"Break Away" (also known as "Breakaway") is a song written by Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle and first recorded by Art Garfunkel for his 1975 album Breakaway. Gallagher and Lyle released their own version on their 1976 album, also titled Breakaway.
"Break Away", with backing vocals by David Crosby and Graham Nash, was the third single release from Garfunkel's album. The song peaked at No.39 on the Billboard Hot 100 and, in February 1976, went to No.1 on the Easy Listening chart for one week.[1]
On the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart, "Break Away" reached No.2.[2] It was blocked from reaching the No.1 position by Paul Simon's song, "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover".
Gallagher and Lyle, the writers of the song, released their version of "Breakaway" in late 1976, the title track of their Breakaway LP. It charted in the British Isles, reaching No.35 in the UK and No.7 in Ireland.
