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Breakin' Away
Breakin' Away
Studio album by Al Jarreau
Released	June 30, 1981
Recorded	1981
Studio	Dawnbreaker, San Fernando, California
Genre	Crossover jazz; R&B; funk;
Length	41:07
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Jay Graydon
Al Jarreau chronology

Breakin' Away is an album by Al Jarreau, released on June 30, 1981, through the Warner Bros. Records label. To quote AllMusic, "Breakin' Away became the standard bearer of the L.A. pop and R&B sound."^[1]

The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA.^[2]

Chart performance

Breakin' Away remains Al Jarreau's most popular album. It spent two years on the Billboard 200 and peaked at #9.^[3] The album also hit #1 on both the Jazz and R&B charts.

Four single releases made the charts: "We're in This Love Together", "Breakin' Away", "Teach Me Tonight", and "Roof Garden", the latter being only released in The Netherlands, Belgium and France.

At the Grammy Awards in 1982 the album was given the prize for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, while "(Round, Round, Round) Blue Rondo à la Turk" received the award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male. The album was also nominated for Album of the Year.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart performance for *Breakin' Away*
Chart (1982–83)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[4]	80
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[5]	3
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[6]	7
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[7]	36
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[8]	9
US Billboard 200^[9]	9
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)^[10]	23
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[11]	1

Year-end charts

Year End Chart (1982)	Peak position^[12]
U.S. Billboard 200	21
R&B	13
Jazz	1

Certifications

Country	Certifications
France	Gold ^[13]
USA	Platinum ^[14]

Track listing

All tracks written by Tom Canning, Jay Graydon and Al Jarreau, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Closer to Your Love"		3:54
2.	"My Old Friend"	Steve George, John Lang, Richard Page	4:26
3.	"We're in This Love Together"	Roger Murrah, Keith Stegall	3:44
4.	"Easy"		5:23
5.	"Our Love"		3:53
6.	"Breakin' Away"		4:12
7.	"Roof Garden"		6:19
8.	"(Round, Round, Round) Blue Rondo à la Turk"	Dave Brubeck	4:44
9.	"Teach Me Tonight"	Sammy Cahn, Gene De Paul	4:13

Personnel

Al Jarreau – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 3–7, 9), rhythm arrangements (1–7, 9), vocal arrangements (8)
Jay Graydon – synthesizer programming (1, 2), electric guitar (1–7, 9), rhythm arrangements (1–7, 9), vocal arrangements (8)
Tom Canning – acoustic piano (1), Fender Rhodes (1, 4, 9), synthesizers (1–4, 8), rhythm arrangements (1–7, 9), vocal arrangements (8)
David Foster – acoustic piano (2, 5, 6), Fender Rhodes (2, 5, 6), synthesizers (2, 5, 6), string arrangements (5)
Michael Omartian – synthesizers (3), Fender Rhodes (3)
Michael Boddicker – synthesizer programming (2, 8), synthesizers (3–6, 8)
J. Peter Robinson – synthesizers (4)
Larry Williams – synthesizer solo (4)
George Duke – Fender Rhodes (7)
Milcho Leviev – acoustic piano (8), rhythm arrangements (8)
Steve Lukather – electric guitar (2, 3)
Dean Parks – electric guitar (9)
Abraham Laboriel – bass guitar (1–5, 7–9)
Neil Stubenhaus – bass guitar (6)
Steve Gadd – drums (1–5, 7–9)
Jeff Porcaro – drums (6)
Bob Zimmitti – percussion (4)
Billy Byers – string arrangements (9)
Frank DeCaro – album music contractor and string contractor (5, 9)
Tom Scott – horns (1)
Lon Price – alto saxophone (3, 9)
Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone (6, 7)
Jerry Hey – flugelhorn (2), trumpet (6, 7), horn arrangements (6, 7)
Chuck Findley – trumpet (6, 7)
Richard Page – backing vocals (2, 5, 7)
Steve George – backing vocals (2, 5, 7)
Bill Champlin – backing vocals (7)

Production

Producer, mixing – Jay Graydon
Associate producer – Tom Canning
Engineer – Joe Bogan
Second engineer – Debbie Thompson
Basic tracks recorded at Dawnbreaker Studios (San Fernando, CA).
Basic track recording for "Breakin' Away" by Larry Brown at Pasha Music (Hollywood, CA); Second Engineers – Mikey Davis and Csaba Petocz.
Strings recorded by Humberto Gatica at Sunset Sound (Hollywood, CA).
Overdubs and mixing at Garden Rake Studios (Studio City, CA).
Mastered by Bernie Grundman at A&M Studios (Hollywood, CA).
Art direction and design – Christine Sauers
Photography – Susan Jarreau

Notes

^ "AllMusic review". AllMusic.
^ "RIAA – Searchable Database: Al Jarreau". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
^ Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top Pop Albums 1955-1985, Record Research Inc., 1985, p. 183, 495.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 155. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Al Jarreau – Breakin' Away" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 260. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
^ "Charts.nz – Al Jarreau – Breakin' Away". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Al Jarreau – Breakin' Away". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
^ "Al Jarreau Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
^ "Al Jarreau Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
^ "Al Jarreau Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
^ "Top BIllboard 200 Albums of 1982". www.billboard.com. Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
^ https://snepmusique.com/les-certifications/?categorie=Albums&interprete=al%20jarreau
^ https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=al+jarreau&ti=breakin&lab=&genre=&format=&date_option=release&from=&to=&award=&type=&category=&adv=SEARCH#search_section

[1] "AllMusic review". AllMusic.

[riaa-2] "RIAA – Searchable Database: Al Jarreau". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 29, 2024.

[3] Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top Pop Albums 1955-1985, Record Research Inc., 1985, p. 183, 495.

[4] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 155. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[ac_Netherlands_Al_Jarreau-5] "Dutchcharts.nl – Al Jarreau – Breakin' Away" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

[6] Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 260. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.

[ac_New_Zealand_Al_Jarreau-7] "Charts.nz – Al Jarreau – Breakin' Away". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

[ac_Norway_Al_Jarreau-8] "Norwegiancharts.com – Al Jarreau – Breakin' Away". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

[ac_Billboard200_Al_Jarreau-9] "Al Jarreau Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

[ac_BillboardJazz_Al_Jarreau-10] "Al Jarreau Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

[ac_BillboardRandBHipHop_Al_Jarreau-11] "Al Jarreau Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

[12] "Top BIllboard 200 Albums of 1982". www.billboard.com. Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 4 April 2020.

[13] ttps://snepmusique.com/les-certifications/?categorie=Albums&interprete=al%20jarreau

[14] ttps://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=al+jarreau&ti=breakin&lab=&genre=&format=&date_option=release&from=&to=&award=&type=&category=&adv=SEARCH#search_section

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Breakin' Away (album)