Description
Age to Age is the fourth studio album by the American singer and songwriter Amy Grant, released on Myrrh Records in May 1982, a division of Word. The album was recorded by Jack Joseph Puig at Caribou Ranch Recording Studios in Nederland, Colorado; and at Gold Mine Studio and Sound Stage Studios in Nashville, Tennessee; with Brown Bannister producing. Mixed by Puig at Mama Jo’s Recording Studio in North Hollywood, California. (According to label vice president Dan Johnson, they had the finished album in-house for five months – “This gave us a lot of time to develop in-store merchandising and get our people excited about the album by playing it for them.”)
Age to Age was included among the Best Albums of 1982 by CCM Magazine, voted number two on a list featuring thirteen albums. The album tracks “Sing Your Praise to the Lord” and “El-Shaddai” were as well included among the Top Five Songs. Age to Age was also reported to be the fastes selling album in the history of the Myrrh label at that point in time. (It sold 200,000 copies between May 1982 and the end of the year, according to the label, which was unheard of back in the day. According to CCM Magazine, it was actually also the best selling album of 1984 in the Christian marketplace, as well as the second best selling album of 1985 and the 6th best selling of 1986.)
This was to be twenty-one-year-old Amy’s first studio album since Never Alone, released in 1980, which had been followed by two back-to-back live-concert releases. Age to Age marked a quantum leap for Grant and became her breakthrough album, selling well over a million copies. In 1983 it became the first Christian music album by a solo artist to be Gold-certified by the RIAA, and the first ever Platinum-certified Christian music album by a solo Christian artist in 1985. It became so popular that it topped Billboard’s Christian albums chart for 85 weeks, and was named Gospel Album of the 1980s by Billboard Magazine. Age to Age earned Amy her very first Grammy, for Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary.
To the brain trust were added a couple of soon-to-be stars of CCM, singer/songwriter Kathy Troccoli and, particularly, singer/songwriter/keyboardist Michael W. Smith, who improved the in-house songwriting. The album’s first two singles were the Rich Mullins penned “Sing Your Praise to the Lord” (a classically influenced track featuring a piano intro based on J.S. Bach’s “Fugue No. 2 in C Minor” from The Well Tempered Clavier, Book 1, originally recorded by Mullins’ group Zion on their sole album Behold The Man), and the scripture-based “El Shaddai“, co-written by John Thompson of The New Folk and Armageddon fame and Michael Card. (“El Shaddai” won numerous awards, including a 1983 Dove Award for Song of the Year.) The album as well features a cover of “Fat Baby”, an Andrews Sisters style song written by Rod Robinson and Steve Millikan of Selah fame. (“Fat Baby” was originally recorded by the band for a third album in the works, when the group disbanded in the late 1970s. The album, featuring “Fat Baby” among other tracks, was finally released by the band in 2008, entitled The Lost Sessions.)
CD reissue review
[Bruce A. Brown, CCM, February 1986]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/age-to-age/727497027)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “In A Little While” – 4:20
A2. “I Have Decided” – 3:13
A3. “I Love A Lonely Day” – 4:03
A4. “Don’t Run Away” – 3:33
A5. “Fat Baby” – 2:09
Side Two
B1. “Sing Your Praise To The Lord” – 3:12
B2. “El-Shaddai” – 4:05
B3. “Raining On The Inside” – 4:10
B4. “Got To Let It Go” – 4:00
B5. “Arms Of Love” – 3:10
Note: Simultaneously released on 8-track tape, cassette, and 12-inch vinyl LP by Myrrh Records. Later re-issued on CD.
“Don’t Run Away” (MUSIC VIDEO)
Age to Age in Concert
Amy Grant’s Age To Age Hits Jackpot (CCM Magazine, September 1982).
The Airplay Charts as featured in the September 1982 issue of CCM Magazine. Listings reflect songs receiving the most airplay on stations representing each category – contemporary/rock, adult contemporary, and inspirational – during the four-week period ending 6/30/82.
Amy Grant was featured on the front cover of the August 7, 1982 issue of CashBox Magazine.
ON THE COVER. At a mere 21 years of age, Amy Grant has already become one of the most important singers in the field of gospel music, reaching a younger audience that, until recent years, went fairly ignored by the message of gospel music. Grant is part of an overall influx of younger talent into the gospel genre that has brought a new vitality to the music, and she best exemplifies the new breed as her uniquely stylized readings, were it not for the lyrical content of the material, could easily pass as pop. Grant was more or less “discovered” while recording some demos with artist/producer Chris Christian six years ago in the studio on the campus of Nashville’s Belmont College, and, when Myrrh Records subsequently signed the teenage songstress, it was the beginning of a fruitful relationship that has seen six strong sellers, including her current #1 album, “Age To Age.” This week. Grant’s crystal vocals have earned her the distinction of being named the top female vocalist for the second consecutive year by Cash Box in the inspirational gospel awards. In addition, she has been nominated three times apiece for Grammy awards and Dove awards.
Grant’s ‘Age To Age’ Success Built On Timing, Patience
by Michael Kirk, Cash Box Magazine, April 16, 1983Timing and patience were the critical ingredients to the success of Amy Grant’s “Age to Age” album on Myrrh, according to label vice president Dan Johnson. “We had a lot of time to work with that album and got to plan a lot ahead,” he stated. “That was a major ingredient to it becoming so successful at the sales level.”
Johnson credits Grant’s management team of Mike Blanton and Dan Harrell for their excitement, enthusiasm, creative input and follow-up on the management level also as being keys. This team got together with the Word staff before and after the release of the album to constantly assess its progress and explore further avenues of advanced sales.
“One of the big secrets is that we had the album in-house for five months,” said Johnson. “It was recorded at the Caribou Studio in Colorado in October and wasn’t released until April the following year. This gave us a lot of time to develop In-store merchandising and get our people excited about the album by playing it for them.”
This care and concern went from the music to the cover. Grant’s previous five album covers had all been brightly colored and full bleed. “We decided to go with white and something more simple and classier for ‘Age to Age,- said Johnson. The result was a very tasteful cover that showed a portrait of Grant in a white dress with a white border around the picture.
A major factor in creating demand at the consumer level for the album before it was in the stores was that Grant embarked on a major spring tour and performed four of the songs from the album during her concerts, thereby whetting the appetites of her fans and Christian bookstore customers.
The first single from the album, “Sing Your Praise To The Lord,” reached #1 across the board in a Christian trade – the first time an artist or song had ever done that. That successful single soon led to another, “El Shaddai,” which also topped the charts. Currently, the label has released a single that contains a medley of eight songs from Grant’s concerts. Based loosely on the “hooked on” concept, the single is being merchandised in bookstores with attractive counter displays – the first time the Christian bookstores have ever sold a single to the Contemporary Christian audience.
About three months after the “Age to Age” album was released, Cash Box ran a cover picture of Amy Grant (Cash Box, Aug. 7, 1982), and this “heightened awareness of Amy Grant on the secular level,” said Johnson, adding that the timing was perfect to keep her momentum going.
A major fall tour saw Grant once again performing before packed houses, and once again, this tour spurred album sales. Blanton and Harrell, along with the Word executives, made another key decision with “Age to Age” that has proven to be critical – instead of releasing a new album, they decided to continue to treat the Grant album as a new release. This assured strong sales through Christmas, and now, a year after its initial release, the album is still selling strong and hasn’t yet reached its peak. “It’s the fastest selling record that Word has ever had,” he said, “and with sales over the 350,000 range, we expect it to go gold before the year is out.”
A special discount coupon has now been instituted for the “Age to Age” album, with each customer who buys a medley single getting $2.49 taken off the price of the album. That is the cost of the single, and the discount is attached. This, too, has moved albums.
Amy Grant was a well-established artist before “Age to Age” was released, and her five previous albums have all been top sellers in their own right, with sales increasing on each release. However, it was this sixth album that has seen Grant emerge from one of the top Contemporary Christian artists to a trend-setter in the gospel music world.
“This album is a classic,” said Johnson. “When we were getting it ready for release, we thought about Carole King’s ‘Tapestry’ album and how that was done. I think ‘Age to Age’ compares to that well in the Christian market.”
Although the album has been out for a year and Grant is currently recording another studio album, Word has no plans to release a new Amy Grant project until next year. According to Johnson, “We want to maximize the sales potential of this album before we release another. We feel it can still generate a lot of sales we haven’t touched yet.”
CREDITS. Produced by Brown Bannister. Recorded at Caribou Ranch in Nederland, CO, and at Gold Mine Studio and Sound Stage Studios in Nashville, TN. Mixed at Mama Jo’s Recording Studio in North Hollywood, CA. Engineered by Jack Joseph Puig. Mastered by Steve Hall at MCA Whitney Recording Studios, CA. Arranged by Alan Moore. Vocal Arrangements on tracks A5 and B4 by Alan Moore. Design by Dennis Hill. Photography by Mike Borum. Executive-Producers: Dan Harrell and Michael Blanton.
Musicians: Amy Grant (Lead Vocals), Michael W. Smith (Keyboards), Shane Keister (Keyboards), Cindy Reynolds (Harp), Denis Solee (Saxophone), Gene Meros (Saxophone), Bobby Taylor (Oboe), Jon Goin (Guitar), Mike Brignardello (Bass), Paul Leim (Drums), Farrell Morris (Percussion), Terry McMillan (Percussion). Background Vocals: Alan Moore, Denny Henson, Diana Dewitt, Donna Sheridan, Gary Chapman, Gary Pigg, Jackie Cusic, Kathy Troccoli, Lori Brooks, Pam Mark Hall, and Philip Forrest. Strings by The Shelly Kurland Strings.
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