These Dreams

Up to the Heart album, the band wrote most of their own songs. In 1985, they signed with Columbia Records and got help from some experienced songwriters. This was one was written by Bernie Taupin and Martin Page. Taupin is most famous as Elton John's lyricist, but in the mid-'80s he wrote lyrics outside of Elton's orbit, including two that were huge hits. Taupin chose Martin Page to compose the music because he was impressed with Martin's group Q-Feel, which had a popular song in Los Angeles called "Dancing In Heaven (Orbital Be-Bop)." The first song Taupin and Page composed was "We Built This City," which was a #1 hit for Starship. The second was "These Dreams," which was originally titled "Boys In The Mist." Taupin wrote the song for Stevie Nicks with a dreamlike feel typical of her work. She turned it down, so Page composed the music and changed the title. In a Songfacts interview with Martin Page, he explained: "I didn't quite vibe off of that title, and although I'd only just started with Bernie, the bridge was the chorus to me - it said 'these dreams' was the bridge. I moved the bridge into the chorus and used 'boys in the mist' in a verse setting." Heart took the song, and it became their first #1 hit.

Nancy Wilson sang lead on this track. Her sister Ann typically handled lead vocals, but when they heard the demo the group thought it suited Nancy's voice. Nancy had a nasty cold when she first recorded her vocals, but their producer Ron Nevison liked some of the raspiness. When Nancy was feeling better, they recorded more takes in her healthy voice, with Nancy doing her best to re-create the raspy parts Nevison liked.

On the album, this song was dedicated to Sharon Hess, a good friend of Nancy Wilson's who died of Leukemia. Sharon's sister, Shannon Hess-Terlop, told Songfacts the story: "Sharon was a fan who had a custom, handmade blue acoustic guitar made for Nancy. It was her dying wish to meet Nancy and give it to her. She did get her wish, and was able to spend several days in the recording studio with the band while they were working on this album. She died four weeks later, on Nancy's birthday. The reason for choosing that particular song for the dedication was simply because it was the only song on the album where Nancy sang lead vocals. Nancy and Sharon became very close, bonded even during the time she was in California with Nancy. In Nancy's words: Sharon was my 'soulmate of the sea.' When Sharon got very ill during her visit, and was unable to leave her hotel room, it was Nancy, and Scotty Olson (her then guitar roadie and later bandmate) who got her out of the hotel, and drove her to the hospital on the Presidio in San Francisco (Sharon was US Army). Nancy later came back to visit Sharon in the hospital, when things were looking so very bleak, we thought she might not make it back home at all. This was the first time I met Nancy. When she arrived, after greeting my mother and myself, she just went into Sharon's room, climbed up on the bed and lay down beside her (Sharon was sleeping). That visit buoyed Sharon's spirits so much, that to her doctor's amazement, she was able to make the horrible trip home via military transport, and she died a few weeks later." Here are some photos of Sharon and Nancy.