Breakin' Away

Album: Breakin' Away (1981)
Charted: 43
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Songfacts®:

  • "Breakin' Away" is the title track to Al Jarreau's most popular album, which expanded his audience outside the world of jazz. It also includes his hit "We're In This Love Together." Both songs have a theme of finding that special someone who makes you feel like you can take on anything together.
  • Jarreau wrote this song with Tom Canning and Jay Graydon. Canning is a keyboard player who wrote and produced tracks for Jarreau's first seven albums. Graydon is an architect of the West Coast melodic pop sound, writing and producing tracks like "After The Love Has Gone" and "Turn Your Love Around." Graydon worked on many of Jarreau's hits, but isn't a fan of his lyrics.

    Graydon told Songfacts: "We'd write a song, a love song or whatever. Now comes the big payoff, where the guy or the girl should be telling the other guy 'Get out. It's over. Go away.' Instead he starts talking about flowers and things. When it's time for the big payoff everything turns into candy. It's like in 'Breakin' Away': 'Show me some climbing boots, show me some parachutes,' what are you talking about?"

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