music.wikisort.org - Composition

Search / Calendar

"If I Can Dream" is a song made famous by Elvis Presley, written by Walter Earl Brown[1] for the singer and notable for its similarities with Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech.[2] The song was published by Elvis Presley's music publishing company Gladys Music, Inc. It was recorded by Presley in June 1968, just two months after King's assassination. The recording was first released to the public as the finale of Presley's '68 Comeback Special.

This article is about the song. For other uses, see If I Can Dream (disambiguation).
"If I Can Dream"
Single by Elvis Presley
from the album Elvis
B-side"Edge of Reality"
"Memories" (UK)
ReleasedNovember 5, 1968
RecordedJune 1968
StudioUnited Western Recorders, Los Angeles, California
Length3:08
LabelRCA Records
Songwriter(s)Walter Earl Brown
Producer(s)Mac Davis
Elvis Presley singles chronology
"Almost in Love" / "A Little Less Conversation"
(1968)		 "If I Can Dream" / "Edge of Reality"
(1968)		 "Charro"
(1969)
"If I Can Dream"
Song by Elvis Presley
from the album Elvis
ReleasedNovember 22, 1968
RecordedJune 1968
GenreSoul
Length3:10
LabelRCA Records
Songwriter(s)Walter Earl Brown

History


Lyricist Earl Brown and composer Billy Goldenberg were asked to write a song to replace "I'll Be Home for Christmas" as the grand finale on NBC's Elvis, taped from June 20–23, 1968 (now also known as ‘68 Comeback Special).[3] Knowing about Presley’s fondness for Martin Luther King Jr., and about his devastation related to his then-recent assassination in Memphis, Brown wrote "If I Can Dream" with Presley in mind. After Presley heard the demo, he proclaimed "I'm never going to sing another song I don't believe in. I'm never going to make another movie I don't believe in".[4] [better source needed]

Goldenberg removed his name from the credits to avoid a publishing dispute.[3] The song was published by Presley's company Gladys Music, Inc.

After Colonel Tom Parker heard the demo of the song sent by Earl Brown, he said: "This ain't Elvis' kind of song." Elvis was also there, and he countered Parker's argument, then he pleaded: "Let me give it a shot, man." Earl Brown said while Elvis recorded the song, he saw tears rolling down the cheeks of the backing vocalists. One of them whispered to him: "Elvis never sung with so much emotion. Looks like he means every word."[5] Presley associate Jerry Schilling has said, "I consider Elvis to be a writer on this song. That song was him expressing how he truly felt."[6]


Recording success


After filming for the TV special was complete with its eventual editing, the song was released as a single with “Edge of Reality” as the flip side on 22 November 1968, with the TV special airing 11 days later. It charted on Billboard's Hot 100 for 3 months and a week, peaking at #12, with more than one million sales;[4] although the RIAA certified the song as only gold (500,000 units shipped) as of March 27, 1992.[7] In Canada, the song peaked at #6 on RPM's top singles chart, maintaining that position for two weeks.[8]


Chart history



Certifications


Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Silver 200,000
United States (RIAA)[21] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.


Compilations


The song appeared in many Presley compilations, of which many are related to the '68 Comeback Special or Inspirational collections.[22] Sony BMG remastered the song in 2004. The song is referred to as stereo mix (as opposed to the 2004 remaster honorific) in '68 Comeback Special releases after 2004. Other compilations, such as Platinum: A Life In Music, include alternative takes on the song less polished than the official takes. For instance, the background vocalists are not present in most of these takes, specifically with "If I Can Dream". According to unsubstantiated rumors, Presley nailed the perfect take after the backing vocalists left the studio.[23]


Cover versions



See also



References


  1. "IF I CAN DREAM". ACE Title Search. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
  2. "If I can dream: The Elvis tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr". The Conversation. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  3. Weingarten, Mark (2000). Station to Station: the Secret History of Rock & Roll on Television. Gallery Books. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-6710-3444-3.
  4. "Elvis-TheKingsCourt".
  5. Barry Manilow The Complete Collection and Then Some... booklet, page 42, 1992 Arista Records - text edited by Maureen Lasher.
  6. Farber, Jim (August 14, 2022). "Elvis!". Parade. pp. 8–12.
  7. "RIAA - Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - December 25, 2015". www.riaa.com.
  8. "Search: RPM".
  9. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1969-02-03. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  10. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – If I Can Dream". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  11. [ Flavour of New Zealand, ]
  12. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  13. "if i can dream | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
  14. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  15. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 1, 1969
  16. "Irish-charts.com – Discography {{{artist}}}". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  17. "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  18. "RPM Top Singles of 1969". Library and Archives Canada. RPM. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  19. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
  20. "British single certifications – Elvis Presley – If I Can Dream". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  21. "American single certifications – Elvis Presley – If I Can Dream". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  22. "Elvis Presley - Elvis Inspirational - Amazon.com Music". Amazon. 2006.
  23. "Amazon.com: Platinum - A Life In Music: Elvis Presley: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.
  24. "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 1990-02-10. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  25. "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 1992-12-12. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  26. "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 2010-06-19. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  27. "The lyrics and the translation of If I can dream, the Elvis song sung by the Maneskin at Eurovision". fresno24.com. 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  28. "2022 25-os savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.



На других языках

- [en] If I Can Dream

[ru] If I Can Dream

«If I Can Dream» — (с англ. — «Если я могу мечтать») — песня, написанная Уолтером Эрлом Брауном [1] и получившая наибольшую известность после того, как запись песни сделал американский певец Элвис Пресли. Песня содержит прямые цитаты Мартина Лютера Кинга и сегодня расценивается как «песня-протест», в которой автор песни изложил свои утопические взгляды и мысли относительно понимания и мира, которые в действительности не существуют на Земле. Пресли сделал запись песни в июне 1968 года, спустя два месяца после убийства Кинга и впервые исполнил её в финальной части телевизионного концерта '68 Comeback Special. Первоначально, песня была выпущена синглом — «If I Can Dream/Edge Of Reality» в ноябре 1968 года. Сингл достиг максимальной позиции #12 в музыкальном хит-параде «Billboard Hot 100», где находился в течение 13 недель. Было продано свыше миллиона экземпляров пластинки.


Текст в блоке "Читать" взят с сайта "Википедия" и доступен по лицензии Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike; в отдельных случаях могут действовать дополнительные условия.

Другой контент может иметь иную лицензию. Перед использованием материалов сайта WikiSort.org внимательно изучите правила лицензирования конкретных элементов наполнения сайта.

2019-2025
WikiSort.org - проект по пересортировке и дополнению контента Википедии