"All I Have to Do Is Dream" is a song made famous by

the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

, written by Boudleaux Bryant of the husband-and-wife songwriting team Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, and published in 1958. The song is ranked No. 141 on the ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine's list of

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

. The song is in

AABA form The 32-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century. A ...

The Everly Brothers' original version

The best-known version was recorded by

at RCA Studio Nashville and released as a single in April 1958. It had been recorded by the Everly Brothers live in just two takes on March 6, 1958, and features

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

on guitar. It was the only single ever to be at No. 1 on all of the '' Billboard'' singles charts simultaneously, on June 2, 1958. It first reached No. 1 on the "Most played by Jockeys" and "Top 100" charts on May 19, 1958, and remained there for five and three weeks, respectively; with the August 1958 introduction of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, the song ended the year at No. 2. "All I Have to Do Is Dream" also hit No. 1 on the R&B chart as well as becoming the Everly Brothers' third chart topper on the country chart. The Everly Brothers briefly returned to the Hot 100 in 1961 with this song. Outside the United States, "All I Have to Do Is Dream" saw massive success in various countries, most notably the United Kingdom, where it topped the UK's '' New Musical Express'' chart in June 1958 and remained there for seven weeks (including one week as a joint number one with

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My Heart", and ...

's "

On the Street Where You Live "On the Street Where You Live" is a song with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner from the 1956 Broadway musical ''My Fair Lady''. It is sung in the musical by the character Freddy Eynsford-Hill, who was portrayed by John Mic ...

"), spending 21 weeks on the chart in Britain.All I Have to Do Is Dream - Full Official Chart History
''

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts in ...

''. Retrieved April 3, 2020. The song has also featured on several notable lists of the best songs or singles of all time, including British music magazine '' Q''s 1001 best songs ever in 2003. It was named one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll" by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

Award in 2004. The B-side, "Claudette", was the first major song writing success for Roy Orbison (who also recorded his own version of the song) and was named after his first wife. As a result of this success Orbison terminated his contract with

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny ...

and affiliated himself with the Everly's publisher,

Acuff-Rose Music Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. was an American music publishing firm formed in 1942 by Roy Acuff and Fred Rose (songwriter), Fred Rose in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Acuff-Rose's honest behavior towards their writers set them apart from other m ...

Personnel

Don Everly The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

– lead vocals and acoustic guitar * Phil Everly – lead vocals and acoustic guitar *

– electric guitar *

Floyd Chance Floyd Taylor Chance (21 December 1925 – 11 April 2005), often credited as Lightnin' Chance, was an American session musician who played bass on many successful country and pop records, especially in the 1950s and 1960s. His bass playing can be ...

– upright bass

Certifications

Cover versions

Richard Chamberlain George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show '' Dr. Kildare'' (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as ''Shō ...

covered the song on his 1962 album '' Richard Chamberlain Sings''. Released as a single in 1963, it peaked at No. 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and No. 6 on '' Billboard''s Middle-Road Singles chart. Roy Orbison covered the song on his 1963 album '' In Dreams.

Bobbie Gentry Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is a retired American singer-songwriter, who was one of the first female artists in America to compose and produce her own material. Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 with her Sou ...

and

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

released a duet version in 1969. Their version reached No. 27 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 6 on ''Billboard''s

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart, No. 4 on ''Billboard''s

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart, No. 3 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, No. 6 in Sweden ( Radio Sweden), and No. 3 in South Africa ( Springbok Radio). Donny Osmond's cover version appeared on his 1972 album '' Portrait of Donny''. The

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band. Constant ...

's version, from their 1975 album '' Symphonion Dream'', reached No. 66 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 30 on ''Billboard''s Easy Listening chart, and No. 79 on ''Billboard''s Hot Country Singles chart.

Andy Gibb Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer, songwriter, and actor. He was the younger brother of Barry, Robin and Maurice, who went on to form the Bee Gees. Gibb came to prominence in the late 1970s through th ...

and

Victoria Principal Vicki Ree Principal (born January 3, 1950),R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

contributed their rendition titled "(All I've Got To Do Is) Dream" to the '' Athens, GA: Inside/Out'' soundtrack in 1987. British singer

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

, singing with Phil Everly, recorded a version of the song that peaked at No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart in 1994.

The Dandy Warhols The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band, formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1994 by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström. They were later joined by keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford. H ...

recorded a cover version for the covers compilation soundtrack released in support of video game Stubbs the Zombie in 2005. French singer

Laurent Voulzy Lucien Voulzy (, born 18 December 1948), better known as Laurent Voulzy (), is a French singer-songwriter, composer and musician. Life and career Voulzy was born in Paris, France. He originally led the English-pop-influenced Le Temple de Vénus ...

recorded a version of the song in a duet with

Andrea Corr Andrea Jane Corr MBE (born 17 May 1974) is an Irish singer, songwriter, musician and actress. Corr debuted in 1990 as the lead singer of the Celtic folk rock and pop rock group The Corrs along with her three elder siblings Caroline, Sharon ...

. It was featured on his album ''La Septième Vague'', recorded in 2006 and on the Corrs album '' Dreams: The Ultimate Corrs Collection'', also recorded in 2006. At the 1994

AFI Life Achievement Award The AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the board of directors of the American Film Institute on February 26, 1973, to honor a single individual for his or her lifetime contribution to enriching American culture through motion picture ...

, which was awarded to

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroes ...

and

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 h ...

performed a rendition of the song for Nicholson. Brandi Carlile performed the song at the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Milwaukee native, Patrick Hackett (2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:All I Have To Do Is Dream 1958 singles 1963 singles 1969 singles 1981 singles Songs written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant The Everly Brothers songs Richard Chamberlain songs Cliff Richard songs Glen Campbell songs Bobbie Gentry songs Andy Gibb songs Jan and Dean songs Nitty Gritty Dirt Band songs Ant & Dec songs Billboard Top 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Canada UK Singles Chart number-one singles MGM Records singles Capitol Records singles Rockabilly songs Songs about loneliness Songs about dreams 1958 songs Jangle pop songs Cadence Records singles Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients 1950s ballads Barry Manilow songs