Song:Only In My Dreams
Album:Greatest Hits
Only In My Dreams was the debut single for teenage singer songwriter Debbie Gibson in 1987. She had five top five hits in the late 80s including two number one hits. Though her music was clearly aimed at the teen market, what separated Debbie was she wrote her own songs. When her pop music career faded, Debbie turned to the Broadway stage among other things. She was born Aug. 31, 1970 in Brooklyn, NY and she grew up in the Long Island suburb of Merrick. She took piano lessons and began writing songs at age eight. At age 12, she won a songwriting contest and signed a management contract with Doug Breithart who taught her to produce her own music. This led to a contract with Atlantic Records. Before recording her, they had her play local clubs and told her to keep writing songs. At first, Only In My Dreams was only released to radio stations as a promo. Stations liked it so much that it started climbing the Billboard Hot 100. Atlantic hired producer Fred Zarr to quickly record the album Out Of The Blue so Atlantic could strike while the iron was hot. Zarr had previously worked with producer Jacques Morali on Village People albums. Only In My Dreams reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 followed by three more top five hits including her first number one hit Foolish Beat. Out Of The Blue was certified 3XPlatinum. Keep in mind that Debbie was 17 years old when she wrote and co-produced the album. The music was too sugary sweet for me but that was done deliberately so kids and their parents would like it. I didn't like her voice either. Could they sustain this success? The first single from Debbie's 1989 album Electric Youth Lost In Your Eyes was Debbie's second number one hit. But it was also her final top ten hit. I guess I thought she had a longer run than that probably because pop radio and MTV/MuchMusic overplayed her. Her next two albums for Atlantic didn't do well and she left for EMI's SBK label for the 1995 album Think With Your Heart. This was aimed at the Adult Contemporary market featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra. She was billed as Deborah Gibson. So by the time she became an adult, Debbie wasn't a star anymore and she turned to stage musicals. You can get all her hits on this comp. Her most recent album Ms. Vocalist was released in Japan only in 2010. She has recorded for small labels since the late 90s. Debbie has appeared on Broadway, London and touring companies in revivals of Grease, Funny Girl and Gypsy and other musicals. Most recently she starred in the UPTV movie The Music In Me. So Debbie Gibson is a long way from her teen stardom days. Here's the video for Only In My Dreams by Debbie Gibson. The sax solo is by Jeff Smith.
I once heard.., I believe I read this in rolling Stone, that she was the older, protective sister for many young teenage girls at the time of her hits.She was definitely for them, I really did not like her music either. But she had talent and brains. I am glad she is doing so well as an adult. Good for her.
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