A brief history of Angel Stadium's music

ANAHEIM -- One of the unique things about a live baseball game is the music that soundtracks the experience, from the signing of the national anthem before the game, the crowd blaring “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” at the seventh-inning stretch and even the organ music that some ballparks still have to this day.

The Angels have a few musical traditions of their own. It starts with what has become their unofficial pregame anthem, Train’s “Calling All Angels,” which plays over a video montage of top Angels highlights from over the years on the video board.

The song came out in June 2003, and shortly thereafter the Angels adopted it. Of course, moments from the 2002 postseason were and are featured prominently in the montage, which gets updated each year and sometimes even during the season. For example, prominent events such as no-hitters or a player reaching a historic milestone are added to the reel in-season.

Train, led by lead singer Pat Monahan, also played the song live on the field behind second base at Angel Stadium before the 2010 Home Run Derby that was won by former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz.

After the song and video montage, the Angels' lineup is announced and the players take the field to an instrumental version of Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit In The Sky." It’s another song chosen because of the obvious connection to the club’s namesake.

For a while, the Angels played The Foundations' "Build Me Up Buttercup" during the seventh-inning stretch, with lyrics displayed on the video boards for fans to sing along. But it’s been phased out in recent years, with the Angels playing a variety of songs during the stretch instead.

The music after an Angels home run has also been changed over the years, but it’s currently "Bro Hymn" by Pennywise. They’ve also used "Song 2" by Blur, "Chelsea Dagger" by The Fratellis, "Kernkraft 400" by Zombie Nation, and "Killin' It" by Krewella.

The club, though, still utilizes the Rally Monkey in times of need, with the monkey coming out when the Angels are trailing by four or fewer runs in the sixth inning or later. To this day, the monkey jumps around to -- what else? -- House of Pain's "Jump Around."

After an Angels home win in 2020, the club immediately played “Paradise City” by Guns N' Roses, but they’ve used “Celebration” by Kool and The Gang after home victories in recent years as well.

Like every club, Halos players also get to choose their own walkup music. Players often change their choices from year to year, sometimes during the season. Fans can look up their favorite players’ walk-up music here; it’ll be updated for the 2021 season.