Hello friends! A Jefferson Starship vocalist,
two teen idols with the same first name, and a modern cover of a pop standard
that should have been a top 10 hit, yet never was released as a single. That’s
the recipe for today’s spotlighted tune, Mickey Thomas’ 1989 soundtrack
contribution “Dream a Little Dream”.
“Stars shining bright above you… night
breezes seem to whisper ‘I love you’…”
“Dream a Little Dream” (the movie), starring
the two Coreys (Haim and Feldman…like you didn’t know that), the beauteous
Meredith Salenger, and Hollywood icons Harry Dean Stanton and Jason Robards, was
one of many teen comedies of the ‘80s involving people swapping bodies. This is
to mean that person A’s personality was transferred to person B’s body, and
vice versa. In fact, “Vice Versa” was
another movie of this genre, along with “Freaky
Friday”, “Like Father, Like Son”,
and “18 Again”!
“Dream a Little Dream” (the song), is an
American pop standard written in 1931 by Gus Kahn, Fabian Andre and Wilbur
Schwandt, possessing sweet, poetic lyrics which harken back to a classier time which
placed greater emphasis on etiquette and romance than in today’s often crass society.
The first version of this timeless tune appeared in the same year as its
composure as recorded by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra, with Ozzie being best
known to folks of my generation through repeats of the classic sitcom “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” –
thanks Disney Channel!
The
only charting versions to date were a pair of competing recordings released in
1950 by Frankie Laine, and Jack Owens (whom hit #18, and #14, respectively),
and then by the oddly credited “Mama Cass with the Mamas & the Papas” (when
it was actually a true M&P group recording), which hit #12 in 1968.
“Say ‘Good Night’ and kiss me… just hold me
tight and tell me you’ll miss me…”
“Dream a Little Dream” (the soundtrack), featured
two versions of this classic tune, the first recorded by (Jefferson) Starship
vocalist Mickey Thomas as a solo recording, and the other as a duet between
Thomas and swing jazz legend Mel Torme, a.k.a. “The Velvet Fog”. The solo
Thomas version sounds much like his Starship material of the time... minus
vocals from Grace Slick that is. The duet version is taken at a slightly slower
tempo, and has more of a jazz influence befitting Torme, though it is still unquestionably
a pop/rock rendition contemporary with late 80s pop sounds.
Given
that pop radio was very receptive to remakes in the late 80s, (remember big
hits like Simply Red’s “If you Don’t Know
Me By Now”, The Bangles “Hazy Shade
of Winter”, Cheap Trick’s “Don’t Be
Cruel”, and Poison’s “Your Momma
Don’t Dance”), and the fact that the soundtrack already produced a #1 hit
single in Michael Damian’s cover of David Essex’s 1973 hit “Rock On”, “Dream” should have been a
natural choice for a follow up single. A missed opportunity by the record label
to be sure.
Had
“Dream” been issued a single, and amassed some decent chart success, it would
have joined the ranks of Falco's "Puttin’
on the Ritz", and David Lee Roth's "Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" as classic pre-rock era songs
that become hits again in the ‘80s. But alas, ‘twas not to be.
“Stars fading, but I linger on, dear… still
craving your kiss.”
Below
I’ve posted both versions so you can decide for yourself which one would have
had a better shot at top 40 success. For now, we’ll just have to enjoy them
here, and wonder what could have been.
And
from all of us here at the Radio Dial, Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for checking
in on our little parcel on the internet from time to time, we really appreciate
YOU! And save a little bit of the cranberry sauce for us… that stuff is killer!
“Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you… sweet
dreams that leave all worries behind you…
But in your dreams whatever they be... dream a little dream of me!"
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