Up, Up and Away (song)
B-side “Which Way to Nowhere”
Released May 1967
Format 7″ 45 RPM
Recorded April 1966–March 11, 1967
Genre Psychedelic pop, sunshine pop
Length 2:40
Label Soul City
Songwriter(s) Jimmy Webb
Producer(s) Johnny Rivers, Marc Gordon
“Up, Up and Away” is a 1967 song written by Jimmy Webb and recorded by the 5th Dimension, that became a major pop hit, reaching No. 7 in July 1967 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart, and No. 9 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart. In other countries, it reached No. 1 in Canada, and in Australia. The song placed No. 43 on BMI’s “Top 100 Songs of the Century”.
A canonical example of sunshine pop, themed around images of hot air ballooning, it cleaned up at the 10th Annual Grammy Awards in 1968, winning for Record of the Year, 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 and drummer Hal Blaine.
Cover versions
In the United Kingdom, it was the Johnny Mann Singers’ cover version that became the Top 10 hit, reaching No. 6 in August 1967. This version picked up a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus in 1968, and was also recorded in French, becoming popular in Quebec.
Bing Crosby recorded it for his 1968 album Thoroughly Modern Bing.
Diana Ross & the Supremes recorded a version of the song in 1967 for their album Reflections.
Dionne Warwick recorded a version of the tune on her 1967 Valley Of The Dolls.
South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela included the song in his 1967 live album Hugh Masekela Is Alive and Well at the Whisky.
The Sunshine Company included the song on their 1967 debut album Happy Is the Sunshine Company.
Nancy Sinatra included a version on her 1967 album Movin’ with Nancy.
The Impressions released their version on their 1968 album We’re a Winner.
Mrs. Miller sang a cover version in 1968 on her LP record Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing.
Andy Williams released a version in 1968 on his album, Honey.
The Kidsongs Kids sang a cover version in 1986 on their Kidsongs video “Cars, Boats, Trains and Planes”.
Rajput and the Sepoy Mutiny sang a cover version in 1968 on their album, “Flower Power Sitar”.
Used by The Prodigy in the album Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, in the song “Hotride”
Several bars of this song were reprised in the Love Generation version of “Montage” (written by Webb for the movie How Sweet It Is).
The song was covered by Yo Gabba Gabba! in the episode “Flying”.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia