Angels Among Us
{{for|the Tabernacle Choir album|Angels Among Us (album)}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Angels Among Us
| cover = Alabama - Angels Among Us single.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Alabama
| album = Cheap Seats
| B-side = "Santa Claus (I Still Believe in You)"
| released = December 1993
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Inspirational country, Christmas music
| length = 4:09
| label = RCA Nashville #62643
| writer = Don Goodman
Becky Hobbs
| producer = Teddy Gentry{{cite AV media notes |title=Cheap Seats |others=Alabama |year=1993 |type=CD booklet |publisher=RCA Records |id=66296-2}}
| prev_title = T.L.C. A.S.A.P.
| prev_year = 1993
| next_title = The Cheap Seats
| next_year = 1994
}}
"Angels Among Us" is a song written by Don Goodman and Becky Hobbs and recorded by the American country music band Alabama. The song was released in December 1993 as a Christmas single from the band's 1993 album Cheap Seats. It charted twice on the Hot Country Songs charts. The song features backing vocals from the Sanctuary Choir and Young Musicians Choir of the First Baptist Church of Fort Payne, Alabama. Hobbs also recorded the song on her album The Boots I Came to Town In.
Alabama lead singer Randy Owen has said that the band received "hundreds of letters from all over the world saying that the song was a blessing."{{cite web|url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/A/Alabama/1997/06/24/742802.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711214031/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/A/Alabama/1997/06/24/742802.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=July 11, 2012|title=Alabama energized: Country giants get creative|last=Overall|first=Rick|date=24 June 1996|work=Jam!|accessdate=6 August 2010}} Owen performed the song at the funeral of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. in 2001, with whom he shared a personal friendship.{{cite book|last=Owen|first=Randy|title=Born Country|url=https://archive.org/details/borncountryhowfa00owen_0|url-access=registration|publisher=Harper One|date=2008|pages=[https://archive.org/details/borncountryhowfa00owen_0/page/222 222–6]|isbn=9780061673146}} A live recording of the song is included on Angels Among Us: Hymns and Gospel Favorites, released in 2014.
Background and composition
According to songwriter Becky Hobbs, she experienced a two premonitions in the winter of 1985–1986 that she might not experience her next birthday. Soon after, Hobbs and her bandmates narrowly missed being hit by an 18-wheel semi truck that ran a green light while on the ride home from a live show. Hobbs was convinced that divine intervention spared her life and those of her bandmates and drew from the event to begin writing a new song. After a few years working on "Angels Among Us," she recruited songwriter Don Goodman to help her finish the song.{{cite web|title=Writer Of Alabama’s 'Angels Among Us' Reveals The Terrifying Story Behind The Iconic Song|last=Bryant|first=Manly|date=12 October 2016|website=Country Rebel|url=https://countryrebel.com/blogs/videos/writer-of-alabamas-angel-among-us-reveals-the-terrifying-story-behind-the-iconic-song/|access-date=23 May 2025}}
Critical reception
Tom Roland of New Country magazine wrote that "even when the members of the band get schmaltzy with the kiddie chorus[…]they stop short of going overboard."{{cite journal|last=Roland|first=Tom|date=March 1994|title=Album reviews: Cheap Seats|journal=New Country|volume=1|issue=1|pages=48–49|issn=1074-536X}}
Cover versions
The song's co-writer, Becky Hobbs, included the song on her 1994 album The Boots I Came to Town In.
On December 24, 2012, singer and actress Demi Lovato released a cover of the song to support the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8TgMkbMPkc
|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/r8TgMkbMPkc |archive-date=2021-12-15 |url-status=live|title=Demi Lovato – Angels Among Us|publisher=YouTube|accessdate=July 3, 2018}}{{cbignore}}
On December 5, 2017, country singers Scotty McCreery, Carly Pearce, Sara Evans, Lucy Hale, Tegan Marie, RaeLynn, Jillian Jacqueline, Brennley Brown, CB30 and Temecula Road, all performed the cover to support the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC33OiDWxkE |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205231358/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC33OiDWxkE&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=2017-12-05 |url-status=dead|title=Angels Among Us Music Video – United In Voice|publisher=YouTube|accessdate=August 17, 2018}}
Kristin Chenoweth sang the song with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square in a 2018 Christmas concert.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4HKb4xAhqU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/J4HKb4xAhqU |archive-date=2021-12-15 |url-status=live|accessdate= December 10, 2019|title=Angels among Us (Music Video) | the Tabernacle Choir with Kristin Chenoweth |website=YouTube }}{{cbignore}}
Chris Rupp released a version on his 2018 A New Day: A Cappella, Vol II featuring Tim Foust from Home Free{{Cite web |title=A New Day: A Cappella Vol 2 CD |url=https://chris-rupp-store.myshopify.com/products/a-new-day-a-cappella-vol-2-cd-pre-order |access-date=2022-08-31 |website=Chris Rupp Store}}
Chart performance
"Angels Among Us" debuted on the Hot Country Songs charts dated for the week ending December 25, 1993. The song spent six weeks on the charts and peaked at number 51 in January 1994. On the chart dated for the week ending December 31, 1994, it re-entered and went on to peak at number 28 in January 1995.{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc|date=2008|pages=19–20|isbn=978-0-89820-177-2}} Despite being charted during the holiday season, it remains one of the group's best-known songs, due to its inspirational content as well as its inclusion at funerals and in tribute videos.
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (1993–1994) !align="center"|Peak |
| align="left"|U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks
|align="center"|51 |
| align="left"|Chart (1994–1995)
!align="center"|Peak |
|---|
| align="left"|U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks
|align="center"|28 |
| align="left"|Chart (1996)
!align="center"|Peak |
| align="left"|U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100
|align="center"|22 |
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Angels Among Us}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Alabama|title=Angels Among Us|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=1993|certyear=2022|access-date=August 11, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true|noshipments=true}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Alabama (band) 1990-2002 singles}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Alabama (American band) songs
Category:American Christmas songs
Category:Music videos directed by Deaton-Flanigen Productions
Category:Songs written by Becky Hobbs