An American Dream (song)

"An American Dream"
Single by The Dirt Band
from the album An American Dream
B-side	"Take Me Back"
Released	November 19, 1979
Genre	Country
Length	3:28 (Single Version) 3:53 (Album Version)
Label	United Artists
Songwriter(s)	Rodney Crowell
Producer(s)	Jeff Hanna, Bob Edwards
The Dirt Band singles chronology
"In for the Night" (1978) "An American Dream" (1979) "Make a Little Magic" (1980)

"An American Dream" is a song written by Rodney Crowell. He recorded it under the title "Voilá, An American Dream" on his 1978 album Ain't Living Long Like This, and released it as the B-side to that album's single "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I".^[1]

The Dirt Band recording

It was later recorded by American country-rock music group the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, but using the shortened name "The Dirt Band." It was released in November 1979 as the only single and title track from the album An American Dream. The song reached number 58 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, number 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and number 16 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In Canada, it reached number three.^[2] The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's version features a backing vocal from Linda Ronstadt;^[3] as such, it is sometimes included in Ronstadt greatest hits collections, such as the 2014 Capitol release, Icon.

The labels on some of the 45 rpm records were reversed, so that "An American Dream" was labeled "Take Me Back" and vice versa.

Track listing

7" single - North America (1979)

1. "An American Dream" - 3:50
2. "Take Me Back" - 3:01

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1979–1980) Peak position Australian (Kent Music Report)[4] 45 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 12 Canada (RPM) Top Singles[6] 3 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 3 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] 39 South African Top 20 [9] 6 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[10] 13 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary[11] 16 U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks 58

Year-end charts Year-end chart (1980) Rank Canada [12] 26 US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[13] 72

Other cover versions

• The song was adapted into Norwegian as "Ein nordmann sin draum" (A norwegian man's dream) by Olav Stedje.
• In the Philippines, the song was adapted by Fred Panopio as "Turistang Bilmoko."

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
2. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1980-04-26. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
3. Whitburn, pp. 300-301
4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 91. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
5. "The Dirt Band – An American Dream" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
6. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1980-04-26. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
7. "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Dirt Band" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
8. "The Dirt Band – An American Dream". Top 40 Singles.
9. Brian Currin. "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Acts (D)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
10. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
11. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 177.
12. "Top 100 Singles (1980)". RPM. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
13. "1980 Talent in Action – Year End Charts : Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 51. December 20, 1980. p. TIA-10. Retrieved 5 April 2020.