "Sweet Little Angel." B. B. King later covered "Sweet Black Angel" as "Sweet Little Angel" in 1956.

The last track features Perkins playing a boogie on acoustic guitar and remarking on the apparent clumsiness of his finger work.

Track listing