Age to Age is the fourth studio album by Christian music singer Amy Grant, released in 1982 on Myrrh Records.
Age to Age was Amy Grant's breakthrough album, finally earning her serious recognition within the burgeoning Contemporary Christian music community as it ushered her into stardom, and also contributed to the creation of the mold for the modern Contemporary Christian music star. The hit success of the album's first two singles, "Sing Your Praise to the Lord," featuring a piano intro based on J.S. Bach's "Fugue No. 2 in C Minor" from The Well Tempered Clavier, Book 1, and "El Shaddai," saw its sales take off, selling well over a million copies. It became the first Christian music album by a solo artist to be certified gold in 1983, and the first ever platinum Christian music album in 1985.
The album was listed at No. 92 in the 2001 book, CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music and it was one of the fastest-selling specifically Christian albums ever released. It sold about 5,000 to 6,000 copies a week on average, which was unheard of for a Christian album at the time. Dan Harrell, one of Grant's managers, claimed that it was the fastest selling record in her record company's history. It became so popular that it topped Billboards Christian albums chart for 85 weeks, including the entire year of 1983, and was named Gospel Album of the 1980s by Billboard. The album title comes from a prominent lyric in one of the album's most prominent tracks, "El Shaddai".
Track listing
Personnel
Amy Grant – lead vocals Michael W. Smith – keyboards Shane Keister – keyboards Jon Goin – guitars Mike Brignardello – bass Paul Leim – drums Terry McMillan – percussion Farrell Morris – percussion Sheldon Kurland – strings Gene Meros – saxophone Denis Solee – saxophone Bobby Taylor – woodwinds Cindy Reynolds – harp Lori Brooks – backing vocals Jackie Cusic – backing vocals Diana DeWitt – backing vocals Phil Forrest – backing vocals Gary Chapman – backing vocals Pam Mark Hall – backing vocals Dennis Henson – backing vocals Alan Moore – backing vocals, arrangements, vocal arrangements (5, 9) Gary Pigg – backing vocals Kathy Troccoli – backing vocals
Production
Michael Blanton – executive producer Dan Harrell – executive producer Brown Bannister – producer Jack Joseph Puig – engineer Mixed at Mama Jo's Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California) Steve Hall – mastering at MCA (Whitney, California) Dennis Hill – design Mike Borum – photography
Videos
A live concert video cassette and LaserDisc was released by A&M Records which includes seven of this album's songs. A music video was produced for "Don't Run Away" featuring Michael W. Smith as the piano player.
Chart history Weekly charts YearChartPosition1983Top Contemporary Christian1
Year-end charts YearChartPosition1984U.S. Billboard Inspirational Albums11985519865198721
Certifications and sales
Accolades GMA Dove Awards YearWinnerCategory1983"El Shaddai"Song of the YearMichael Card (for "El Shaddai")Songwriter of the YearAge to AgePop/Contemporary Album of the YearRecorded Music Packaging of the Year
Grammy Awards YearWinnerCategory1983Age to AgeBest Gospel Performance, Contemporary
References