Bombs Away Dream Babies
Encyclopedia
Bombs Away Dream Babies is an album released by John Stewart on the RSO
label in 1979. It peaked at #10 on the Billboard album chart. Despite selling over a million US copies, the disc never received a Gold or Platinum award from the RIAA.
While Stewart had performed and recorded as a solo act and as the member of various groups for nearly 20 years, Bombs Away Dream Babies represented his first, and only, major commercial success.
The album is a fairly straightforward rock
-pop
album with tinges of the folk
that had been Stewart's staple genre.
The appearance of Lindsey Buckingham
and Stevie Nicks
added to the commercial success of the album as well as contributing greatly to the overall sound of the album. Buckingham's guitar work is understated by his usual standards but integral to the sound achieved while his vocals are a solid counter-point to Stewart's rugged baritone. Nicks' recognisable vocals add weight to the hits "Gold" and "Midnight Wind".
"Gold" reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart, while "Midnight Wind" and "Lost Her in the Sun" made #28 and #34 respectively.
RSO Records
RSO Records was a record label, formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood in 1973. The "RSO" stands for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. The company's main headquarters were at 67 Brook Street, in London's Mayfair...
label in 1979. It peaked at #10 on the Billboard album chart. Despite selling over a million US copies, the disc never received a Gold or Platinum award from the RIAA.
While Stewart had performed and recorded as a solo act and as the member of various groups for nearly 20 years, Bombs Away Dream Babies represented his first, and only, major commercial success.
The album is a fairly straightforward rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
-pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
album with tinges of the folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
that had been Stewart's staple genre.
The appearance of Lindsey Buckingham
Lindsey Buckingham
Lindsey Adams Buckingham is an American guitarist, singer, composer and producer, most notable for being the guitarist and male lead singer of the musical group Fleetwood Mac. Aside from his tenure with Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham has also released six solo albums and a live album...
and Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums...
added to the commercial success of the album as well as contributing greatly to the overall sound of the album. Buckingham's guitar work is understated by his usual standards but integral to the sound achieved while his vocals are a solid counter-point to Stewart's rugged baritone. Nicks' recognisable vocals add weight to the hits "Gold" and "Midnight Wind".
"Gold" reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart, while "Midnight Wind" and "Lost Her in the Sun" made #28 and #34 respectively.
Track listing
All compositions by John Stewart.- "Gold" – 4:26
- "Lost Her in the Sun" – 3:51
- "Runaway Fool of Love" – 2:32
- "Somewhere Down the Line" – 2:52
- "Midnight Wind" – 4:30
- "Over the Hill" – 3:13
- "The Spinnin' of the World" – 1:42
- "Comin' Out of Nowhere" – 2:03
- "Heart of the Dream" – 3:21
- "Hand Your Heart to the Wind" – 3:56
Personnel
- John Stewart – Vocals, GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, Kalimba - Lindsey BuckinghamLindsey BuckinghamLindsey Adams Buckingham is an American guitarist, singer, composer and producer, most notable for being the guitarist and male lead singer of the musical group Fleetwood Mac. Aside from his tenure with Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham has also released six solo albums and a live album...
– Guitar, Vocals - Stevie NicksStevie NicksStephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums...
– Vocals - Bryan Garofalo – BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Vocals - Chris Whelan – Bass, Vocals
- David Jackson – Acoustic Bass
- Michael BottsMike BottsMichael G. Botts was the drummer of 1970s soft rock band Bread and a studio musician.Born in Oakland, California, Botts grew up in nearby Antioch before moving to Sacramento. While in college, he began playing with a band called The Travellers Three and working as a studio musician...
– DrumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s - Richard Slosser – Drums
- Gary Weisberg – Drums
- Russ KunkelRuss KunkelRussell Kunkel , also known as Russ Kunkel, is an American drummer and producer who has worked as a session musician with a number of well-known artists.Kunkel was born in Pittsburgh, PA...
– Drums - Joey Carbone – KeyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Wayne Hunt – Keyboards, Vocals
- Mary Torrey – Vocals
- Buffy Ford Stewart – Vocals
- Christine DeLisle – Vocals
- Mary Kay PlaceMary Kay PlaceMary Kay Place is an American actress, singer, director and screen writer. She is best known as portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, a role which won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series in 1977...
– Vocals - Joey Harris – Vocals
- Croxey Adams – Vocals
- Dave GuardDave GuardDonald David "Dave" Guard was an American folk singer, songwriter, arranger and recording artist. Along with Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane, he was one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio.Guard was educated in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Punahou School in what was then the pre-statehood U.S....
– Vocals - Deborah Tompkins – Vocals
- Catherine Guard – Vocals
Additional personnel
- Rich Fitzgerald - executive producer
- Riley Kathryn - album coordination
- Herbert W. Worthington III - photography, album design
- Jack Upston - logo design
- Seth Terry - layout
- Dave GuardDave GuardDonald David "Dave" Guard was an American folk singer, songwriter, arranger and recording artist. Along with Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane, he was one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio.Guard was educated in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Punahou School in what was then the pre-statehood U.S....
- album title