You Make My Dreams

"You Make My Dreams" is a song by American duo Daryl Hall & John Oates, taken from their ninth studio album, Voices (1980). The song reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1981.^[3] The track received 154,000 digital sales between 2008 and 2009 according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[4]

"You Make My Dreams"
Dutch vinyl single
Single by Daryl Hall & John Oates
from the album Voices
B-side	"Gotta Lotta Nerve (Perfect Perfect)"
Released	April 1981
Recorded	1980
Genre	Rock soul new wave[1] pop[2]
Length	3:06
Label	RCA
Songwriter(s)	Daryl Hall John Oates Sara Allen
Producer(s)	Daryl Hall John Oates
Daryl Hall & John Oates singles chronology
"Kiss on My List" (1980) "You Make My Dreams" (1981) "Private Eyes" (1981)
Music video
"You Make My Dreams" on YouTube

The song has sold over one million copies in the UK to date, despite having never charted in the country.^{[citation needed]}

Composition

John Oates said the song came about "through a happy accident, my guitar player friend of mine and myself were jamming in the dressing room, and I started playing a delta blues and he started playing a Texas swing, and we put them together, and all of a sudden into my head popped "you make my dreams." I just started singing it. I don't know why, but I did. And it sounded really cool and everyone liked it. It was as simple as that."^[5]

Daryl Hall also commented on the iconic piano riff that opens the song and the distinctive sound that is generated by a Yamaha CP-30 in an interview with the BBC on the 40th anniversary of the song’s release. “It's a very unusual edition of a Yamaha called the Yamaha CP-30. There were very few of them made and it wasn't out for very long. Over the years mine got destroyed [and] I cannot duplicate that sound other than with the actual instrument. So I had to search and search until, quite recently, I found one.”^[6]

Reception

Record World praised the song's "vocal and musical inspiration."^[7]

In popular culture

• The song features in the 2009 film (500) Days of Summer, where Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character breaks out into a spontaneous dance number while walking down the street. Daryl Hall and John Oates themselves were originally going to be included in this scene.^[8]
• The song is featured prominently during the ending credits of Ready Player One.
• The song is featured in the Young Sheldon season 1 episode "A Brisket, Voodoo, and Cannonball Run".
• The National Hockey League's Toronto Maple Leafs used the song as their goal song from the 2018–19 season until the end of the 2022–23 season.^[9]
• The song is also featured in two adult animated shows, Solar Opposites and Smiling Friends (season 2 trailer only).

Personnel

• Daryl Hall – lead vocals and backing vocals, synthesizer
• John Oates – electric guitar and backing vocals
• John Siegler – bass and backing vocals
• Jerry Marotta – drums

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1981) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report) 40 Canada Top Singles 17 US Billboard Hot 100[10] 5 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[11] 35 US Cash Box Top 100[12] 7 US Radio & Records CHR/Pop Airplay Chart[13][14] 4

Year-end charts Chart (1981) Rank US Billboard Hot 100[15] 43 US Cash Box[16] 54

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[17]	3× Platinum	210,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[18]	Gold	45,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[19]	Gold	50,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[20]	4× Platinum	120,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[21]	Gold	20,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[22]	Gold	30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[23]	3× Platinum	1,800,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "You Make My Dreams by Daryl Hall & John Oates - Track Info | AllMusic". AllMusic. A great example of this skill is "You Make My Dreams," an effervescent hit from Voices that blends rock, soul and new wave into a chart-ready confection.
2. Billboard Staff (October 19, 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved February 15, 2024. The Philly rock 'n soul duo's most potent pop blast, as smile-inducing as nearly any of the Motown classics they clearly revered.
3. AllMusic Hall & Oates chart history
4. Donahue, Ann (November 3, 2010). "Hall & Oates Embrace Their Hipster Faithful". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
5. MacIntosh, Dan (April 7, 2011). "John Oates : Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts.com. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
6. "Hall And Oates: How You Make My Dreams became a streaming colossus". BBC News. June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
7. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. May 2, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
8. Mary Sollosi. "Here's how the '(500) Days of Summer' Hall & Oates dance sequence came together". Ew.com. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
9. Luke Fox (October 5, 2018). "Auston Matthews among fans of Leafs new Hall & Oates goal song". Sportsnet.
10. "Daryl Hall John Oates Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
11. "Daryl Hall John Oates Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
12. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending July 18, 1981". Archived from the original on September 17, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Cash Box magazine.
13. "Hall + Oates". Wweb.uta.edu. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
14. "You make my dreams come true". Wweb.uta.edu.
15. "Top 100 Hits of 1981/Top 100 Songs of 1981". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
16. "Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. December 26, 1981. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
17. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2019 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
18. "Danish single certifications – Daryl Hall & John Oates – You Make My Dreams (Come True)". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
19. "Italian single certifications – Daryl Hall & John Oates – You Make My Dreams (Come True)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
20. "New Zealand single certifications – Hall and Oates – You Make My Dreams Come True". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
21. "Portuguese single certifications – Daryl Hall & John Oates – You Make My Dreams" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
22. "Spanish single certifications – Daryl Hall & John Oates – You Make My Dreams". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
23. "British single certifications – Daryl Hall & John Oates – You Make My Dreams". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 7, 2024.