All I have to do is dream.
What a beautiful line. It could be the thought of an artist, a child looking to the future, a person starting an exciting career, a political visionary.
Or someone in love. Did you hear the close harmonies of the Everly Brothers when you read those words? Their recording of “All I Have to Do Is Dream,” by the songwriting couple Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, came out in 1958 and has certainly endured, landing at No. 141 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
I’ve been singing this song in my apartment for many years and once won $25 performing it in a bar in my neighborhood! More recently I worked on it with two fantastic musicians who normally play clubs with me—Joan Chew and Graig Janssen. They came up with an understated, evocative arrangement for a slowed-down version that allows for a mining of the lyrics, which to me are very emotional, full of sadness and longing. In our shows, we always do one cover song, and this was it for our gig in the Map Room at Bowery Electric, NYC, in July 2019. After the show an audience member told me the song sounded as though it had been “ripped from your heart.”
You can now hear that performance. I’ve released a digital single of it, mastered by my longtime producer, Nick Miller, in advance of my EP Dream: Live Recordings from the Map Room, which includes “All I Have to Do Is Dream” along with five original songs we did that night. The EP comes out December 22, but the single is out now! Click the image below to find your favorite music platform.
Here are a few of the reactions I've gotten so far (and please feel free to leave yours in the comments section): "Lovely" (Betty Buckley); "Such an emotional, natural sound" (Mia Berman); "Your interpretation is one of the best covers I have ever heard!" (Sharman Nittoli); "Stunning. Intimate. Reminded me of Patti Smith. Gorgeous voice" (Barry Jason Schneider); "Your vocals are killer and give the song a whole new feeling!" (Javier Foxon).
