"One Summer Dream" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and performed by the rock group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) which made its first appearance on the band's fifth album, Face the Music, as the last track off the album. It also appeared on the box sets, Afterglow and Flashback.

"One Summer Dream"
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album Face the Music
A-side"Mr. Blue Sky"
Released13 January 1978 (UK)
June 1978 (US)
Recorded1975
StudioMusicland, Munich, Germany
GenreSymphonic rock, art rock
Length5:48
5:22 (Single version)
LabelJet
Songwriter(s)Jeff Lynne
Producer(s)Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"Turn to Stone"
(1977)
"One Summer Dream"
(1978)
"Sweet Talkin' Woman"
(1978)
Face the Music track listing
8 tracks
Side one
  1. "Fire On High"
  2. "Waterfall"
  3. "Evil Woman"
  4. "Nightrider"
Side two
  1. "Poker"
  2. "Strange Magic"
  3. "Down Home Town"
  4. "One Summer Dream"

It was released as the B-side of the hit single "Mr. Blue Sky" in 1978. The album version includes an orchestra intro but part of it was cut for the single. "One Summer Dream" (on different singles with "Mr. Blue Sky") has a fading difference for unknown reasons. Backing vocals by Ellie Greenwich.

"The seven ELO members outdo themselves, however, on One Summer Dream, a beautiful and evocative tune sung touchingly by Lynne. A trifle sentimental perhaps, but lyrically and musically, it displays more emotion (not to mention pure ability) than one ordinarily hears from a rock group." Charley Walters (1 January 1976 Rolling Stone issue 203)

Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian rated "One Summer Dream" as ELO's greatest song, calling it a "jaw-dropping emotionally filled piece of music" and saying that "This is as beautiful as popular music gets. The song stands as the band’s most underrated song and easily one of the most unheralded gems of the 1970s."[1]

References

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  1. ^ Kachejian, Brian (26 September 2022). "Top 10 Electric Light Orchestra Songs". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 30 April 2023.