"Dream a Little Dream of Me" is a 1931 song with music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt and lyrics by

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including " Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo ...

. It was first recorded in February 1931 by

Ozzie Nelson Oswald George Nelson (March 20, 1906 – June 3, 1975) was an American actor, director, producer, screenwriter, musician, composer, conductor and bandleader. He originated and starred in '' The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'', a radio and te ...

and also by

Wayne King Harold Wayne King (February 16, 1901 – July 16, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader with a long association with both NBC and CBS. He was referred to as "the Waltz King" because much of his most popular music involved ...

and His Orchestra, with vocals by Ernie Birchill. A popular standard, it has seen more than 60 other versions recorded. The song enjoyed its highest-charting success when it was covered in 1968 by Cass Elliot with

The Mamas & the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...

, and followed the same year with a recording by Anita Harris. More than 40 other versions followed, including by the

Mills Brothers The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies a ...

Sylvie Vartan Sylvie Vartan (; born Sylvie Georges Vartanian; hy, Սիլվի Ժորժ Վարդանյան. on 15 August 1944) is an Armenian-Bulgarian-French singer and actress. She is known as one of the most productive and tough-sounding yé-yé artists. ...

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

The Beautiful South The Beautiful South were an English pop rock group formed in 1988 by Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, two former members of the Hull group The Housemartins, both of whom performed lead and backing vocals. Other members throughout the band's exi ...

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

, Tony DeSare, Eddie Vedder,

Karen Fukuhara is an American actress, best known for her roles as Tatsu Yamashiro/Katana in the 2016 superhero film '' Suicide Squad'' and as Kimiko Miyashira/The Female in the Amazon Prime original series '' The Boys'' (2019–present). Fukuhara is also ...

and Italian vocal group Blue Penguin.

Early recordings

"Dream a Little Dream of Me" was recorded by

and his Orchestra, with vocal by Nelson, on February 16, 1931, for

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing prod ...

. Two days later,

and His Orchestra, with vocal by Ernie Birchill, recorded the song for

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

. "Dream a Little Dream of Me" was also an early signature tune of Kate Smith. Gus Kahn's sentimental, bucolic lyrics citing "birds singing in the sycamore tree," "stars shining" and "night breezes" are a lullaby, specifically a romantic one of parting lovers: "Say nighty-night and kiss me, just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me," "Still craving your kiss" and "Now I'm longing to linger 'til dawn dear." In summer 1950, seven recordings of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" were in release, with the versions by Frankie Laine and Jack Owens reaching the US top 20 at respectively numbers 18 and 14: the other versions were by Cathy Mastice,

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

, Louis Jordan,

Vaughn Monroe Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973) was an American baritone singer, trumpeter, big band leader, actor, and businessman, who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for rec ...

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

and a duet by

Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the young ...

and

Georgia Gibbs Georgia Gibbs (born Frieda Lipschitz; August 17, 1918December 9, 2006) was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs achieved acclaim and notoriety in the mid-1950s interp ...

. Other traditional pop acts to record "Dream a Little Dream of Me" include Louis Armstrong,

Barbara Carroll Barbara Carroll (born Barbara Carole Coppersmith; January 25, 1925 – February 12, 2017) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. Early life and career Carroll was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. She began her classical training in piano at ...

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

, Doris Day,

Joni James Giovanna Carmella Babbo (September 22, 1930 – February 20, 2022), known professionally as Joni James, was an American singer of traditional pop music. Biography Giovanna Carmella Babbo was born to an Italian-American family in Chicago, Illino ...

, and Dean Martin.

The Mamas & the Papas version

"Dream a Little Dream of Me" was recorded for

the Mamas & the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...

April 1968 album release '' The Papas & The Mamas'' with lead vocals by Cass Elliot. The group had often sung the song for fun, having been familiarized with it by member

Michelle Phillips Michelle may refer to: People *Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael * Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle" * Michelle (German singer) * Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottish ...

, whose father had been friends with the song's co-writer, Fabian Andre, in Mexico City where Michelle Phillips' family had resided when she was a young girl. "Mama" Cass Elliot suggested to group leader John Phillips that the group record "Dream a Little Dream of Me". According to him she was unhappy while recording the song, objecting to its campiness. However, Elliot herself would later tell ''Melody Maker'': "I tried to sing it like it was 1943 and somebody had just come in and said, 'Here's a new song.' I tried to sing it as if it were the first time." In the album version, recorded with the Mamas and the Papas, a spoken introduction from an engineer is heard mentioning a drink, and then Papa John Phillips himself concludes with the words: "And now, to sing this lovely ballad, here is Mama Cass". Only the last part was heard on the single version of the song. Cass did her own whistling, which is heard before the song's fade. By the time of the album's release, there were strong indications that the Mamas & the Papas were set to disband, a perception strengthened by the failure of the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

" Safe in My Garden". Having an opportunity to promote the group's best-known member as a soloist, Dunhill Records gave a June 1968 single release to the "Dream a Little Dream of Me" track with the credit reading - to John Phillips' displeasure - "Mama Cass with the Mamas & the Papas"; in its UK release the artist credit simply read "Mama Cass". Promoted in the US press and on billboards with a photograph of a discreetly but obviously nude Elliot lying in a bed of daisies, "Dream a Little Dream of Me" was their last major hit, peaking at #12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 that August (its '' Cash Box'' peak was #10 and in '' Record World'' it reached #8). The ''Billboard'' Easy Listening chart ranked the single as high as #2. In the UK, "Dream a Little Dream of Me" reached #11 that September; the track also afforded Mama Cass a hit in Ireland (#13) and South Africa (#8). In Australia the ''

Go-Set ''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...

'' Top 40 chart ranked "Dream a Little Dream of Me" at #1 for the weeks of 4 & 11 September 1968. Following a fashion retailers' TV commercial, "Dream a Little Dream" was released as a single in Europe in 1992 - credited to the Mamas and the Papas and featuring that group's #1 hit "

Monday, Monday "Monday, Monday" is a 1966 song written by John Phillips and recorded by the Mamas & the Papas, using background instruments played by members of the Wrecking Crew for their 1966 album ''If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears''. It was the grou ...

" as the B-side - to reach #5 in Germany and #22 in Switzerland. In Australia the song spent two weeks at #1, and was the 16th biggest hit of 1968. A slightly different version of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" was included on Elliot's solo debut album, '' Dream a Little Dream''.Fiegel, Eddi. ''Dream a Little Dream of Me: the Life of "Mama" Cass Elliot'' (London: Sidgwick & Jackson. 2005. ) pp.256, 261.

Chart performance

Anita Harris version

Anita Harris' version of "Dream a Little Dream of Me", recorded at Olympic Studios in a session produced by Mike Margolis with

Alan Tew Alan Tew is a British composer and arranger. He got his start in the 1950s as the pianist and arranger for the Len Turner Band based in London. Tew is known as a composer of library music, including the theme tunes for British television pr ...

as musical director, was released 26 July 1968, the week prior to the US

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

debut of the Cass Elliot version. Harris would deny deliberately covering Elliot's "Dream a Little Dream of Me": (Anita Harris quote:)"I ovedthe song on the Mamas & Papas album...so I decided to record it...There were

hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...

no plans to release the other version n the UK It was rushed out erewhen it was known that my version was coming out." (Cass Elliot herself would deny any awareness of the UK single release of Harris' version.) Elliot's version had its UK release the week subsequent to Harris', with both versions debuting in the UK Top 50 dated 10 August 1968, Harris' version at #46 ahead of the Cass Elliot version at #49. However the Elliot version would vault into the Top 30 and then Top 20 over the next two weeks while the Harris version would never reach the Top 30, although Harris's version of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" would maintain a lower chart presence throughout the ascendancy of the Elliot version, with Harris's single peaking at #33 the week after Cass's peak at #11.

Enzo Enzo version

In 1990, "Dream a Little Dream of Me" was covered in French-language with new lyrics by singer Enzo Enzo under the title "Les Yeux ouverts" (). Adapted from the original version by Brice Homs and Kurin Ternovtzeff, it was released in the first quarter of 1991 as the first single from the debut album ''Enzo Enzo'', on which it is the third track. A review in Pan-European magazine '' Music & Media'' praised the song stating: "Keep your eyes wide open, sings this French singer. Better keep your ears wide open, too, listening to cool

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

of this high calibre". In France, the single debuted at number 49 on the chart edition of 23 March 1991, reached number 18 eleven weeks later and stayed in the top 50 for a total of 15 weeks. It charted for five non consecutive weeks on the European Hot 100 Singles, peaking at number 87 on 8 June 1991.

Track listings

* 7" single / 12" maxi / Cassette # "Les Yeux ouverts" — 3:23 # "Chanson confidentielle" — 3:42 * CD maxi, CD maxi (Enzo Enzo – "Les Yeux ouverts") (accessdate: 29 October 2021). # "Les Yeux ouverts" — 3:23 # "Chanson confidentielle" — 3:42 # "14e étage" — 3:16

Charts

Robbie Williams version

English singer-songwriter

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

recorded "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (retitled "Dream a Little Dream") for his tenth studio and second swing album, ''

Swings Both Ways ''Swings Both Ways'' is the tenth studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It is his second swing album after 2001's ''Swing When You're Winning''; unlike the latter, which had one original composition, this album features an e ...

'' (2013). While the album version is a duet with

Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings public ...

, she was omitted from the single version, which was released on 13 December 2013 as the album's second single.

Music video

The video features Williams singing the song whilst presenting a Christmas show in the style of ''

The Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'', not to be confused with the ''Dean Martin Variety Show'' (1959–1960), is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dean Martin. The theme song to the ...

''.

Track listings

*;Irish digital download #"Dream a Little Dream" – 3:10 *;German, Swiss and Austrian digital download #"Dream a Little Dream" (single version) – 3:11 #"You Got Old" – 3:43 #" Puttin' on the Ritz" (remix) – 2:18

Charts

Release history

References

External links

NPR audio piece on "Dream a Little Dream of Me" being one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century

* {{authority control 1931 songs Wayne King songs Blind Guardian songs Cass Elliot songs Doris Day songs Ella Fitzgerald songs Louis Armstrong songs Nat King Cole songs Sissel Kyrkjebø songs Songs about loneliness Songs about dreams Songs with lyrics by Gus Kahn The Mamas and the Papas songs 1968 singles 2013 singles Dunhill Records singles Island Records singles Song recordings produced by Lou Adler Frankie Laine songs Number-one singles in Australia Chicago (band) songs