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
"Angels" Released: 1984

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
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.	Title	Writer(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

• Amy Grant – lead vocals, background vocals (10)
• Gary Chapman – guitar & guitar solo (4), background vocals (1,4,5,9)
• Jon Goin – guitar (2,3,4,6-10), electric guitar & "fly" guitar (1)
• Dann Huff – guitar (9), guitar solo (1)
• Dean Parks – guitar (7)
• Duncan Mullins – bass (4)
• Mike Brignardello – bass (1-4,6-10)
• Robbie Buchanan – Roland Jupiter 8 (1,2,5), piano (2,3,8), synthesizer (4), keyboards (6,7), Fender Rhodes (7,9)
• Michael W. Smith – keyboards (1-5,8,9,10), Yamaha GS2 (1,2,3,8), piano (5,9,10)
• Shane Keister – synthesizers (2,3,5,9), organ (4)
• Alan Steinberger – synthesizers (1,5,6,10,11)
• Paul Leim – drums (1-4,6-9)
• Kenny Malone – drums (10)
• Lenny Castro – percussion (1,7,9)
• Farrell Morris – percussion (8,10)
• Andy Widders-Ellis – stick bass (3)
• Debrorah Black – background vocals (3)
• Bill Champlin – background vocals (3)
• Kim Fleming – background vocals (1,4,5)
• Steve George – background vocals (6)
• Richard Page – background vocals (6)
• Chris Harris – background vocals (7)
• Mark Mason – background vocals (5)
• Marty McCall – background vocals (3)
• Donna McElroy – background vocals (1,2,4,5,9)
• Gary Pigg – background vocals (2,3,9)
• Billy Sprague – background vocals (7)
• David Thornton – background vocals (7)
• Carmen Twillie – background vocals (3)
• Tamara Champlin – background vocals (3)
• Leann Jones – background vocals (5)
• Curt Lyles – background vocals (5)
• Thomas Kain – background vocals (6)
• Ron Downey – background vocals (10)
• Alan Moore – string arrangements (2,8)

Production

• Producer – Brown Bannister
• Executive producers – Michael Blanton, Dan Harrell, Gary Chapman
• Engineer – Jack Joseph Puig
• Additional engineers – Jim Baird, Kevin Burns, Gene Eichelberger, Steven Ford, Jerry Mahler & Daniel Garcia
• Design – Dennis Hill
• Photography – Mike Borum, Aaron Rapoport

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

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.