Break Open the Sky

Album: Tonight (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This reggae-flavored number features Grammy-winning worship leader Israel Houghton.
  • The song's sound was influenced by the Jamaican upbringing of TobyMac's Jamaican wife. He told Reuters: "I feel a sort of rite of passage when it comes to reggae. What's cool about that song is the way we recorded it. We didn't do it digitally. We listened to a lot of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. We wanted this song to feel like it was cut in the '70s, so we ran it through a two-inch tape machine and we put the background singers around one mic like Bob used to do, and we put the horn players around one mic."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Shaun Morgan of Seether

Shaun Morgan of SeetherSongwriter Interviews

Shaun breaks down the Seether songs, including the one about his brother, the one about Ozzy, and the one that may or may not be about his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee.

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

Stan Ridgway

Stan RidgwaySongwriter Interviews

Go beyond the Wall of Voodoo with this cinematic songwriter.

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.