These Dreams
Encyclopedia
"These Dreams" is a song by the rock
band Heart
released in 1986 from their 1985 self-titled album
. It was the first song by the band to become a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100
.
(who co-wrote several other pop hits, including "We Built This City
" and "King of Wishful Thinking
") and Bernie Taupin
(longtime collaborator of Elton John
) wrote the music and lyrics to the song now known as "These Dreams." At the time, Page and Taupin were under contract to Columbia Records
and the record company offered the song to Stevie Nicks
, who expressed no interest in recording it. Heart had just recently signed with Capitol Records
. While the band had previously recorded their own material, they were impressed by "These Dreams" and agreed to use it on their upcoming album.
"These Dreams" differed from past Heart hits in that it was a polished, pop power ballad. The song also marked the first Heart single on which lead vocals were performed by Nancy Wilson
instead of Ann Wilson
. According to The Billboard Book of Number One Hits by Fred Bronson
, when it came time for Nancy Wilson to record her vocal, she was suffering from a cold and her voice sounded somewhat raspy and gravelly. After the song reached its peak of success, producers reportedly wanted Nancy to recreate the gravelly sound on future recordings, asking her, "Can't you just get sick again?"
. Following two consecutive US top-ten singles, the song elevated the band's success even further, becoming Heart's first single to hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100
on March 22, 1986. It also became Heart's first (and, to date, only) number one song in the US Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number sixty-two in the UK Singles Chart
; however, a re-issue released in 1988 reached number eight.
The music video
for "These Dreams" received heavy airplay from MTV
and was the third of four US top-ten singles from the Heart album. The single's B-side, "Shell Shock", was also the B-side of Heart's previous single "Never
".
The petite sail-shaped electric guitar Nancy played in the music video was the creation of Nashville luthier
David Petschulat, which had been purchased years earlier.
shortly before the song was made. The lyrics of the song describe the fantasy world a person enters when faced with a difficult situation in real life.
There was also a very limited 7" picture disc version released in the UK.
In 1987 after the success of Alone, These Dreams was rereleased as a double A side in the UK with Never. There was a 7", 12" and limited, laser etched, one sided 12".
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...
band Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
released in 1986 from their 1985 self-titled album
Heart (Heart album)
Heart is the self-titled eighth studio album, but ninth album overall, released by Heart. Released in 1985, the album completed the band's transition into a pop group, a genre that yielded the band its greatest success by far, marking the band's Capitol Records debut, and it spent 92 weeks on the...
. It was the first song by the band to become a number one hit 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...
.
Origin of the song
In 1985, Martin PageMartin Page
Martin Page is a musician, singer, bass player, session musician, and noted pop songwriter.Martin George Page was born at Southampton, Hampshire, England, September 23, 1959 to Alan Richard Page and Ruth Pamela Page...
(who co-wrote several other pop hits, including "We Built This City
We Built This City
"We Built This City" is the title of a song written by Bernie Taupin, Martin Page, Dennis Lambert, and Peter Wolf, and originally recorded by the American pop rock group Starship and released as its debut single on August 1, 1985....
" and "King of Wishful Thinking
King of Wishful Thinking
"King of Wishful Thinking" is a 1990 hit song by the British pop band Go West. It was featured in the film Pretty Woman and appeared on its soundtrack...
") and Bernie Taupin
Bernie Taupin
Bernard John "Bernie" Taupin is an English lyricist, poet, and singer, best known for his long-term collaboration with Elton John, writing the lyrics for the majority of the star's songs, making his lyrics some of the best known in pop-rock's history.In 1967, Taupin answered an advertisement in...
(longtime collaborator of Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
) wrote the music and lyrics to the song now known as "These Dreams." At the time, Page and Taupin were under contract to Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
and the record company offered the song to 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...
, who expressed no interest in recording it. Heart had just recently signed with Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
. While the band had previously recorded their own material, they were impressed by "These Dreams" and agreed to use it on their upcoming album.
"These Dreams" differed from past Heart hits in that it was a polished, pop power ballad. The song also marked the first Heart single on which lead vocals were performed by Nancy Wilson
Nancy Wilson (guitarist)
Nancy Lamoureux Wilson is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer who, with her older sister Ann and lead guitarist Roger Fisher, became the core of the Seattle/Vancouver rock band Heart.-Life and career:...
instead of Ann Wilson
Ann Wilson
Ann Dustin Wilson is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, flute player, songwriter, and occasional guitar player of the rock band Heart.-Personal life:...
. According to The Billboard Book of Number One Hits by Fred Bronson
Fred Bronson
Fredric M. Bronson is an American journalist, author and writer. He is best known for his appearances on American Idol, the weekly "Chart Beat" column in Billboard magazine, and as the author of books related to Billboard charts.Born to Irving and Mildred Bronson and raised in Culver City,...
, when it came time for Nancy Wilson to record her vocal, she was suffering from a cold and her voice sounded somewhat raspy and gravelly. After the song reached its peak of success, producers reportedly wanted Nancy to recreate the gravelly sound on future recordings, asking her, "Can't you just get sick again?"
Song's success
"These Dreams" was released as the third single from Heart's 1985 album HeartHeart (Heart album)
Heart is the self-titled eighth studio album, but ninth album overall, released by Heart. Released in 1985, the album completed the band's transition into a pop group, a genre that yielded the band its greatest success by far, marking the band's Capitol Records debut, and it spent 92 weeks on the...
. Following two consecutive US top-ten singles, the song elevated the band's success even further, becoming Heart's first single to hit number one 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...
on March 22, 1986. It also became Heart's first (and, to date, only) number one song in the US Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number sixty-two in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
; however, a re-issue released in 1988 reached number eight.
The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "These Dreams" received heavy airplay from MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and was the third of four US top-ten singles from the Heart album. The single's B-side, "Shell Shock", was also the B-side of Heart's previous single "Never
Never (Heart song)
"Never" is the name of a song recorded by rock band Heart. It was released as the second single from the band's self-titled 1985 album Heart. The song is an aggressive rock number with an uplifting lyric to a person who has been discouraged by love...
".
The petite sail-shaped electric guitar Nancy played in the music video was the creation of Nashville luthier
Luthier
A luthier is someone who makes or repairs lutes and other string instruments. In the United States, the term is used interchangeably with a term for the specialty of each maker, such as violinmaker, guitar maker, lute maker, etc...
David Petschulat, which had been purchased years earlier.
The song's storyline
This song was dedicated (on the album) to Nancy Wilson's good friend Sharon Hess, who died of leukemiaLeukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
shortly before the song was made. The lyrics of the song describe the fantasy world a person enters when faced with a difficult situation in real life.
Versions and Formats
On its UK 12" and CD single releases, the song was remixed and extended to 5:25. The UK CD single also featured the b-side "Heart of Darkness", and is the only known CD format availability for this rare Heart track.There was also a very limited 7" picture disc version released in the UK.
In 1987 after the success of Alone, These Dreams was rereleased as a double A side in the UK with Never. There was a 7", 12" and limited, laser etched, one sided 12".
Chart performance
| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 27 |
| Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart | 1 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 6 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 38 |
| French Singles Chart | 3 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 30 |
| UK Singles Chart | 8 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart | 2 |
Appearances in other media
- In the 1980s, on The Young and the RestlessThe Young and the RestlessThe Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
, Nina (Tricia CastTricia CastTricia Cast is an American actress, best known for her role as Nina Webster on The Young and the Restless.-Personal life:...
), daydreams of a better life as the song plays in the background. - An instrumental version of "These Dreams" by the group Time Pools can be heard in an episode of season 6 (2006-7) of The SopranosThe SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
. - The song was covered in Italian by the pop classical group The Three Graces on their 2008 self titled album. The title song was also featured on 2004's film smash comedy 50 First Dates50 First Dates50 First Dates is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Segal and written by George Wing. The film stars Adam Sandler as a woman-chasing veterinarian and Drew Barrymore as an amnesiac, along with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Blake Clark, and Dan Aykroyd.Most of the film...
starring American actors Adam SandlerAdam SandlerAdam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
and Drew BarrymoreDrew BarrymoreDrew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
. - An acoustic version of the song appears on the Hawaiian group Na Leo Pilimehana's 2000 album Pocket Full of Paradise.