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.

Bob Marley & The Wailers released Exodus

Exodus Bob Marley & the Wailers

Released: June 3, 1977 Peak: 20 US, 15 RB, 8 UK, 88 AU Sales (in millions): 0.7 US, 0.1 UK, 4.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: reggae

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Natural Mystic So Much Things to Say Guiltiness The Heathen Exodus (6/25/77, 14 UK, 19 RB) Jamming (12/10/77, 9 UK) Waiting in Vain (8/77, 27 UK, 38 RB) Turn Your Lights Down Low Three Little Birds (8/80, 17 UK) One Love/ People Get Ready (4/21/84, 5 UK) Total Running Time: 37:24 The Players: Bob Marley (vocals, guitar) Aston “Family Man” Barrett (bass) Carlton “Carlie” Barrett (drums, percussion) Tyrone Downie (keyboards) Junior Marvin (electric guitar) Alvin “Seeco” Patterson (percussion) Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt, Griffiths (backing vocals)

Rating: 4.267 out of 5.00 (average of 25 ratings) Quotable: “A concept album that distills the myriad experiences of both our daily lives and collective unconsciousness into 46 minutes of aural perfection.” – Rebecca, Levine, Amazon.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “It’s hard to find reggae as good as this.” AMG “This is the visionary Bob Marley’s masterpiece.” AZ In fact, “in 1999 Exodus was rightfully voted by Time Magazine the most important album of the 20th century.” AZ This is “a concept album that distills the myriad experiences of both our daily lives and collective unconsciousness into 46 minutes of aural perfection,” AZ showcasing “what is probably the Wailers’ tightest recorded performance.” AZ “Every song is a classic, from the messages of love to the anthems of revolution. But more than that, the album is a political and cultural nexus, drawing inspiration from the Third World and then giving voice to it the world over.” TM “Recorded in London following an attempt on his life, Exodus shows Bob Marley mellowing a bit. Despite some powerful political tracks, Marley adopts a less fiery, more reflective approach than his previous outings.” AMG “The first half of Exodus bears witness to Marley’s shift in focus away from the mundane problems of Babylon existence and toward a greater understanding of vital universal truths.” AZ “The initial notes of the album’s opening track, Natural Mystic, fade up from a deep silence, giving the listener the impression that the music generates from within a continuum of the past, present, and future.” AZ Throughout, “Exodus has all one would expect from a Bob Marley album: rumbling statements like Exodus and The Heathen as well as poetic love songs like Turn Your Lights Down Low.” AMG “The second half features songs like Jamming and Waiting in Vain, which take a gently wistful look at the more interpersonal aspect of human relations.” AZ These and One Love/ People Get Ready were also “huge international hits” AMG and “inspired tracks…[which] came to define Marley around the world. They are irresistible no matter how many times they are played.” AMG “Never one to dodge innovation, Exodus hints that Marley was taking cues from the emerging dub scene. Exodus, even though it contains some of Marley's best work, has an underlying nostalgic feel to it, hinting that Marley was getting a little formulaic.” AMG Notes: A 2001 Deluxe Edition adds a second disc of material for a total of 25 songs. Most of the material is alternate or live performances of the original album’s material, but extra songs “Roots,” “Crazy Baldhead/ Running Away,” “War/ No More Trouble,” “Punky Reggae Party,” and “Keep on Moving” are added as well.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Bob Marley AMG Matthew Hilburn, All Music Guide review by Matthew Hilburn AZ Amazon.com review by Rebecca Levine TM Time Magazine (12/31/1999). “The Best of the Century” First posted 3/26/2008; last updated 5/10/2021.