Sometimes, the greatest moments in a band’s career come from someone else making a seemingly inconsequential decision, like the time Stevie Nicks turned down the future Heart mega hit that Bernie Taupin and Martin Page originally wrote for her. While we’re sure Nicks could have delivered a stunning rendition of the song, Heart’s version proves that all’s well that ends well in this case.
And to be fair, Nicks already had a “dreams” song by that point.
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The Heart Mega Hit Originally Written for Stevie Nicks
Bernie Taupin, long-time Elton John collaborator, and Martin Page teamed up to write “These Dreams” in 1985. In true 80s fashion, Page and Taupin collaborated via fax and 8-track player. “The lyrics would come through the fax machine, and I would just put the paper by the keyboard, and off I would go,” Page recalled in a 2017 interview with Songwriter Universe.
“With “These Dreams,” Bernie wrote a lyric that [he] initially called “Boys in the Mist.” It was a lyric that he had originally given to Stevie Nicks. But Stevie wasn’t interested in it or wasn’t available to do it, so he sent it to me. I was able to convince him to change the title to “These Dreams.” He had written [those words] in the bridge, and he let me move it around.”
In an instance of divine timing, Canadian-American rock band Heart stumbled upon “These Dreams” shortly after signing with Capitol Records. Although they had plenty of original material, the powerful ballad impressed them so much that they opted to include it on their 1986 eponymous album. The rest, of course, is history. “These Dreams” became Heart’s first No. 1 single on the Billboard charts, cementing its place as one of the band’s most iconic tracks.
Another Last Minute, Song-Defining Change
Although Ann Wilson typically delivered the powerhouse vocals while her sister, Nancy Wilson, shredded on guitar, the group decided to switch things up after hearing the demo for “These Dreams.” Nancy later recalled in Fred Bronson’s The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, “When I heard the song, I thought, (they) wrote that for me, didn’t (they)?”
“When I sang it, I had a really bad cold,” Nancy continued. “Oddly enough, parts of it sounded really good that way,” the musician continued. “We went back later [and] did most of it when I was well. I tried to recreate some of the raspiness in it, which we kept, too. So, part of it is me trying to recreate being ill. [Producer Ron Nevison] said, ‘Can’t you just get sick again?’”
While Nevison might not have expected the unforeseen benefits of Nancy’s upper respiratory infection, he did know “These Dreams” was the perfect musical vehicle for the talented multi-instrumentalist. “My manager sent me a cassette of five songs that Bernie Taupin had written,” Nevison recalled in an interview with SongFacts. “One of these was “These Dreams.” I listened to it on the plane, and I felt, ‘This is going to be great for Nancy.’”
In the end, “These Dreams” would become one of Heart’s most defining tracks of their mid-1980s era. As for Stevie Nicks? With “Dreams” and the success of Fleetwood Mac under her belt, we think every band walked away with the exact songs they were meant to sing.
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