Call Me Up in Dreamland

1971 single by Van Morrison

"Call Me Up in Dreamland"

Single by Van Morrison

from the album His Band and the Street Choir

A-side

"Call Me Up in Dreamland"

B-side

"Street Choir"

Released

April 1971

Recorded

Summer 1970 at A&R Recording Studios in New York City

Genre

Folk rock, R&B

Length

3:52

Label

Warner Bros.

Songwriter(s)

Van Morrison

Producer(s)

Van Morrison

Van Morrison singles chronology

"Blue Money"
(1971)

"Call Me Up in Dreamland"
(1971)

"Wild Night"
(1971)

"Call Me Up in Dreamland" is a song that was written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter, Van Morrison and included on his 1970 album, His Band and the Street Choir. Brian Hinton describes the song as "life on the road, with 'radio' as a verb and laughing sax."^[1]

Recording and composition

The song was recorded in summer, 1970 at the A&R Recording Studios, 46th Street, New York, during the second His Band and the Street Choir sessions.^[2]

"Call Me Up in Dreamland" features a moderate 4/4 tempo. It is in the key of A major, with a chord sequence in the verses of A–E–D–A–D–E–A–D–A–E–D–A–D–E–A–D and the chorus of A–D–A–E–A–D–A–E–E♭–D–A. The song also has a tenor saxophone solo from Morrison.^[3] The song is composed in a gospel style and prominently features the vocal backing group the Street Choir.^[4]

Chart performance

In June 1971 "Call Me Up in Dreamland" rose to No. 95 in the Billboard Hot 100 music charts.^[5]

According to Cash Box, the single release was "preceded by exceptional FM play and good AM in-LP picks."^[6]

Record World said that it "always sounded like a hit" and was "great stuff for rádio play."^[7]

Personnel

Van Morrison: vocal, guitar, tenor saxophone
Alan Hand: piano, organ
Keith Johnson: trumpet
John Klingberg: bass
John Platania: guitar
Jack Schroer: soprano saxophone
Dahaud Shaar (David Shaw): drums

The Street Choir

Larry Goldsmith
Janet Planet
Andrew Robinson
Ellen Schroer
Dahaud Shaar
Martha Velez

Notes

^ Hinton. Celtic Crossroads, p.123
^ Heylin. Can You Feel the Silence, p.520
^ Van Morrison Anthology, p.14-17
^ Brooks. In Search of Van Morrison, p.56
^ Collis. Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, p.122
^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 22 May 1971. p. 16. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
^ "Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 22 May 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 22 April 2023.

References

Brooks, Ken (1999), In Search of Van Morrison, Andover, Hampshire: Agenda, ISBN 1-899882-95-2
Collis, John (1996). Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, Little Brown and Company, ISBN 0-306-80811-0
Heylin, Clinton (2003), Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography, London: Viking, ISBN 0-670-89321-8
Hinton, Brian (1997). Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison, Sanctuary, ISBN 1-86074-169-X
Van Morrison Anthology, Los Angeles: Alfred Music Publishing, 1999, ISBN 0-7692-8967-3