4:53 (7\" single/album)
5:07 (12\")"},"label":{"wt":"[[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]]"},"writer":{"wt":"[[Sammy Hagar]], [[Eddie Van Halen]], [[Alex Van Halen]] & [[Michael Anthony (musician)|Michael Anthony]]"},"producer":{"wt":"Van Halen, Mick Jones, Donn Landee"},"prev_title":{"wt":"[[Why Can't This Be Love]]"},"prev_year":{"wt":"1986"},"next_title":{"wt":"[[Love Walks In]]"},"next_year":{"wt":"1986"}},"i":0}}]}" id="mwBA">1986 single by Van Halen
"Dreams" | ||||
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Single by Van Halen | ||||
from the album 5150 | ||||
B-side | "Inside" | |||
Released | May 1986 | |||
Recorded | 1985–1986 | |||
Studio | 5150 Studios, Studio City, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:20 (7" promo) 4:53 (7" single/album) 5:07 (12") | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Songwriter(s) | Sammy Hagar, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen & Michael Anthony | |||
Producer(s) | Van Halen, Mick Jones, Donn Landee | |||
Van Halen singles chronology | ||||
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"Dreams" is a song by Van Halen released in 1986 from the 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. [2] [3] 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.
"Dreams" was written during the Sammy Hagar era of the band. It was performed during most tours featuring Hagar, including the final Hagar reunion tour. Even the Gary Cherone–headed tour supporting Van Halen III 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. 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.
Cash Box 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." [4] Billboard said that "EVH's stinging guitar and Hagar's larynx abuse proclaim this item bona fide hard rock, despite a suspiciously cheerful pop bounce." [5] In a 1998 article written by Rick Reger for the Chicago Tribune , "Dreams" was described negatively as being a, "flaccid piece of pop-metal". [1]
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". [6]
Eddie Van Halen 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 of Night Ranger during the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour), 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, Sammy Hagar 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." [7]
There were three music videos made for the song. The most well known version was released in 1986 and featured the US Navy's Blue Angels performing a variety of aerial stunts with the A-4 Skyhawk. The other two videos were shot in March 1993 from a live performance at the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, California, 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.
Chart (1986) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report) [8] | 51 |
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [9] | 85 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [10] | 22 |
US Cash Box Top 100 [11] | 24 |
UK Singles Chart [12] | 62 |
US Top Rock Tracks ( Billboard ) [13] | 6 |
West Germany (Official German Charts) [14] | 53 |
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 for the virtuosity of its guitarist, Eddie Van Halen. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
5150 is the seventh studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released on March 24, 1986, by Warner Bros. Records and was the first of four albums to be recorded with lead singer Sammy Hagar, who replaced David Lee Roth. The album was named after Eddie Van Halen's home studio, 5150, in turn named after a California law enforcement term for a mentally disturbed person. The album hit number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, surpassing the band's previous album, 1984, which had peaked at number 2 behind Michael Jackson's Thriller album, on which Eddie made a guest appearance.
Sam Roy Hagar, 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 successful solo career, scoring a hit in 1984 with "I Can't Drive 55". He enjoyed further commercial success as the lead vocalist of Van Halen from 1985 through 1996, and from 2003 to 2005.
OU812 is the eighth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in 1988 and is the band's second album to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar. Van Halen began work on the album in September 1987 and completed it in April 1988, one month before its release.
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge is the ninth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released on June 17, 1991, on Warner Bros. Records and is the third to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar. It debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and maintained the position for three consecutive weeks. The album marked a record in the band's history, seeing seven of its eleven tracks released as singles.
Live: Right Here, Right Now. is the first live album by American rock band Van Halen, released in 1993. It is the band's only live album featuring Sammy Hagar and the only live album by Van Halen until the release of Tokyo Dome Live in Concert in 2015.
Balance is the tenth studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on January 24, 1995, by Warner Bros. Records. The album is the last of the band's four studio releases to feature Sammy Hagar as the lead singer. It is also the final Van Halen album to feature bassist Michael Anthony in its entirety. Balance reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 in February 1995 and reached triple platinum status on May 12, 2004, by selling more than three million copies in the US. "The Seventh Seal" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance.
"Jump" is a song by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in December 1983 as the lead single of their sixth studio album, 1984. It is Van Halen's most successful single, reaching number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song differs from earlier Van Halen songs in that it is driven by a keyboard riff, although the song does contain a guitar solo. David Lee Roth dedicated the song to martial artist Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, of whom he was a student. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked "Jump" at number 177 on its updated list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Live Without a Net is a live concert video of Van Halen recorded in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1986, and released later that year. It was of their performance on August 27, 1986 at New Haven's Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The 90-minute release removed a few songs from the full performance. While the band attempted to record the previous night, audio problems prevented it from being used, although some video footage from that night would later surface in music videos. The concerts were part of the 5150 Tour, supporting the album of the same name, Van Halen's first with lead singer Sammy Hagar.
"Dance the Night Away" is a song by American hard rock band Van Halen, and written by its group members. It is the second song from their 1979 album Van Halen II. While the rest of the songs from this album had existed in various forms since their days doing demos and playing clubs, this song was possibly the only song written during the recording sessions for the album.
"Why Can't This Be Love" is a song by the American rock band Van Halen for their seventh studio album, 5150 (1986). The song was the group's first single with Sammy Hagar, replacing founding member David Lee Roth. It was released on both 7" and 12" formats with the latter having an extended version featuring extra lyrics.
"Humans Being" is a song recorded and contributed by American rock band Van Halen for the 1996 disaster film Twister. The song marks the last recording to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar before his departure from the band in June 1996. "Humans Being" was released as a radio-only single in the United States on April 23, 1996, peaking atop the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for two weeks later that year. In Japan, the single was released on CD in July 1996.
I Never Said Goodbye is the ninth studio album by American rock musician Sammy Hagar, released on June 23, 1987, by Geffen Records. It was his first solo album since 1984's VOA, released while he was a member of Van Halen. The album was recorded in ten days under a contractual obligation to Geffen Records as a condition of his leaving the company to join Van Halen and their record label, Warner Bros. Records. The album spent 23 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and became his highest charting solo album, peaking at number 14 on August 15, 1987.
The Van Halen Tour 2004 was a North American concert tour by hard rock band Van Halen. It was the band's first tour since 1998 and saw the return of lead singer Sammy Hagar, who left the band in 1996 after tensions with lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
The 5150 Tour was a concert tour by American hard rock band Van Halen in support of their seventh studio album, 5150.
The For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge 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 longer tours, divided into 99 dates. It featured shows in Hawaii and Mexico, places Van Halen rarely played in their history.
"Top of the World" is a song written by the group Van Halen for their 1991 album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, released as the second single from the album, and spent four non-consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in the U.S., becoming their eighth number one on this chart. It was the only single off the album to crack the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #27. The main guitar riff from "Top of the World" is actually carried over from the closing guitar background riff from 1984's "Jump".
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"Best of Both Worlds" is a song by American rock band Van Halen on their album 5150 that was later released as a single in October 1986. A music video taken from the Live Without a Net concert video was in heavy rotation on MTV.