"Up, Up and Away" is a 1967 song written by

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "MacArthur Park", "Wichita Lineman", "Worst ...

and recorded (as "Up–Up and Away") by US soul-pop act

the 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwee ...

, whose big hit version reached no. 7 on ''Billboard'''s

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' 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), radio play, and online streaming ...

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 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart. The single reached number one in both

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. 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 known as soft pop) is a subgenre of pop music that originated in Southern California in the mid-1960s. Rooted in easy listening and advertising jingles, sunshine pop acts combined nostalgic or anxious moods with "an appre ...

, themed around images of

hot air ballooning Hot air ballooning is the activity of flying hot air balloons. Attractive aspects of ballooning include the exceptional quiet (except when the propane burners are firing), the lack of a feeling of movement, and the bird's-eye view. Since the b ...

, it cleaned up at the 10th Annual Grammy Awards in 1968, winning for

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 reg ...

, Song of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, Best Performance by a Vocal Group, Best Performance by a Chorus and Best Contemporary Song. The instrumental backing was performed by members of the Wrecking Crew, including guitarist Al Casey, trumpeter

Tony Terran Anthony Terran (May 30, 1926 – March 20, 2017) was an American trumpet player and session musician. He was part of the Wrecking Crew, a group of largely uncredited session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who helped famous artists record ...

and drummer

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. ...

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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

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 arranger, composer, conductor, entertainer, singer, and recording artist. Career Johnny Mann's began his music career in the late 1940s in his hometown of Baltimore before serving ...

Singers reached no. 6 in August 1967, and in 1968 won a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus. A French-language recording achieved popularity in Quebec. *

Frank Ifield Francis Edward Ifield OAM (born 30 November 1937) is a British-Australian country music singer and guitarist who often incorporated yodelling into his music. After living in Australia, Ifield returned to the United Kingdom in November 1959 wher ...

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 December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

'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 and American lyricist Will Jennings, and first recorded by Kerr himself for his album ''Welcome to the Club'' as "I Know I'll Never Love This Way A ...

" preceded reports about people with HIV/AIDS on

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...

’s radio show. These later became "

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...

updates," preceded by “Up, Up and Away”.

References

External links

Guitar Tabs & Lyrics

Images of 1967 Single
{{DEFAULTSORT:Up, Up and Away (song) 1967 songs 1967 singles Songs written by Jimmy Webb The 5th Dimension songs Grammy Award for Record of the Year Grammy Award for Song of the Year Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus Ballooning Songs used as jingles Number-one singles in Australia RPM Top Singles number-one singles