Angel of Harlem Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jon Secada

"But the light of your eyes
Still shines like an angel
A spirit that won't let me go"

After stepping out from being Gloria Estefan's backup singer, Jon Secada released an eponymous album and one of the singles off of it was "Angel". Later, it also was released in a Spanish version on "Otro Día Más Sin Verte". It was immediately successful and helped Secada's album reach triple platinum certification by the RIAA. Outside the United States, the song was also successful, especially in Canada. A ballad, Secada wrote the song about a meeting with a woman from Amsterdam.

Answer: How Do You Talk to an Angel

"How do you talk to an angel
How do you hold her close to where you are
How do you talk to an angel
It's like trying to catch a falling star"

The television show "The Heights" was aired on the Fox network in the United States and produced by Aaron Spelling. It told the story of a group of musicians who form a band but also were working class and had to find ways to balance out their lives. "How Do You Talk to an Angel" was sung by Jamie Walters and became the theme song for the show. It reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was also nominated for an Emmy Award.

Ironically, the show "The Heights" was cancelled a week after the song fell from the number one position.

Answer: Robbie Williams

"So when I'm lying in my bed
Thoughts running through my head
And I feel the love is dead
I'm loving angels instead"

When Take That broke up, Robbie Williams had already left the band a few months earlier. Battling drug addictions, he opted out of the band but then embarked on a solo career. His first studio album was "Life thru a Lens" and the first three singles off of the album did, well, okay. However, it was the fourth single, "Angels", that really propelled Williams' solo career. It reached number four on the UK singles chart and is Williams' best-selling single.

Answer: ABBA

"Look into his angel eyes
You'll think you're in paradise
And one day you'll find out he wears a disguise
Don't look too deep into those angel eyes"

"Angeleyes" was released as a double A-side along with the now-popular "Voulez-Vous". As a single, it actually charted better than "Voulez-Vous", reaching number 64 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the UK Singles chart. Interestingly, "Angel Eyes" by Roxy Music was also charting in the UK charts at the same time as this song; the two were unrelated to one another.

Answer: The Black Crowes

"Says she talks to the angels
And they call her out by her name"

"She Talks to Angels" is an acoustic rock ballad sung by the Black Crowes. The song was the fourth single off of their debut album "Shake Your Money Maker" and it soared to the top of the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart while hitting number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was also quite popular in New Zealand. Written by the Robinson brothers, Chris Robinson once said that it was based off of a woman he'd met in his hometown of Atlanta who was addicted to heroin.

Answer: Arms

"In the arms of the angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear"

Sarah McLachlan is a Canadian Grammy-winning artist who not only can sing beautifully, but she also writes and arranges her own music. She plays several instruments really well. Her 1998 song "Angel" was the fourth single released from her album "Surfacing" and was one of her better-received songs.

The song talks about heroin addiction in musicians, and their subsequent death through overdose. It was inspired by the passing of Jonathan Melvoin, the touring keyboardist for the rock group Smashing Pumpkins, in 1996. McLachlan's song hit number one on several of the Billboard charts and was also number one on the year-end US Adult Contemporary chart for 1999.

Answer: Playing with My Heart

"No one on earth could feel like this
I'm thrown and overblown with bliss
There must be an Angel
Playing with my heart"

"There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" was a hit for Eurythmics in 1985. It was their second single off of the album "Be Yourself Tonight" and eventually became the only song to hit number one in the United Kingdom by the British duo! The song was also a success worldwide reaching number one in several countries. The most notable fact about the song, however, was the harmonica solo performed by Stevie Wonder.

Answer: Poison

"Win big - mama's fallen angel
Lose big - living out her lies
Wants it all - mama's fallen angel
Lose it all, rolling the dice of her life"

"Fallen Angel" is considered by many to be one of the best songs by the American glam rock band Poison. It was featured as a single off of their second studio album "Open Up and Say... Ahh!" in 1988. It talks about a girl leaving her hometown to make it in the big city of LA and severing her ties to her past, allegorical to the journey that the members of Poison had done. It peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and did well in other parts of the world as well.

Robbie Robertson, a Canadian musician, also had a hit with a song called "Fallen Angel". The song featured Peter Gabriel on backup vocals.

Answer: Charlie's Angels

"Boy, don't call me angel
You ain't got me right
Don't call me angel
You can't pay my price"

The 2019 movie "Charlie's Angels" was a reboot of the television franchises and a continuation of the story in there as well as in the two other feature films. It featured a soundtrack to which Ariana Grande contributed to many songs, including "Don't Call Me Angel". The song was well-received, hitting number one in several countries as well as number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also featured the singing talents of Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey. The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 24th Satellite Awards, losing to "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from the movie "Rocketman".

Answer: U2

"Soul love, this love won't let me go
So long, angel of Harlem"

The second single off of U2's album "Rattle and Hum", "Angel of Harlem" was a worldwide hit. It reached number one on the charts in Canada, New Zealand, and the US Billboard Mainstream Rock, while doing very well in other places. Bono recalled that the song was written when the band went on tour and got to New York City and toured around in a limousine, their first such ride ever. Billie Holiday was playing over the radio and the rest, as they say, was history.