 The title, and title track, come from the widely circulated poem "Desiderata", which at the time was in circulation as ancient wisdom and not known to be a 1927 poem by Indiana lawyer Max Ehrmann.Crane's supporting musicians included singers Evangeline Carmichael, who sang the "child of the universe" refrain on the title track, and Carol Carmichael, with musicians keyboardist Michel Rubini, guitarist Louie Shelton, flautist Jim Horn, and two percussionists, Joe Porcaro and Emil Richards.The album won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.