''Sail Away'' is an album by

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...

, released on May 23, 1972. It was produced by Lenny Waronker and

Russ Titelman Russ Titelman (born August 16, 1944, Los Angeles, California) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has to date won three Grammy Awards. He earned his first producing the Steve Winwood song " Higher Love", and his second and third f ...

and issued on

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

. While all of its songs were written and composed by Newman, several had already been recorded by other artists.

Composition

As with all of Newman's early albums, several of its songs had been previously recorded by other artists. In this case, " Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear" had been a UK hit for

Alan Price Alan Price (born 19 April 1942) is an English musician. He was the original keyboardist for the British band the Animals before he left to form his own band the Alan Price Set. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a m ...

in 1967 and was recorded by

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...

on his 1969 album ''

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

.'' "Dayton, Ohio - 1903" had been recorded by

Billy J. Kramer William Howard Ashton (born 19 August 1943), known professionally as Billy J. Kramer, is an English pop singer. With The Dakotas, Kramer was managed by Brian Epstein during the 1960s and scored hits with several Lennon–McCartney composition ...

as a single in 1969, while Newman and Nilsson recorded a version together for Nilsson's 1970 album '' Nilsson Sings Newman''. Newman himself had also previously recorded "Last Night I Had a Dream" as a single, issued in September 1968. The version heard on ''Sail Away'' is a re-recording with a notably different arrangement. "

You Can Leave Your Hat On "You Can Leave Your Hat On" is a song written by Randy Newman and appearing on his 1972 album '' Sail Away''. According to a retrospective AllMusic review by Mark Deming, the song is a "potent mid-tempo rock tune" and a "witty and willfully perve ...

" was later recorded by

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

in 1986 and this version was featured on the soundtrack of the 1986 film ''

9½ Weeks ''9½ Weeks'' is a 1986 American erotic romantic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne, and starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke. Basinger portrays a New York City art gallery employee who has a brief yet intense affair with a mysterious Wal ...

'' starring

Kim Basinger Kimila Ann Basinger ( ; born December 8, 1953) is an American actress and former fashion model. She has garnered acclaim for her work in film and television, for which she has received various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Glo ...

. A version by Tom Jones appeared on the soundtrack of the 1997 film ''The Full Monty''. "

He Gives Us All His Love "He Gives Us All His Love" is a song written and performed by Randy Newman. It first appeared in the 1971 film ''Cold Turkey'', for which it served as a sort of theme song and played during the opening and closing credits. Newman re-recorded the s ...

" was also initially written and recorded by Newman in a sparser and slower arrangement for the 1971 film ''

Cold Turkey "Cold turkey" refers to the abrupt cessation of a substance dependence and the resulting unpleasant experience, as opposed to gradually easing the process through reduction over time or by using replacement medication. Sudden withdrawal from dru ...

''. The film issued no soundtrack album, and the first commercially available recordings of this song were issued by Sundance (March 1971) and

Ed Ames Ed Ames (born Edmund Dantes Urick; July 9, 1927), who also recorded as Eddie Ames, is an American singer and actor. He is known for playing Mingo in the television series ''Daniel Boone'', and for his pop hits of the mid-to-late 1960s including " ...

(October 1971). The song "Lonely at the Top" was written specifically with

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

in mind, although he never recorded it. Newman himself had already released it (in a solo live performance) on his previous album, ''

Randy Newman Live ''Randy Newman Live'' is a live album by United States, American singer Randy Newman. It is one of only two official live recordings he has released (the other was 2011's ''Live in London''.) The album was recorded over three evenings between Se ...

'' (1971).

Reissue

The album was reissued by

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

on May 5, 2002, with several previously unreleased bonus tracks.

Legacy

In 2000 ''Sail Away'' was voted number 582 in

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...

''. That same year, it was ranked number 268 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

has said that this album profoundly affected him at the time of its release, briefly keeping him from sliding further into depression and mental illness. In particular, Wilson noted that he listened to ''Sail Away'' "over and over" while physically writing down the lyrics which would become

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

' '' Mount Vernon and Fairway'' fairy tale EP.

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

video
Brian Wilson 1976 Full Interview
1976 interview with Bob Harris. In 2021, Wilson ranked ''Sail Away'' third on his list of "5 Albums I Can't Live Without" for ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' magazine. "Burn On" is heard over the opening credits of the 1989 movie '' Major League.'' According to the film's director, David S. Ward, he chose the song because it was the only one he knew of that was about Cleveland, Ohio, which is where the movie takes place. The chorus of the song, "burn on, big river, burn on," refers to when the

Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River ( , or ) is a river located in Northeast Ohio that bisects the City of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie. As Cleveland emerged as a major manufacturing center, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so mu ...

caught fire due to pollution in 1969. The song "Old Man" can be heard in the closing credits of

Noah Baumbach Noah Baumbach () (born September 3, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. He is known for making witty and intellectual comedies set in New York City and has often been compared to writer-directors such as Woody Allen and Whit Sti ...

's 2017 film ''

The Meyerowitz Stories ''The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)'' is a 2017 American comedy-drama film directed and written by Noah Baumbach. The film stars Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Marvel and Emma Thompson, and follows a group of dysfunct ...

.''

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

*Randy Newman – piano, vocals *

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...

–

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

on "Last Night I Had a Dream" and "

" *

– guitar *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America".Howard Sounes. ''Down ...

– drums *

Gene Parsons Gene Victor Parsons (born September 4, 1944, in Morongo Valley, California) is an American drummer, banjo player, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and engineer, best known for his work with the Byrds from 1968 to 1972. Parsons has also released so ...

– drums *

Earl Palmer Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of al ...

– drums *

Chris Ethridge John Christopher Ethridge (February 10, 1947 – April 23, 2012) was an American country rock bass guitarist. He was a member of the International Submarine Band (ISB) and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and co-wrote several songs with Gram Pars ...

– bass guitar *

Wilton Felder Wilton Lewis Felder (August 31, 1940 – September 27, 2015) was an American saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of the Jazz Crusaders, later known as The Crusaders. Felder played bass on the Jackson 5's hits "I Wan ...

– bass guitar *

Jimmy Bond Jimmy Bond is a fictional character in the American Fox television shows ''The Lone Gunmen'' and ''The X-Files'', two science fiction shows about government conspiracies to hide or deny the truth from the people. Portrayed by American actor ...

– bass guitar *

Milt Holland Milton Holland (born Milton Olshansky; February 7, 1917 – November 4, 2005) was an American drummer, percussionist, ethnomusicologist, and writer in the Los Angeles music scene. He pioneered the use of African, South American, and Indian percu ...

– percussion *

Louis Kaufman Louis Kaufman (May 10, 1905 – February 9, 1994) was an American violinist. He played on the soundtrack of as many as 500 movies and made over 100 musical recordings. He is also credited with reviving the music of Antonio Vivaldi with his re ...

–

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

Abe Most Abe Most (February 27, 1920 – October 10, 2002) was a swing clarinetist and alto saxophonist who is known for his performances and recordings of the works of Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman. He began his career in 1939 as a member of Les Brown (ban ...

–

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

on "Lonely at the Top" ;Technical * Lenny Waronker – co-producer *Russ Titelman – co-producer *Randy Newman – arranger *

Emil Newman Emil Newman (January 20, 1911 – August 30, 1984) was an American music director and conductor who worked on more than 200 films and TV series. He was nominated for an Oscar for his musical direction on the classic '' Sun Valley Serenade'' (1941) ...

– conductor on " Sail Away" and "Burn On" *Larry Marks – conductor on "Old Man" *Lee Herschberg – engineer, mixing *

Bruce Botnick Bruce Botnick (born 1945) is an American audio engineer and record producer, best known for his work with the Doors, the Beach Boys, Eddie Money, Love and film composer Jerry Goldsmith. Early work Botnick engineered Love's first two albums, and ...

– engineer *Bob Kovach – engineer *Donn Landee – engineer *Harold "Lanky" Linstrot – engineer *Judy Maizel – production assistant *Trudy Portch – production assistant *Mike Salisbury – graphics, photography

References

{{Authority control 1972 albums Randy Newman albums Albums produced by Lenny Waronker Albums produced by Russ Titelman Reprise Records albums Rhino Records albums Self-covers albums Albums recorded at United Western Recorders Albums arranged by Randy Newman Albums conducted by Randy Newman