“Dream On” is a power ballad by Aerosmith from their 1973 debut album, Aerosmith. Written by lead singer Steven Tyler, this song was their first major hit and became a classic rock radio staple. Released in June 1973, it peaked at number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 but hit big in the band’s native Boston, where it was the number one single of the year on WBZ-FM, number five for the year on WRKO and number 16 on WMEX. The song also received immediate heavy airplay on the former WVBF, often showing up in the #1 position on “The Top Five At Five” in June 1973.
The album version of “Dream On” was re-issued in late 1975, debuting at number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on January 10, 1976, breaking into the Top 40 on February 14 and peaking at number 6 on April 10. Columbia Records chose to service Top 40 radio stations with both long and short versions of the song; thus, many 1976 pop radio listeners were exposed to the group’s first Top 10 effort through the 45 edit.
“Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it’s just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away
Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it’s just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away”
A coinciding video directed by Marty Callner was also created at the MTV 10th anniversary special performance with the orchestra.
Check out the official music video for the iconic rock song below:
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