http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FNEYOA

When “All I Have to Do Is Dream” came out in 1958, I listened to it in the record store and bought it immediately. It has since become one of my all-time favorite songs. This is the kind of song that you would put on a desert island list. You know the kind of list I mean, if I could take a hundred records to a desert island, which ones would I take? “All I Have to Do Is Dream” would definitely be on that list for me. I took it home and immediately called my girlfriend. We were not going steady (yet), but we both had a love of music and so I played the song on a little 45 rpm turntable I had. I held the receiver of the phone up to the speaker of the record player. She thought it was a great song. It was especially great dancing with her to “All I Have to Do Is Dream” at the next school dance. That song eventually became a number one song for the Everly Brothers.

“All I Have to Do Is Dream” was recorded on Mar 6, 1958. Besides being my favorite song of the Everlys, it is probably their best known song. Of course, that might depend on who you talk to. The song was introduced on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand in which Dick said, “This is their next number one song.” And it was.

The song was written by the songwriting team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant who wrote and would write several hits for the Everlys.

Two things occurred while “All I Have to Do Is Dream” was at the top of the charts. First, RCA Records released 55 stereo albums. Now, stereo had been used before, but this was the first time a major label had committed this much to the new technology. People all over the industry said stereo was a passing fad and that mono records would always be around. How wrong they were.

The second thing to occur was that the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) held a meeting in New York City where George Avakian, one of the founders of NARAS, announced that the organization would begin giving awards to the best performers in the industry. This evolved into what we know today as the Grammy Awards.

“All I Have to Do Is Dream” entered the pop chart on April 28, 1958 and spent five weeks at number one

Here is a live recording from 1960. The boys sing “All I Have to Do is Dream” and “Cathy’s Clown” which was a number one hit in 1960. If you look closely, the guys in the band in the background are Buddy Holly’s band, The Crickets.

Next: “The Purple People Eater” – Sheb Wooley