Summary
"You Make My Dreams" is a song by American duo Daryl Hall & John Oates, taken from their ninth studio album, Voices (1980). The song reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1981.[3] The track received 154,000 digital sales between 2008 and 2009 according to Nielsen SoundScan.[4]
| "You Make My Dreams" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dutch vinyl single | ||||
| Single by Daryl Hall & John Oates | ||||
| from the album Voices | ||||
| B-side | "Gotta Lotta Nerve (Perfect Perfect)" | |||
| Released | April 1981 | |||
| Recorded | 1980 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:06 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Daryl Hall & John Oates singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "You Make My Dreams" on YouTube | ||||
The song has sold over one million copies in the UK to date, despite having never charted in the country.[citation needed]
Composition edit
John Oates said the song came about "through a happy accident, my guitar player friend of mine and myself were jamming in the dressing room, and I started playing a delta blues and he started playing a Texas swing, and we put them together, and all of a sudden into my head popped "you make my dreams." I just started singing it. I don't know why, but I did. And it sounded really cool and everyone liked it. It was as simple as that."[5]
Daryl Hall also commented on the iconic piano riff that opens the song and the distinctive sound that is generated by a Yamaha CP-30 in an interview with the BBC on the 40th anniversary of the song’s release. “It's a very unusual edition of a Yamaha called the Yamaha CP-30. There were very few of them made and it wasn't out for very long. Over the years mine got destroyed [and] I cannot duplicate that sound other than with the actual instrument. So I had to search and search until, quite recently, I found one.”[6]
Reception edit
Record World praised the song's "vocal and musical inspiration."[7]
In popular culture edit
- The song features in the 2009 film (500) Days of Summer, where Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character breaks out into a spontaneous dance number while walking down the street. Daryl Hall and John Oates themselves were originally going to be included in this scene.[8]
- The song is featured prominently during the ending credits of Ready Player One.
- The National Hockey League's Toronto Maple Leafs used the song as their goal song from the 2018–19 season until the end of the 2022–23 season.[9]
- The song features in the Season 2 trailer for adult animated television series, Smiling Friends[10]
Personnel edit
- Daryl Hall – lead vocals and backing vocals, synthesizer
- John Oates – electric guitar and backing vocals
- John Siegler – bass and backing vocals
- Jerry Marotta – drums
Charts edit
Weekly charts edit
|
Year-end charts edit
|
Certifications edit
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[18] | 3× Platinum | 210,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[19] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[20] | 4× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
| Portugal (AFP)[21] | Gold | 20,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[22] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References edit
- ^ Billboard Staff (October 19, 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
The Philly rock 'n soul duo's most potent pop blast, as smile-inducing as nearly any of the Motown classics they clearly revered.
- ^ "You Make My Dreams by Daryl Hall & John Oates - Track Info | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ AllMusic Hall & Oates chart history
- ^ Donahue, Ann (November 3, 2010). "Hall & Oates Embrace Their Hipster Faithful". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ^ MacIntosh, Dan (April 7, 2011). "John Oates : Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts.com. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ "Hall And Oates: How You Make My Dreams became a streaming colossus". BBC News. June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. May 2, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
- ^ Mary Sollosi. "Here's how the '(500) Days of Summer' Hall & Oates dance sequence came together". Ew.com. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- ^ Luke Fox (October 5, 2018). "Auston Matthews among fans of Leafs new Hall & Oates goal song". Sportsnet.
- ^ Adult Swim (April 9, 2024). "Smiling Friends Season 2 Trailer". Adult Swim.
- ^ "Daryl Hall John Oates Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ^ "Daryl Hall John Oates Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
- ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending July 18, 1981". Archived from the original on September 17, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Cash Box magazine. - ^ "Hall + Oates". Wweb.uta.edu. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ^ "You make my dreams come true". Wweb.uta.edu.
- ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1981/Top 100 Songs of 1981". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
- ^ "Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. December 26, 1981. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2019 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
- ^ "Danish single certifications – Daryl Hall & John Oates – You Make My Dreams (Come True)". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Hall and Oates – You Make My Dreams Come True". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ "Portuguese single certifications – Daryl Hall & John Oates – You Make My Dreams" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
- ^ "British single certifications – Daryl Hall & John Oates – You Make My Dreams". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 10, 2021.