"The River of Dreams" is a song by American musician
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
. It is the title track and first single from his 1993 album, ''
River of Dreams
''River of Dreams'' is the twelfth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on August 10, 1993. ''River of Dreams'' presented a more serious tone than found in Joel's previous albums, dealing with issues such as trust and ...
.'' The song was a hit, peaking at number three on the US and UK charts, making it Joel's best-charting single of the decade as well as his final top ten in either country to date. It also hit the top spot in Australia, New Zealand, and on the Canadian and US Adult Contemporary charts. The song was produced by
Joe Nicolo
The Butcher Bros. is an American music production team made up of brothers Phil and Joe Nicolo, originally based out of Philadelphia in the mid-to-late '80s. Together and individually, the brothers have produced albums for a wide variety of ban ...
and
Danny Kortchmar
Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy, ...
.
At least four versions of the song have been recorded and released. Two versions (released years later) include a bridge section containing a piano interlude paralleling Joel's melody from his song "Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel)," which is from the same album. These versions can be found on the boxed sets ''
My Lives
''My Lives'' is a box set compilation of demos, outtakes, B-sides, soundtrack cuts, live recordings and album cuts by American singer/songwriter Billy Joel. It was released on November 22, 2005. The album name is derivative of the Billy Joel so ...
'' and ''Complete Hits Collection: 1973–1999'' – but even these versions differ from each other, both in length and in arrangement: one, for instance, has more percussion. A fourth mix appears as a bonus cut on the UK CD single of "River of Dreams" — the "percapella mix" done by Nicolo.
"The River of Dreams" was nominated for the
Grammy Award for Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
in 1994, but lost out to "
I Will Always Love You
"I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career, ...
" by
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...
. Joel performed the song at the ceremony, and abruptly stopped in the middle of his performance in order to verbally protest
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
's lifetime achievement speech being cut off earlier in the night.
In 1993, Gary Zimmerman, a songwriter from Long Island, New York, attempted to sue Joel for ten million dollars, claiming more than half of "The River of Dreams" was based on his 1986 song "Nowhere Land." Joel said he had no knowledge of Zimmerman or his music, and Zimmerman dropped the lawsuit in 1994.
Production
The song borrows from the traditions of
black gospel music and
spirituals. The production includes a gospel choir and the lyrics deal with inner peace and the afterlife. Joel sings "Not sure about a life after this. God knows I've never been a spiritual man," while stating that at night he walks along "The River of Dreams" so he can "find what he's been looking for." At 3 minutes 45 seconds, Joel can be heard singing
The Cadillacs
The Cadillacs were an American rock and roll and doo-wop group from Harlem, New York, active from 1953 to 1962. The group was noted for their 1955 hit "Speedo", written by Esther Navarro, which was instrumental in attracting white audiences to ...
' version of "
Gloria
Gloria may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music
* Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise
* Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise
** Gloria (Handel)
** Gloria (Jenkins) ...
" as the music fades out.
Critical reception
Pan-European magazine ''
Music & Media
''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...
'' wrote, "Two ancient vocal genres meet each other in a modern rhythmic context, when Joel's doowop
falsetto
''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...
gets wrapped up in the sound of
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
backup singers." Alan Jones from ''
Music Week
''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future.
History
Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...
'' gave the song three out of five, describing it as "a simple and immediate song wherein his vocals are echoed by a choir who imbue the song with spiritual qualities." He added, "A lot of fun, highly infectious and a hit."
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for the song was directed by
Andy Morahan
Andrew Douglas Morahan (born 11 August 1958) is a British commercial, film and music video director. He is the son of director Christopher Morahan and the half-brother of actress Hattie Morahan.
Married to Joanna Lewis, he has two children.
Vi ...
.
The ferry featured is the
Rocky Hill – Glastonbury Ferry
''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess ...
in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. The video was shot on the
Providence & Worcester railroad bridge
Providence often refers to:
* Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion
* Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity
* Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in th ...
spanning the
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...
in the city of
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settler ...
. Joel and three backup singers appear throughout the video standing on the western span of the bridge, with the open center section of the bridge behind them. Other locations that were filmed in the music video are near
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
,
East Haddam
East Haddam is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut. The population was 8,875 at the time of the 2020 census.
History
Until 1650, the area of East Haddam was inhabited by at least three Indigenous peoples: the Wangunk, the Mohegan and the Ni ...
, and
Old Saybrook, Connecticut
Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,481 at the 2020 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybro ...
. The scenes inside the
tobacco barn
The tobacco barn, a type of functionally classified barn found in the USA, was once an essential ingredient in the process of air- curing tobacco. In the 21st century they are fast disappearing from the landscape in places where they were once ubi ...
with Joel on the piano were filmed inside a still-used tobacco barn in
South Glastonbury, Connecticut.
Joel's then-wife
Christie Brinkley
Christie Lee Brinkley (née Hudson; born February 2, 1954) is an American model, actress, and entrepreneur. Brinkley gained worldwide fame with her appearances in ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues'', ultimately appearing on an unprecedented ...
can be seen painting the artwork that features on the front cover of the album ''
River of Dreams
''River of Dreams'' is the twelfth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on August 10, 1993. ''River of Dreams'' presented a more serious tone than found in Joel's previous albums, dealing with issues such as trust and ...
.'' She is the illustrator who painted the actual album artwork, and each single released from the album featured one part of the large painting as cover art.
Track listings
All songs were written by Billy Joel.
* UK CD single
# "The River of Dreams"
# "The River of Dreams" (Percapella mix)
# "The Great Wall of China"
* Japanese mini-CD single
# "The River of Dreams" – 4:07
# "No Man's Land" – 4:49
Personnel
*
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
– lead vocals, piano,
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...
, synthesizer
*
Zachary Alford
Zachary "Zack" Alford is a professional drummer, known for his work with the B-52's, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Tomoyasu Hotei. Alford was brought in by Danny Kortchmar to drum on Billy Joel's ''River of Dreams'' album.
Alford contrib ...
Discogs – ''Zachary Alford'' – (profile & discography)
/ref> – drums
* Lewis Del Gatto – orchestra manager
* Lonnie Hillyer – bass
* Jeff Jacobs – additional programming
* Jeff Lee Johnson – bass
* Danny Kortchmar
Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy, ...
– guitar
* Andy Kravitz
Andy Kravitz is an American drummer and percussionist, audio engineer, record producer, and songwriter. He has been nominated for 14 Grammy Awards, winning several. He lives near Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California.
Early life
Andy Kravitz wa ...
– percussion
* Ira Newborn
James Ira Newborn (born December 26, 1949) is an American musician, actor, orchestrator and composer, best known for his work composing motion picture soundtracks.
Life and career
Newborn was born in New York City. References to him as James I ...
– orchestration
* Wrecia Ford, Marlon Saunders, Frank Simms, George Simms, B. David Witworth – background vocals
* Crystal Taliefero
Crystal Taliefero-Pratt (née Taliefero) is an American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. Taliefero grew up with a musical family, performing rhythm and blues with her brother in the Chicago metropolitan area. During her college years she was ...
– vocal arrangement, background vocals
* Chuck Treece
Chuck Treece (born May 30, 1964) is a session musician and professional skateboarder from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1984, he became famous for being the first African-American skateboarder to be featured on the cover of ''Thrasher'' magazin ...
– bass
* Mike Tyler – guitar
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:River Of Dreams, The
1992 songs
1993 singles
Billy Joel songs
Columbia Records singles
Music videos directed by Andy Morahan
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in New Zealand
Song recordings produced by Danny Kortchmar
Songs written by Billy Joel
Songs involved in plagiarism controversies
Songs about rivers