"Dreams" is a song by

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

released in May 1986, from their seventh studio album '' 5150''. It was the second single from that album, and it reached # 22 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as well as #24 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100. Nine years after its original release, "Dreams" introduced the band to a new generation of fans when it appeared in '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'' and on its soundtrack album.

Background

"Dreams" was written during the

Sammy Hagar Sam Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose before launching a ...

era of the band. It was performed during most

tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

featuring Hagar, including the final Hagar reunion tour. Even the

Gary Cherone Gary Francis Caine Cherone ( ; born July 26, 1961) is an American rock singer and songwriter. Cherone is known for his work as the lead vocalist of the Boston rock group Extreme (band), Extreme and Van Halen. Early life Cherone grew up in Ma ...

–headed tour supporting ''

Van Halen III ''Van Halen III'' is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on March 17, 1998, by Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Mike Post and Eddie Van Halen, it was the band's first studio album in three years after ''Balance'' ...

'' featured the song in their set-list. The song was also used to close the 2004 Democratic National Convention, played after the acceptance speech of

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

. It was also used as the campaign's theme song at rallies across the country in 2004. During an interview with Hagar for ''Rolling Stone'' featuring questions from fans, Hagar said that "Dreams", along with "Right Now", were his favorite Van Halen songs, with "Dreams" being his most favorite if you pushed him. The song has also been redone by Hagar by his solo band, becoming a slower, more contemplative song, performed acoustically instead of the original album's faster-paced rock arrangement.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it a "celebration of teen freedom" and said that "Hagar’s voice cuts loose and soars over the trademark Van Halen hard rock/ classic pop song as only Van Halen can put it down." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' said that "EVH's stinging guitar and Hagar's larynx abuse proclaim this item bona fide hard rock, despite a suspiciously cheerful pop bounce." In a 1998 article written by Rick Reger for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', "Dreams" was described negatively as being a, "flaccid piece of pop-metal". The song was ranked #1 on Ultimate Classic Rock's list of the Top 10 Van Hagar Songs, and was described as a "soaring piece of pop magic".

Arrangements

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...

played guitar and keyboards on the studio version of this song. During the 5150 Tour, he played the keyboards and switched to the guitar during the first solo, while Hagar played the rhythm parts before then. On later tours, he would play guitar only, while the keyboard was either played offstage by a hired performer (such as

Alan Fitzgerald Francis Alan Fitzgerald (born July 16, 1949) is an American musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known as the second bassist of Montrose and as keyboardist for Night Ranger. He has also performed with Gamma, and former Montrose bandma ...

Night Ranger Night Ranger is an American hard rock band from San Francisco, California. The band formed in 1982 and experienced a surge of popularity during the 1980s with the release of several successful albums and hit singles. Guitarist Brad Gillis and ...

during the

For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour The For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour (often abbreviated as the F.U.C.K. Tour or simply The Fuck Tour) was a concert tour by American rock band Van Halen in support of their studio album ''For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge''. It was one of the band's ...

), or prerecorded material was used. During live performances, on the chorus "We'll get higher and higher, straight up we'll climb. Higher and higher, leave it all behind", bassist Michael Anthony usually sang the second "higher" in both parts. On the studio version,

sings them both. This became a standard part of the song's live performances and Eddie Van Halen would also join in the singing. Of the album version, producer Mick Jones said: "I was able to push Sammy to new heights – literally. He was singing so high that he was hyperventilating. He almost passed out."

Music videos

There were three music videos made for the song. The most well known version was released in 1986 and featured the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Blue Angels The Blue Angels, formally named the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, are a Aerobatics, flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.. Blue Angels official site. Formed in 1946, the unit is the second oldest formal aerobatics ...

performing a variety of aerial stunts with the

A-4 Skyhawk The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Douglas Aircraft Company, and later, McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated A4D und ...

. The other two videos were shot in March 1993 from a live performance at the

Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed The Whisky) is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boulev ...

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writing ...

, to celebrate the band's return to the venue after 15 years for promotion of the '' Live: Right Here, Right Now'' release. One version of the video features newscasters and interviews with fans lining up outside the venue before the performance. This version is available on '' Van Halen: Video Hits, Vol. 1''. A second version features far less commentary and more focus on the performance itself.

Charts

Personnel

–

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

Alex Van Halen Alexander Arthur Van Halen ( , ; born May 8, 1953) is an American musician who was the drummer and a co-founder of the rock band Van Halen, which was formed in 1972 by Van Halen and his younger brother Eddie Van Halen, Eddie under the name "Ma ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

* Michael Anthony –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

References

{{authority control 1986 singles 1986 songs Songs about dreams Songs written by Michael Anthony (musician) Songs written by Sammy Hagar Songs written by Alex Van Halen Songs written by Eddie Van Halen Van Halen songs Warner Records singles