Angel Corpus Christi

Hailing from San Francisco, singer and accordionist Angel Corpus Christi, whose given name is Andrea Ross, launched a series of retro-tinged pop recordings throughout the 1980s. Her spouse, Rich Stim, frequently participated in these projects; he had first risen to prominence in experimental and underground rock circles in the mid-1970s as a member of MX-80. Corpus Christi’s debut arrived in 1984 with I Love New York, an album of covers tied to New York City artists such as the Ramones and Lou Reed. The following year brought Wake Up & Cry, an effort built largely around original material, and Dim the Lights appeared in 1987. Accordion Pop Vol. 1, consisting entirely of accordion interpretations, surfaced in 1989, the same year her first compact-disc collection, The ’80s, gathered both earlier recordings and fresh songs. Corpus Christi resurfaced in 1995 on the major-label imprint Almo Sounds, issuing the polished and immediately memorable White Courtesy Phone. Craig Leon supplied keyboards and handled production duties, while label chief Herb Alpert contributed trumpet to the track “Lazy” and veteran session drummer Hal Blaine added percussion throughout the set. She later contributed accordion to Spiritualized’s Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space and joined Luna’s Dean Wareham for a version of Serge Gainsbourg’s “Je T’aime (I Wanna Boogie With You).”