A Dream (DeBarge song)

"A Dream" is a 1983 song performed and recorded by the famed Motown singing family, DeBarge, for their album, "In a Special Way". Though not released as a single, the song has become a famed staple in R&B radio and has been sampled by artists in the hip-hop and the urban contemporary genres.

Overview

"A Dream" was one of the few songs in which DeBarge member and lone female member, sister Bunny DeBarge played a role as both its songwriter and its lead vocalist while her four brothers (Mark, Randy, El and James DeBarge) sung in the background. The song talked of a woman's dose of reality when she realizes the happiness she thought she felt with a suitor wasn't real, recalling how at one point she and her lover "danced to a melody" of a song, then when "the music stops", she realizes the dream is "haunting (her) again".

Famous samples, covers and other usages

In the following years, the song would be used as a sample for some R&B and hip-hop songs, mainly used in the basis of hit singles for Blackstreet (their 1997 hit, "Don't Leave Me") and Tupac Shakur (his 1996 single, "I Ain't Mad At Cha"). In 1997, R&B singer Mary J. Blige covered the song for the soundtrack to the Chris Tucker film, "Money Talks". That same year, during a scene in the "Soul Food" film, Michael Beach played a variation of the song's instrumental intro as rehearsal for a female dancer. In 2003 Keshia Chanté used a sample of it in a song titled Unpredictable.

Credits

*Lead vocal by Bunny DeBarge
*Background vocals by Mark DeBarge, Randy DeBarge, El DeBarge and James DeBarge
*Written by Bunny DeBarge
*Produced by El DeBarge