''Reaching for the Sky'' is the second album by soul vocalist

Peabo Bryson Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson ( ; born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the hit singles " Tonight, I Celebrate My Love", "You're Looking Like ...

Reception

Released in 1978, ''Reaching for the Sky'' was Bryson's debut album on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, charting with Quiet Storm staple "Feel the Fire" at number 13 on the R&B singles chart. This tune was covered by

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to stardom as Dorothy Gale in the original seven-time Tony Awards, Tony Award winning Broadway theatre, Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' ...

in 1979 on her '' What Cha' Gonna Do with My Lovin''' album and again in 1980 by

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American Soul music, soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pendergrass lived most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initial ...

as a duet with Mills on his '' TP'' album. The midtempo title track, "Reaching for the Sky", was even more commercially successful, reaching number 6 on the R&B chart.

Track listing

All songs written by

#"Reaching for the Sky" - 4:56 #"Feel the Fire" - 5:03 #"A Fool Already Knows" - 4:02 #"Hold On to the World" - 4:41 #"Love from Your Heart" - 5:22 #"Love Walked Out on Me" - 5:36 #"You Haven't Learned About Love" - 3:32 #"Have a Good Time" - 4:58

Personnel

* Peabo Bryson – lead and backing vocals * Paul Libman – keyboards * Terry Fryer –

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer ...

* Ross Traut – lead guitar, guitar solo (7) * Danny Leake – rhythm guitar * Larry Ball – bass * Morris Jennings – drums, percussion * Bobby Christian –

vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...

, percussion, bells * Sonny Seals – saxophone solo (8) * Richard Evans – arrangements * Dr. Warric Carter – horn and string arrangements, conductor * Johnny Pate – rhythm arrangements and conductor * Jynean Bell – backing vocals * Chuck Colbert – backing vocals * Sharon Johnson – backing vocals * Cynthia White – backing vocals

Production

* Producers – Peabo Bryson and Richard Evans * Executive Producer – Larkin Arnold * Recorded by Bob Brooks, Harry Brotman, Zollie Johnson, Barney Perkins, Jim Scheffler, Paul Serrano and Stu Walters. * Recorded and Mixed at P.S. Recording Studios (Chicago, IL). * Mastered by Ken Perry at

(Hollywood, CA). * Art Direction – Roy Kohara * Design – Art Sims * Photography – Dick Zimmerman

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Certifications

External links

Peabo Bryson-Reaching for the Sky at Discogs

References

{{authority control 1978 albums Peabo Bryson albums Albums conducted by Johnny Pate Capitol Records albums