Fleetwood Mac hit #1 with “Dreams”

Dreams Fleetwood Mac

Writer(s): Stevie Nicks (see lyrics here) Released: March 24, 1977 First Charted: April 16, 1977 Peak: 11 US, 11 CB, 12 GR, 11 HR, 11 RR, 11 AC, 1 CL, 24 UK, 11 CN, 4 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 1.2 UK, 2.42 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 5.0 radio, 152.0 video, 1280.65 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 Rumours ranks in the top 10 of all time based on sales, weeks at #1, and its overall DMDB rating. Its success was largely built on four top-10 singles in the U.S., which included “Go Your Own Way” (the lead single), “Don’t Stop,” and “You Make Loving Fun.” However, it was “Dreams,” the album’s second single, which became Fleetwood Mac’s only #1 hit. Stevie Nicks wrote the song in early 1976. She said she “sat down on the bed with my keyboard in front of me…I found a drum pattern, switched my little cassette player on and wrote ‘Dreams’ in about 10 minutes.” WK The line “players only love you when they’re playing” was directed at bandmate and ex-lover Lindsey Buckingham. He had already brought in “Go Your Own Way,” which was obviously about her. As she said, “I was trying to be all philosophical. And he was just mad.” SF She had to beg the band to record it since, as she said, “they weren’t nuts about it.” WK Christine McVie even called it “boring,” but warmed up to it after Buckingham “fashioned three sections out of identical chords, making each section sound completely different.” SF Nicks said, “we were couples who couldn’t make it through. But, as musicians, we still respected each other – and we got some brilliant songs out of it.” SF The song returned to the charts several times. In the UK, it recharted in 2011 after the Glee episode featuring Rumours. It hit the Billboard Rock Songs chart in 2018 after a viral tweet featuring the song playing with footage of cheerleaders from Alcorn State University and the caption, “Fleetwood Mac’s music is so boring, you can’t even dance to it.” SF However, it had its biggest resurgence in October 2020 as the result of a TikTok video featuring Nathan Apodaca lip synching to the song while skateboarding and drinking cranberry juice. The song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #12. In Australia, it outdid its original #19 peak and went to #4. WK Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 10/26/2020; last updated 7/14/2023.