Dreams (Fleetwood Mac song)


"Dreams" is a song by Fleetwood Mac from their eleventh studio album Rumours. In the United States, "Dreams" was released as the second single from Rumours on March 24, 1977, while in the United Kingdom it was released as the third single in June 1977. A performance of "Dreams" on stage was used as the promotional music video.
In the US, "Dreams" reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100, the band's only number-one single there; it sold over a million copies. In Canada, "Dreams" also reached number one on the RPM Top 100 Singles chart.

Background and composition

The members of Fleetwood Mac were experiencing emotional upheavals while recording the Rumours album. Mick Fleetwood was going through a divorce. Christine McVie was separating from her husband John McVie. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were ending their eight-year relationship. "We had to go through this elaborate exercise of denial," explained Buckingham to Blender magazine, "keeping our personal feelings in one corner of the room while trying to be professional in the other."
Nicks wrote the song in early 1976 at the Record Plant studio in Sausalito, California. "One day when I wasn't required in the main studio," remembers Nicks to Blender magazine, "I took a Fender Rhodes piano and went into another studio that was said to belong to Sly Stone, of Sly and the Family Stone. It was a black-and-red room, with a sunken pit in the middle where there was a piano, and a big black-velvet bed with Victorian drapes."
"I sat down on the bed with my keyboard in front of me," continues Nicks. "I found a drum pattern, switched my little cassette player on and wrote 'Dreams' in about 10 minutes. Right away I liked the fact that I was doing something with a dance beat, because that made it a little unusual for me."
When Nicks played the song to the rest of the group, "They weren't nuts about it. But I said 'Please! Please record this song, at least try it'. Because the way I play things sometimes... you really have to listen." The band recorded it the following day. Only a basic track was recorded at Sausalito. Recording assistant Cris Morris remembers that "all kept was the drum track and live vocal from Stevie – the guitars and bass were added later in Los Angeles." Christine McVie described the song as having "just three chords and one note in the left hand" and "boring" when Nicks played a rough version on the piano. McVie changed her mind after Buckingham "fashioned three sections out of identical chords, making each section sound completely different. He created the impression that there's a thread running through the whole thing."

Chart performance

In the United States, "Dreams" reached the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 18, 1977, and held it for one week. On the Adult Contemporary chart, "Dreams" was Fleetwood Mac's highest charting single during the 1970s when it reached number 11. In the United Kingdom, "Dreams" went to number 24, staying in the top 40 for eight weeks.
Since its initial release, "Dreams" has reentered the charts on various occasions. It picked up two additional weeks on the UK charts in 2011 following the airing of the Glee Rumours episode. In 2018, "Dreams" returned to the Billboard charts at the number-fourteen spot on their Rock Songs Chart, re popularized by a viral tweet. The song also returned to the New Zealand charts in 2019 at #40. The same year, it also entered the Irish charts for the first time.

Personnel

Weekly charts

Chart Peak
position

Year-end charts

Certifications

The Corrs version

originally recorded "Dreams" for Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, the 20th anniversary album of cover versions which also featured "Don't Stop" by Elton John, "You Make Loving Fun" by Jewel and others from the Goo Goo Dolls and the Cranberries. The cover version was originally recorded similar to the original until Oliver Leiber transformed the recording into a dance and house track mixed with a violin and tin whistle hook and a rhythmic bassline. It was then remixed by Todd Terry for single release and became the first big hit for The Corrs in the UK, reaching number 6 in the UK singles chart and staying in the chart for 10 weeks. The video also won the "Best Adult Contemporary Video" award from Billboard magazine in 1998. The Corrs' second studio album, Talk on Corners, was then re-released with "Dreams" added.
The Corrs performed "Dreams" with Mick Fleetwood from Fleetwood Mac in their concert at the Royal Albert Hall on St. Patrick's Day, 1998.

Critical reception

from Billboard wrote, "The Corrs bring an interesting Celtic flavor to the first pop single from "Legacy: A Tribute To Fleetwood Mac's Rumours." Although it's difficult to let go of the intense drama of the original recording, the act's earnest delivery is to be commended and appreciated. In an effort to better connect with the kids of crossover radio, club icon Todd Terry has been enlisted to remix the song with a more forceful disco sound. It was a wise move that gives this single a fighting chance in drawing the positive attention of the pop masses."

Track listing

and 4
  1. "Dreams" - 4:18
  2. "Dreams" - 3:53
  3. "Dreams" - 3:52
  4. "Dreams" - 7:40
  5. "Dreams" - 7:39
  6. "Dreams" - 4:32

    Charts

Certifications

Deep Dish cover featuring Stevie Nicks

In 2005, Nicks contributed new vocals to a remake of the song by DJ and house music duo Deep Dish. The song appears on their album George Is On, and was a top twenty UK Singles Chart hit and climbed to number 26 on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart. Also, an edited version of the song is included on her 2007 album Crystal Visions – The Very Best of Stevie Nicks. In its music video, directed by Honey, model and actress Winter Ave Zoli serves as the main protagonist.
Chart Peak
position
Australia Singles Chart27
Netherlands Singles Chart18
Belgium Singles Chart42
Irish Singles Chart22
Finland Singles Chart6
US Hot Dance Club Play26
UK Singles Chart14
Italy Singles Chart39