Dream Weaver
"Dream Weaver" is a song by the American singer Gary Wright, released as the first single from his third studio album The Dream Weaver in December 1975.
| "Dream Weaver" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Gary Wright | ||||
| from the album The Dream Weaver | ||||
| B-side | "Let It Out" | |||
| Released | December 1975 | |||
| Recorded | 1975 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:17 (album version) 3:15 (single version) | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Gary Wright | |||
| Producer(s) | Gary Wright | |||
| Gary Wright singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The track features Wright on vocals and keyboards and Jim Keltner on drums. According to Gary Wright, the song was inspired by Autobiography of a Yogi, which was given to him by George Harrison.[3] Paramhansa Yogananda's poem "God! God! God!" made reference to "the idea of the mind weaving dreams". The expression "Dream Weaver" was popularized by John Lennon in 1970 in his song "God", taken from his solo album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. This song depicts Lennon's declaration that he was the dream weaver of the 1960s, breaking away from the influences and dogmas that influenced his life.
All instrumentation was created using keyboards except for Keltner's percussion. Gary Wright re-recorded "Dream Weaver" twice, first in 1986 (spelled "Dreamweaver" this time) for the Fire and Ice movie soundtrack, then in 1992 a longer version for the Wayne's World movie soundtrack.
Chart performance
In 1976, the song became a hit in the US; it peaked at #2 on the Billboard chart.[4] It was kept from #1 by both "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" by The Four Seasons and "Disco Lady" by Johnnie Taylor.[5] "Dream Weaver" did get to #1 on Cashbox.[6]
In popular culture
In films
- The 1982 film Endangered Species, when a minor character was listening to it on a portable radio.
- The 1984 film This Is Spinal Tap.
- According to Wes Craven, the song (and its keyboard intro/outro) inspired the concept behind the 1984 film A Nightmare on Elm Street.[7]
- The 1986 film Sid and Nancy.
- The song was re-recorded for the soundtrack of the 1986 film Fire and Ice.
- The 1987 film Spaceballs.
- The 1989 film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.
- The song was once again re-recorded for the soundtrack of the 1992 film Wayne's World.[8] A re-recorded version by Wright appears in the 2016 movie Ghost Team.
- The 1994 film Airheads.
- The 1996 film The People vs. Larry Flynt.
- The 1997 film The Full Monty.
- The 2003 film Daddy Day Care.
- The 2010 Pixar film Toy Story 3.
- The song appeared twice in the 2016 film Ice Age: Collision Course.
In television
- Gary Wright performed the song on an episode of The Midnight Special.
- Portions of "Dream Weaver" were first sampled in a short film appearing in the 1990 Wayne's World episode of Saturday Night Live, in which guest star Wayne Gretzky appears, and Wayne Campbell is picturing that song playing as he imagines himself defeating Gretzky in street hockey and then winning his wife, Janet Jones.
- "Dream Weaver" was heard over the closing credits of the sixth episode of the fourth season of the classic HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show with Bob and David.
- Fox comedy That '70s Show episode, "The First Time" featured "Dream Weaver".
- "Dream Weaver" appeared in the Fox black comedy Scream Queens in the episode, "Lovin' the D".
- A Japanese version of "Dream Weaver" is heard in the Fox animated comedy Family Guy in the episode, "Carter and Tricia".
- "Dream Weaver" was the name of season 1, episode 13 of The Neighbors, where the plot centers around Marty and Debbie Weaver meeting at a high school dance while "Dream Weaver" played.
- "Dream Weaver" was featured in an episode of Nickelodeon's Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn titled "Quaddyshack". It was also featured in a Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn episode titled "The Wonderful Wizard of Quads".
- "Dream Weaver" was featured in an episode of Netflix's Fuller House titled "Hale's Kitchen".
- "Dream Weaver" was played on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
In other media
Use by other musical artists
- "Dream Weaver" and "Love Is Alive" are sampled in "Wordz of Wisdom", a single from 3rd Bass's release, The Cactus Album (1989).
- Dance artist Erin Hamilton covered it for her album One World (1999).
- It was featured prominently in the gay love story film Trick (1999).
- Crowbar recorded a doom metal version of "Dream Weaver" for their album Equilibrium (2000).
- Electronic rock artist JES covered it as a single release (2015).
- Canadian singer-songwriter Kevin Quain released a version of it in October 2017.
- Multiple short clips of the song can be heard in the background of the Stadia launch trailer.
Chart performance
Weekly singles charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[19] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
|
*sales figures based on certification alone | ||
See also
References
- Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (2000), Night Moves: Pop Music in the Late '70s, St. Martin's Press, p. 67, ISBN 978-0-312-19821-3
- "Explore: Soft Rock | Top Songs | AllMusic". Web.archive.org. November 12, 2011. Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 25, 2010. Retrieved August 31, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Gary Wright Biography – Billboard.com
- Hot 100: Week of March 27, 1976 billboard.com
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 18, 2008. Retrieved February 18, 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Craven, Wes. "DVD audio commentary". A Nightmare on Elm Street.
- "The Five Most Culturally Significant Wayne's World Songs". LA Weekly. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Top Singles – Volume 25, No. 01 April 03 1976". RPM. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
- "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. April 17, 1976. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- "Charts.nz – Gary Wright – Dream Weaver". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
- "Gary Wright Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
- "Gary Wright Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
- "Top 100 1976-03-27". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
- "Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
- "Top 100 Hits of 1976/Top 100 Songs of 1976". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
- "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1976". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- "American single certifications – Gary Wright – Dream Weaver". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 6, 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH.
External links
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