Only in My Dreams

"Only in My Dreams" was Debbie Gibson's first single. Like at least 100 other songs, she recorded a demo in her home studio that helped earn her a contract with Atlantic Records when she turned 16. Atlantic teamed her with producer Fred Zarr, who helped her polish the song into a hit.

Gibson hadn't had a boyfriend yet, but that didn't stop her from writing songs as if she had already gone through the wringer of love, imagining what it would be like. In this song, she sings about a guy she can't get over; she sees herself with him, but it's only in her dreams.

Gibson became really famous when this song took off, but her life wasn't all that glamorous. A junior in high school (public school: Calhoun High in Merrick, Long Island), she spent 3-4 nights every week performing at clubs, often flying back home for classes - she didn't have a tutor. By the time she graduated, the Out Of The Blue album had sold over two million copies and delivered three other big hits: the title track, "Shake Your Love," and the #1 "Foolish Beat." Her next album, Electric Youth, went to #1 in America and contained another #1 single, "Lost In Your Eyes." In the '90s, her music fell out of favor but she got her star turn on the stage, starring in a number of popular musicals.