Of the many hit singles Van Halen recorded during their run with Sammy Hagar, there seems to be one in particular that younger generations of musicians prefer most – “Dreams”.
In March the synthwave artist Arena recorded a cover of the song. Their recording even received the stamp of approval from Hagar himself.
“I wanna tell you guys I love what Arena did with ‘Dreams,’” Hagar said in a video message. “I gotta say, that’s probably the hardest song in my repertoire to sing. I love the way you went to low and then went up to supersonic, and pulled it off. … Very tasteful, very cool. Good luck with this. I’m behind ya!”
Although he’s said it’s probably the hardest song for him to sing, “Dreams” is one Hagar will always perform and it’s not just because the song is a fan favorite. Hagar has said the track is a personal favorite from his time in Van Halen. During an interview for Rolling Stone featuring questions from fans, Hagar said that “Dreams,” along with “Right Now” were his favorite Van Halen songs, with “Dreams” being his most favorite if you pushed him.
Another artist who is a fan of “Dreams” is Wolfgang Van Halen who, in a recent interview with Songfacts, called it the definitive song of the Sammy Hagar era, adding that it’s one of the best songs his father Eddie ever wrote.
Within the last few weeks, more cover versions of “Dreams” have been released. The first was recorded by the metal band from Madison, Wisconsin – Lords of the Trident:
Here is the Australian power metal band Silent Knight with their take on “Dreams”:
Van Halen’s “Dreams” first appeared on ‘5150’, Sammy Hagar’s first album with the band, in 1986. It was the second of five singles to be released from the LP, which helped propel it to multiplatinum sales. The single reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Van Halen “Dreams” (live ’86):