These Dreams

"These Dreams" is a song by American rock band Heart from their self-titled eighth studio album (1985). It was released on January 18, 1986, as the album's third single, becoming the band's first song to top the Billboard Hot 100.[2]

"These Dreams"
Single by Heart
from the album Heart
B-side"All Eyes"
ReleasedJanuary 18, 1986[1]
Format
  • 7-inch
  • 12-inch
  • CD
RecordedJanuary–April 1985
StudioThe Plant, Sausalito, California
Length4:15 (album version)
3:46 (single/video version)
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Ron Nevison
Heart singles chronology
"Never"
(1985)		 "These Dreams"
(1986)		 "Nothin' at All"
(1986)

Background

In 1985, Martin Page (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".[3] The song was offered to Stevie Nicks, who expressed no interest in recording it.[4] 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" was different from earlier Heart songs: it was a polished, power ballad; and it was the first Heart single on which Nancy Wilson performed lead vocals 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?"[2]

Composition

According to the liner notes of Heart, the song was dedicated to Nancy Wilson's good friend Sharon Hess (1963–1985), who died from leukemia shortly before the song was released.[4] The lyrics of the song describe the fantasy world a person enters when faced with a difficult situation in real life.

The lyrics of the song describe a woman who is within a world of fantasy that occurs every time she falls asleep, a world where what is and what isn't cannot always be determined, "every second of the night, I live another life." She speaks of wishing to "hide away from the pain".

The song is performed in the key of B major with a tempo of 79 beats per minute.[5]

Commercial performance

"These Dreams" was released as the third single from Heart's 1985 album Heart. Following two consecutive US top-10 singles, the song elevated the band's success even further, becoming Heart's first single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 22, 1986.[2] It also became Heart's first (and, to date, only) number-one song on the US Adult Contemporary chart[6] and peaked at number 62 on the UK Singles Chart; however, a re-issue released in 1988 (re-released due in large part to the smash success of "Alone" there) reached number eight.

Music video

The music video for "These Dreams" (which used the shorter single version instead of the album version) received heavy airplay from MTV and was the third of four US top-10 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 plays in the music video was the creation of Nashville luthier David Petschulat and had been purchased years earlier. Nancy uses a Dean Guitar for the majority of the video.

Versions and formats

The song was remixed and extended to 5:25. This version appears only on a UK limited, laser etched, one sided 12" single. The UK CD single featured the b-side "Heart of Darkness", and is the only known CD format availability for this rare Heart track.

There was also a limited 7" picture disc version released in the UK.

In 1987 after the success of "Alone", "These Dreams" was re-released as a double A side in the UK with "Never".

Charts

References
  1. http://www.heart-music.com/albums/album_detail.asp?album_id=517 Heart-Discography Archived January 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Bronson, Fred. The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits. New York: Billboard Books, 2003, p. 631.
  3. Bio page at martinpage.com, last accessed 2008-07-04.
  4. "These Dreams" by Heart on Songfacts.com. Last accessed 2008-07-04.
  5. "Key & BPM for "These Dreams" by Heart, Ann Wilson". Tunebat. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  6. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 113.
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 136. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7803." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  9. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9430." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  10. "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 98 no. 18. May 3, 1986. p. 61. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved September 24, 2019 – via Google Books.
  11. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  12. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Heart". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  13. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Heart USA" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Heart – These Dreams" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  15. "Heart: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  16. "Heart Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  17. "Heart Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  18. "Heart Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  19. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending March 22, 1986". Cash Box. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  20. "European Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5 no. 14. April 2, 1988. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved September 24, 2019 – via American Radio History.
  21. "Top 100 Singles of '86". RPM. Vol. 45 no. 14. December 26, 1986. p. 5. ISSN 0315-5994. Retrieved September 24, 2016 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  22. "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 1986". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  23. "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 1986". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  24. "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1986 – Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. December 27, 1986. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
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