On the Way to the Sky

On the Way to the Sky is the fourteenth studio album by Neil Diamond, released in 1981. It contains the hit "Yesterday's Songs", which reached number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 (and number one on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart), title track which peaked at number 27 in the US and a third single, "Be Mine Tonight", which also reached the Top 40, peaking at number 35.

Cash Box said of "Be Mine Tonight" that "from the full production to the singer's unique charisma and delivery, everything works here." Billboard said that it's a "bristling midtempo rocker with much of the energy and sass of 'America' or 'Longfellow Serenade.'"

For shipments of a million copies, the album was certified Platinum by the RIAA, but underperformed the previous year's 5× Platinum Jazz Singer, which reached number three on the albums chart and spawned three Billboard Top 10 hits.

Personnel

 * Neil Diamond – lead vocals, arrangements (5)
 * Alan Lindgren – keyboards, synthesizers, acoustic piano, orchestra arrangements and conductor (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10)
 * Tom Hensley – keyboards, acoustic piano, backing vocals, orchestra arrangements and conductor (4, 6, 8, 10)
 * Richard Bennett – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
 * Doug Rhone – guitar, backing vocals
 * Reinie Press – bass
 * Dennis St. John – drums
 * King Errisson – percussion
 * Vince Charles – percussion
 * Patricia Henderson – backing vocals
 * Linda Press – backing vocals
 * H.L. Voelker – backing vocals
 * Julia Waters – backing vocals
 * Luther Waters – backing vocals
 * Maxine Waters – backing vocals
 * Oren Waters – backing vocals

Production

 * Producer – Neil Diamond
 * Co-Producer – Dennis St. John
 * Associate Producers – Andy Bloch, Ron Hitchcock and Alan Lindgren.
 * Engineered and Mixed by Andy Bloch and Ron Hitchcock
 * Assistant Engineers – Bill Benton, David Bianco, Jack Crymes, Mark Eshelman, Brad Gilderman, John Markland, Karen Segal and Gary Singleman.
 * Recorded at Arch Angel Studios, Record Plant and The Village Recorder (Los Angeles, CA); Sunset Sound Recorders and Cherokee Studios (Hollywood, CA).
 * Mastered by Mike Reese at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA).
 * Art Direction and Design – David Kirschner
 * Artwork – Jan Weinberg
 * Photography – Kenneth McGowan