"Oh What a Dream" is a 1954 blues song written by Chuck Willis

Chuck Willis

Harold "Chuck" Willis was an American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll singer and songwriter. His biggest hits, "C. C. Rider" and "What Am I Living For" , both reached no. 1 in the Billboard R&B chart...

 and originally performed by Ruth Brown

Ruth Brown

Ruth Brown was an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, composer and actress, noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atlantic Records in the 1950s, such as "So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes" and " He Treats Your Daughter Mean".For these...

 backed by members of The Drifters

The Drifters

The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...

(only credited as Rhythmmakers). The song has been described as a torch song with a gospel tint, adding up to a big dose of that R&B balladeering as expressed in the lyrics and Brown's soulful performance:

"Dreamed I held you in my arms

But I'm still waiting for that day to come

Ohh what a dream, what a dream I had last night"

The single became Brown's fourth number one on the U.S. R&B chart.