Straight Ahead (Amy Grant album)

Straight Ahead
Studio album by Amy Grant
Released 1984
Recorded 1983-1984 Caribou Ranch, Nederland, CO; The Bennett House, Franklin, TN; Bullet Recording, Nashville, TN; Mama Jo's Studio, North Hollywood, CA; Bill Schnee Studio, North Hollywood, CA; Air Studios, London, England
Genre Contemporary Christian music
Length 38:36
Label Myrrh, A&M Records
Producer Brown Bannister
Amy Grant chronology
A Christmas Album
(1983)		 Straight Ahead
(1984)		 Unguarded
(1985)
Singles from Straight Ahead
  1. "Angels"
    Released: 1984
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]

Straight Ahead is the fifth studio album, and eighth album by Christian music artist Amy Grant, released in 1984. This was Grant's final album on Myrrh Records; she would later strike a record deal with A&M Records.

Straight Ahead was the follow-up to Grant's ground-breaking 1982 album Age to Age. Containing songs that were more aggressive than the ones found on Age to Age, Straight Ahead was not as commercially successful as its predecessor. Nonetheless, it still topped Billboard's Christian album chart for sixty-one weeks, knocking Age to Age from the number-one position. The song "Angels" was also a No. 1 Christian radio hit for thirteen weeks, and won a Grammy Award for "Best Gospel Performance, Female." Straight Ahead would be certified gold in 1985. The song "Thy Word" is based on Psalm 119:105.[2]

In 2007, Straight Ahead was reissued and digitally remastered by Grant's new record label, EMI/Sparrow Records. The remastered edition is labeled with a "Digitally Remastered" logo in the 'gutter' on the CD front.[3]

Straight Ahead was the first Christian album to chart on the Billboard pop album chart. A&M reissued it in 1985, just as Grant was appearing on the Grammy Awards performing "Angels".

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Where Do You Hide Your Heart"  Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith 3:57
2. "Jehovah"  Geoffrey P. Thurman 5:57
3. "Angels"  Grant, Brown Bannister, Gary Chapman, Smith 4:10
4. "Straight Ahead"  Grant, Chapman, Smith 3:47
5. "Thy Word"  Grant, Smith 3:19
6. "It's Not a Song"  Robbie Buchanan, Chapman 3:27
7. "Open Arms"  Grant, Chapman, Bruce Hibbard 3:22
8. "Doubly Good to You"  Rich Mullins 3:12
9. "Tomorrow"  Grant, Chapman, Hibbard 3:24
10. "The Now and the Not Yet"  Pam Mark Hall 3:36

Personnel

Production

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1984 Top Contemporary Christian 1
1985 The Billboard 200 133

Singles - CCM Magazine (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1984 "Angels" Christian Radio–Adult Contemporary 1
"Thy Word" 4
"Jehovah" 2
"The Now And The Not Yet" 20

End of year charts

Year Chart Position
1984 U.S. Billboard Inspirational Albums 3
1985 1
1986 8

End-of-decade charts

Chart (1980-1989) Rank
US Billboard Top Contemporary Christian[4] 11

Commercial performance

Country Sales Certifications
(sales thresholds)
Canada (CRIA) 50,000 Gold
United States (RIAA) 500,000 Gold

Awards

GMA Dove Awards

Year Winner Category
1985 Straight Ahead Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year

Grammy Awards

Year Winner Category
1985 "Angels" Best Gospel Performance, Female

Chart procession

Preceded by
Not of this World by Petra		 Billboard Top Contemporary Christian number-one album
March 31, 1984 – May 25, 1985 		Succeeded by
Beat The System by Petra

References

  1. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r90625/review
  2. ↑ "Thy Word Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
  3. ↑ Sparrow Records News
  4. ↑ "Top Christian Albums - 1980's". Retrieved February 27, 2014.
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