Not the Song I Mean Top Ten: Dream On (#7)
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (86866)
United States
February 1, 2019 11:11am CST
Calm down. I hear the grumbling already. Remember, this countdown of completely different songs with the same title isn’t “hate one, love the other” (okay, it is with the #1 song....
). In a number of cases I like both, or love both. No “competition” here today....just two very different songs with the same title.
#7: Dream On
YOU’RE THINKING: Aerosmith
I MEAN: Oak Ridge Boys
At this point I should repeat what I often say about my iPod: give me five songs, and I’ll play something you love, something you hate, and something that’ll make you go, “What the heck is that?????”
Let’s start with the ugly boys from Boston. You probably know this song if you’ve spent more than an hour listening to “classic rock” over the past 45 years. It’s a terrific song, a “power ballad” before they were called “power ballads,” and definitely one of Aerosmith’s greatest songs and most enduring legacies.
What you might not know about the Aerosmith song is that it was a flop the first time it was released as a single. That’s where the other “Dream On” comes in: the Righteous Brothers hit the top 40 with their “Dream On” in 1974, two years before the success of the Aerosmith song that you normally associate with that title.
In 1979 country’s Oak Ridge Boys covered the song, presenting a rarity for them (and other quartets): the bass vocals were the lead. As I mentioned yesterday, producers weren’t too keen on people with deeper voices, thinking it would turn off the listening public (darn you, Tennessee Ernie Ford, for proving them so right! ). While two of the greatest vocal acts in country music history — the Statler Brothers and the Oak Ridge Boys — both had bass singers, it was very uncommon for Harold Reid (Statlers) or Richard Sterban (Oaks) to sing lead on more than a verse.
Even here Sterban’s lead vocals are only half of the verses, with the other Oaks jumping in on the last half and the chorus. But what a great song.
A classic optimistic rocker, and a lullaby country tune. They share greatness and a title.
Dream On
THE ONE YOU’RE THINKING:
Written by Steven Tyler
Recorded by Aerosmith
From Aerosmith, 1973
THE ONE I MEAN:
Written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter
Recorded by the Oak Ridge Boys
From The Oak Ridge Boys Have Arrived, 1979
Go where the music is playing (you will be interested in this clip just to see that William Lee Golden DID have a face before he grew that ZZ Top beard!):
). In a number of cases I like both, or love both. No “competition” here today....just two very different songs with the same title.
#7: Dream On
YOU’RE THINKING: Aerosmith
I MEAN: Oak Ridge Boys
At this point I should repeat what I often say about my iPod: give me five songs, and I’ll play something you love, something you hate, and something that’ll make you go, “What the heck is that?????”
Let’s start with the ugly boys from Boston. You probably know this song if you’ve spent more than an hour listening to “classic rock” over the past 45 years. It’s a terrific song, a “power ballad” before they were called “power ballads,” and definitely one of Aerosmith’s greatest songs and most enduring legacies.
What you might not know about the Aerosmith song is that it was a flop the first time it was released as a single. That’s where the other “Dream On” comes in: the Righteous Brothers hit the top 40 with their “Dream On” in 1974, two years before the success of the Aerosmith song that you normally associate with that title.
In 1979 country’s Oak Ridge Boys covered the song, presenting a rarity for them (and other quartets): the bass vocals were the lead. As I mentioned yesterday, producers weren’t too keen on people with deeper voices, thinking it would turn off the listening public (darn you, Tennessee Ernie Ford, for proving them so right! ). While two of the greatest vocal acts in country music history — the Statler Brothers and the Oak Ridge Boys — both had bass singers, it was very uncommon for Harold Reid (Statlers) or Richard Sterban (Oaks) to sing lead on more than a verse.
Even here Sterban’s lead vocals are only half of the verses, with the other Oaks jumping in on the last half and the chorus. But what a great song.
A classic optimistic rocker, and a lullaby country tune. They share greatness and a title.
Dream On
THE ONE YOU’RE THINKING:
Written by Steven Tyler
Recorded by Aerosmith
From Aerosmith, 1973
THE ONE I MEAN:
Written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter
Recorded by the Oak Ridge Boys
From The Oak Ridge Boys Have Arrived, 1979
Go where the music is playing (you will be interested in this clip just to see that William Lee Golden DID have a face before he grew that ZZ Top beard!):
The Oak Ridge Boys perform "Dream On" on Pop! Goes the Country. Circa 1980.
7 people like this
4 responses
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
1 Feb 19
Say what's wrong with Tennessee Ernie? He was just askin' 16 tons and what do you got?
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86866)
• United States
1 Feb 19
He wasn’t supposed to be a star with that deep voice, according to the “experts.”
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
1 Feb 19
@FourWalls What was he supposed to do? Get another day older and deeper in debt?
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86866)
• United States
1 Feb 19
They play our state fair every year. I’ll go see them once every 4-5 years or so. I love harmony, and they sure have it!
@amadeo (111937)
• United States
1 Feb 19
@FourWalls I love harmony.Remember the four freshman.That is harmony
1 person likes this
@Hate2Iron (15724)
• Canada
1 Feb 19
I listened to it and didn't recognize it at all. It must have been Aerosmith... just keyed it into You Tube... and that was the one. Probably took about 3 seconds to recognize it!! ;)
1 person likes this
