1993 Billy Joel – The River Of Dreams (US:#3 UK:#3)
“The River Of Dreams” is a song by American musician Billy Joel. It is the title track and first single from his 1993 album, River of Dreams. The song was a hit, peaking at number three on the US and UK charts, making it Joel’s best-charting single of the decade as well as his final top ten in either country to date. It also hit the top spot in Australia, New Zealand, and on the Canadian and US Adult Contemporary charts. The song was produced by Joe Nicolo and Danny Kortchmar.
At least four versions of the song have been recorded and released. Two versions (released years later) include a bridge section containing a piano interlude paralleling Joel’s melody from his song “Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel),” which is from the same album. These versions can be found on the boxed sets My Lives and Complete Hits Collection: 1973–1999 – but even these versions differ from each other, both in length and in arrangement: one, for instance, has more percussion. A fourth mix appears as a bonus cut on the UK CD single of “River of Dreams” — the “percapella mix” done by Nicolo.
“The River of Dreams” was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1994, but lost out to “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston. Joel performed the song at the ceremony, and abruptly stopped in the middle of his performance in order to verbally protest Frank Sinatra’s lifetime achievement speech being cut off earlier in the night.
Album
River Of Dreams is the twelfth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on August 10, 1993. River of Dreams presented a more serious tone than found in Joel’s previous albums, dealing with issues such as trust and long-lasting love. It was rumored that the themes of trust and betrayal, particularly certain lyrics from […]
Muscians
| Bass | Lonnie Hillyer |
| Bass | Chuck Treece |
| Bass | Jeff Lee Johnson |
| Drums | Zachary Alford |
| Guitar | Danny Kortchmar |
| Guitar | Mike Tyler |
| Hammond Organ | Billy Joel |
| Piano | Billy Joel |
| Synthesizer | Billy Joel |
| Percussion | Andy Kravitz |
| Background Vocals | Crystal Taliefero |
| Background Vocals | Wrecia Ford |
| Background Vocals | Marlon Saunders |
| Background Vocals | David Whitworth |
| Background Vocals | Frank Simms |
| Background Vocals | George Simms |
| Vocals | Billy Joel |
Produced By
Danny Kortchmar
Songwriters
Billy Joel
Charts
US:# 3
UK:# 3