"Call Me Up in Dreamland" is a song that was written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter, Van Morrison and included on his 1970 album, His Band and the Street Choir. Brian Hinton describes the song as "life on the road, with 'radio' as a verb and laughing sax."[1]
| "Call Me Up in Dreamland" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Van Morrison | ||||
| from the album His Band and the Street Choir | ||||
| A-side | "Call Me Up in Dreamland" | |||
| B-side | "Street Choir" | |||
| Released | April 1971 | |||
| Recorded | Summer 1970 at A&R Recording Studios in New York City | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, R&B | |||
| Length | 3:52 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Van Morrison | |||
| Producer(s) | Van Morrison | |||
| Van Morrison singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Recording and composition
editThe song was recorded in summer, 1970 at the A&R Recording Studios, 46th Street, New York, during the second His Band and the Street Choir sessions.[2]
"Call Me Up in Dreamland" features a moderate 4/4 tempo. It is in the key of A major, with a chord sequence in the verses of A–E–D–A–D–E–A–D–A–E–D–A–D–E–A–D and the chorus of A–D–A–E–A–D–A–E–E♭–D–A. The song also has a tenor saxophone solo from Morrison.[3] The song is composed in a gospel style and prominently features the vocal backing group the Street Choir.[4]
Chart performance
editIn June 1971 "Call Me Up in Dreamland" rose to No. 95 in the Billboard Hot 100 music charts.[5]
According to Cash Box, the single release was "preceded by exceptional FM play and good AM in-LP picks."[6]
Record World said that it "always sounded like a hit" and was "great stuff for rádio play."[7]
Personnel
edit- Van Morrison: vocal, guitar, tenor saxophone
- Alan Hand: piano, organ
- Keith Johnson: trumpet
- John Klingberg: bass
- John Platania: guitar
- Jack Schroer: soprano saxophone
- Dahaud Shaar (David Shaw): drums
The Street Choir
- Larry Goldsmith
- Janet Planet
- Andrew Robinson
- Ellen Schroer
- Dahaud Shaar
- Martha Velez
Notes
edit- ^ Hinton. Celtic Crossroads, p.123
- ^ Heylin. Can You Feel the Silence, p.520
- ^ Van Morrison Anthology, p.14-17
- ^ Brooks. In Search of Van Morrison, p.56
- ^ Collis. Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, p.122
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 22 May 1971. p. 16. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- ^ "Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 22 May 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
References
edit- Brooks, Ken (1999), In Search of Van Morrison, Andover, Hampshire: Agenda, ISBN 1-899882-95-2
- Collis, John (1996). Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, Little Brown and Company, ISBN 0-306-80811-0
- Heylin, Clinton (2003), Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography, London: Viking, ISBN 0-670-89321-8
- Hinton, Brian (1997). Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison, Sanctuary, ISBN 1-86074-169-X
- Van Morrison Anthology, Los Angeles: Alfred Music Publishing, 1999, ISBN 0-7692-8967-3