''On the Way to the Sky'' is the fourteenth studio
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
released by
Neil Diamond in 1981. It contained the hit "
Yesterday's Songs
"Yesterday's Songs" is a 1981 single by Neil Diamond from his album ''On the Way to the Sky''. The song was a major adult contemporary radio hit, spending six weeks at #1 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' chart and four weeks atop the Canadian Adult Contem ...
", which reached number eleven on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 (and number one on the
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...
chart),
title track
A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title.
Title track may a ...
which peaked at number 27 in the US and a third single, "Be Mine Tonight", which also reached the Top 40, peaking at number 35.
''
Cash Box'' said of "Be Mine Tonight" that "from the full
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
to the singer's unique charisma and delivery, everything works here." ''
Billboard'' said that it's a "bristling midtempo rocker with much of the energy and sass of '
America' or '
Longfellow Serenade.'"
For shipments of a million copies, the album was certified
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Pla ...
by the
RIAA, but underperformed the previous year's 5× Platinum ''
Jazz Singer'', which reached number three on the albums chart and spawned three ''Billboard'' Top 10 hits.
Track listing
Personnel
* Neil Diamond – lead vocals, arrangements (5)
* Alan Lindgren – keyboards, synthesizers, acoustic piano, orchestra arrangements and conductor (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10)
* Tom Hensley – keyboards, acoustic piano, backing vocals, orchestra arrangements and conductor (4, 6, 8, 10)
*
Richard Bennett – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
* Doug Rhone – guitar, backing vocals
* Reinie Press – bass
* Dennis St. John – drums
* King Errisson – percussion
* Vince Charles – percussion
* Patricia Henderson – backing vocals
* Linda Press – backing vocals
* H.L. Voelker – backing vocals
* Julia Waters – backing vocals
* Luther Waters – backing vocals
* Maxine Waters – backing vocals
*
Oren Waters
Oren Waters is an American vocalist best known for his work with the backup singing group The Waters, his siblings: Luther, Maxine and Julia. As an ensemble, Waters has been a part of 260 gold and over 100 platinum albums with artists ranging from ...
– backing vocals
Production
* Producer – Neil Diamond
* Co-Producer – Dennis St. John
* Associate Producers – Andy Bloch, Ron Hitchcock and Alan Lindgren.
* Engineered and Mixed by Andy Bloch and Ron Hitchcock
* Assistant Engineers – Bill Benton, David Bianco, Jack Crymes, Mark Eshelman, Brad Gilderman, John Markland, Karen Segal and Gary Singleman.
* Recorded at Arch Angel Studios,
Record Plant and
The Village Recorder
The Village (also known as Village Recorders, or the Village Recorder) is a recording studio located at 1616 Butler Avenue in West Los Angeles, California.
History
The building was built by the Freemasons in 1922 and was originally a Masonic ...
(Los Angeles, CA);
Sunset Sound Recorders
Sunset Sound Recorders is a recording studio in Hollywood, California, United States located at 6650 Sunset Boulevard.
Background
The Sunset Sound Recorders complex was created by Walt Disney's Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata, from a colle ...
and
Cherokee Studios
Cherokee Studios is a recording studio facility in Hollywood founded in 1972 by members of 1960s pop band The Robbs. Cherokee has been the location of many notable recordings by such artists as Steely Dan, David Bowie, Journey, The Cars, Foreign ...
(Hollywood, CA).
* Mastered by Mike Reese at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA).
* Art Direction and Design – David Kirschner
* Artwork – Jan Weinberg
* Photography – Kenneth McGowan
Certifications and sales
References
Neil Diamond albums
1981 albums
Columbia Records albums
Albums recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders
{{1980s-pop-album-stub