When The Rolling Stones were recording their 1973 album *Goats Head Soup*, Atlantic Records reportedly pushed the band to write another provocative hit in the vein of "Brown Sugar" from 1971's *Sticky Fingers*. Rolling Stones Records president Marshall Chess recalled "really heated arguments" with the label over the choice of lead single, reflecting the familiar tension between artists and record companies over creative direction. The dispute matters as a snapshot of the band navigating commercial pressure at the height of their fame, shortly after The Beatles' split had left them as rock's dominant force.

Rather than repeating "Brown Sugar," whose lyrics about slavery and sexuality had drawn criticism and which the band has since dropped from live shows, the Stones instead offered "Angie" as the single. Keith Richards has given varying accounts of the song's inspiration over the years, at times suggesting it was about no one in particular and at other times linking it to his daughter. "Angie" proved a major commercial success, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and reaching the top five in the UK, Europe, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.