Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He achieved success at an early age, winning the Grammy Award for Song of the Year at the age of 21. During his career, he established himself as one of Am ...
and recorded (as "Up–Up and Away") by US soul-pop act
the 5th Dimension
The 5th Dimension is an American vocal group. Their music encompasses sunshine pop, pop soul, and psychedelic soul. They were an important crossover music act of the 1960s and 1970s, although both praised and derided for their particular music ...
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
in July 1967 and no. 9 on its
Easy Listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...
chart, and number one in both
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. In 1999, Webb's song placed 43 on BMI's "Top 100 Songs of the Century".
A canonical example of
sunshine pop
Sunshine pop, originally called soft pop and soft rock, is a loosely defined form of pop music that was first associated with early soft rock producers and songwriters based in Los Angeles, California, during the mid-to late 1960s. Its recording ...
, themed around images of
hot air ballooning
Hot air ballooning is the recreational and competitive Extreme sport, adventure sport of flying hot air balloons. Attractive aspects of balloon (aircraft), ballooning include the exceptional quiet (except when the propane burners are firing), th ...
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
's
Not Like Us
"Not Like Us" is a diss track by the American rapper Kendrick Lamar amidst Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud, his highly publicized feud with the Canadian rapper Drake (musician), Drake. Released on May 4, 2024, through Interscope Records, it broke ...
Grammy Hall of Fame
The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...
.
Personnel
The musical backing was dominated by members of The Wrecking Crew, including trumpeter Tony Terran.
According to the AFM contract sheet, the following musicians laid down the initial instrumental track on February 22, 1967:
*
Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...
(drums)
*
Larry Knechtel
Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles–based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Sim ...
(keyboards)
*Gayle Levant (harp)
*
Joe Osborn
Joe Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018Johnny Rivers (guitar)
* Tommy Tedesco (guitar)
*
Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He achieved success at an early age, winning the Grammy Award for Song of the Year at the age of 21. During his career, he established himself as one of Am ...
(piano)
Two other session players featuring prominently in the final mix were Al Casey (acoustic guitar) and
Bud Shank
Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...
(piccolo).
Chart history
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Notable cover versions
*In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
the 5th Dimension single failed to chart. Released first, a version by US vocal act the
Johnny Mann
John Russell Mann (August 30, 1928June 18, 2014) was an American arrangement, arranger, composer, Conducting, conductor, entertainer, Singing, singer, and musician, recording artist.
Career
Johnny Mann began his music career in the late 1940s i ...
Singers reached no. 6 in August 1967. This rendition won a
Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus The Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus was awarded from 1961 to 1968. In its first year, the award specified that a "chorus" contains seven or more artists. This award was presented alongside the award for Grammy Award for Best Performa ...
in 1968, while the version by 5th Dimension won the Record of the Year.
* Frank Ifield released a cover version on EMI (UK) Columbia label as a 1967 A-side single (released on July 7, 1967).
Usage in media
* For a time,
Dionne Warwick
Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...
's song "
I'll Never Love This Way Again
"I'll Never Love This Way Again" is a song written and composed by English musician Richard Kerr (songwriter), Richard Kerr and American lyricist Will Jennings, and first recorded by Kerr himself for his album ''Welcome to the Club'' as "I Know ...
" preceded reports about people with HIV/AIDS on
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator who was the host of ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nati ...
’s radio show. These later became "
condom
A condom is a sheath-shaped Barrier contraception, barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both external condo ...
updates", preceded by "Up, Up and Away".
* The song was adapted, with new lyrics, as an advertising jingle for
Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles ...
, which then used "Up, Up, and Away — TWA" as its slogan. It was also adapted into a jingle in Australia for the now defunct Trans Australia Airlines in the 1970s.