Recorded by 5th Dimension with members of the Wrecking Crew in 1967, "Up, Up and Away" sailed to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 that same year; in 1968, it set a standalone record for the most Grammys won by a single song by nabbing six awards. In 1999, longtime music rights management behemoth BMI ranked "Up, Up and Away" at #43 on a list of the "Top 100 Songs of the Century."
"I was going through a frustrating period in 1965," Webb recalled. "Living in San Bernardino, Calif., I was failing badly in my junior-college music program. Most of my spare time was spent in Hollywood trying to break into the music business. My heart wasn’t in my studies."
While freelancing as a songwriter in Hollywood, Webb became friends with radio DJWilliam F. Williams from KMEN-AM in San Bernardino.
As Webb and Williams walked towards the balloon, Williams asked what turned out to be a very inspirational question: “Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon?”
Williams and Webb were so impressed, they joked around about making a "teen beach" movie, but "in the desert about ballooning." Webb agreed to write the music for the theoretical film.
"I wrote a song for the balloon movie in about 40 minutes," Webb said. "I used a line from Superman for the title and chorus line. On the radio, when I was a kid, Superman would say 'Up! Up! And Away!' just before he flew off."
"By 1966, I was working as a songwriter for singer Johnny Rivers," Webb said. "He had just signed a new group, the 5th Dimension, to his Soul City record label. I wrote five of the 11 songs they wound up recording on their first album. One was 'Up, Up and Away.'"
Related: How This Legendary Singer-Songwriter's '60s Classic Became a #1 Dance Hit — and a 'Seinfeld' Plot Line
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