Angel in Blue


"Angel in Blue" is a song written by Seth Justman that was first released by the J. Geils Band on their 1981 album Freeze Frame. Released as a single in 1982, the song reached the Top 40. Cissy Houston and Luther Vandross appear on the song as back up vocalists.
AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine describes the song as "terrific neo-doo wop." Viglione praises it further, stating that it is "arguably the smartest lyric in the J. Geils Band catalogue" with a "strong melody," concluding that it is "four minutes and fifty-one seconds of Peter Wolf reading Seth Justman's post-"Centerfold" wet dream." Music critic Robert Christgau states describes the song as "slick get-'em-off trash" about "a whore with a heart of brass that I'm just a sucker for." Mark Coleman of The Rolling Stone Album Guide finds the song to be "haunting."
"Angel in Blue" was released as a single in 1982, following the Top 10 hits "Centerfold" and "Freeze Frame" from the Freeze Frame album. It peaked at #40 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining there for two weeks. It also reached #55 in the UK. The song also made the Billboard Singles Radio Action chart in a number of regions, including Buffalo, New York, Annapolis, Maryland, Nashville, Tennessee and Jacksonville, Florida. "Angel in Blue" was also released on a number of J. Geils Band compilation albums, including Centerfold, The Very Best J. Geils Band Album Ever and Best of The J. Geils Band, as well as several multi-artist compilation albums.