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[4] 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. Indeed, it became the first Christian album by a solo artist to be certified gold (1983), and the first Christian album to be certified platinum. It became so popular that it topped Billboard's 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
| Title | Writer(s) |
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| 1. | "In a Little While" | Amy Grant, Brown Bannister, Gary Chapman, Shane Keister | 4:20 |
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| 2. | "I Have Decided" | Michael Card | 3:13 |
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| 3. | "I Love a Lonely Day" | Chapman, Michael W. Smith | 4:03 |
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| 4. | "Don't Run Away" | Grant, Chapman | 3:33 |
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| 5. | "Fat Baby" | Steve Millikan, Rod Robison | 2:09 |
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| 6. | "Sing Your Praise to the Lord" | Rich Mullins | 3:12 |
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| 7. | "El Shaddai" | Card, John Thompson | 4:05 |
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| 8. | "Raining on the Inside" | Grant, Kathy Troccoli | 4:10 |
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| 9. | "Got to Let It Go" | Grant, Bannister, Chapman, Keister, Smith | 4:00 |
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| 10. | "Arms of Love" | Grant, Chapman, Smith | 3:10 |
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Personnel
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
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|
| 1983 | Top Contemporary Christian | 1 |
Year-end charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|
| 1984 | U.S. Billboard Inspirational Albums | 1 |
| 1985 | 5 |
| 1986 | 5 |
| 1987 | 21 |
Certifications and sales
Accolades
GMA Dove Awards
| Year | Winner | Category |
|---|
| 1983 | "El Shaddai" | Song of the Year |
| Michael Card (for "El Shaddai") | Songwriter of the Year |
| Age to Age | Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year |
| Recorded Music Packaging of the Year |
Grammy Awards
References
