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An American Dream (song)#Chart performance

{{Infobox song

| name = An American Dream

| cover = Dirt Band American Dream.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = The Dirt Band

| album = An American Dream

| B-side = Take Me Back

| released = November 19, 1979

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Country

| length = 3:28 (Single Version)
3:53 (Album Version)

| label = United Artists

| writer = Rodney Crowell

| producer = Jeff Hanna, Bob Edwards

| prev_title = In for the Night

| prev_year = 1978

| next_title = Make a Little Magic

| next_year = 1980

}}

"An American Dream" is a song written by Rodney Crowell. He recorded it under the title "Voilá, An American Dream" on his 1978 album Ain't Living Long Like This, and released it as the B-side to that album's single "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I".{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc|date=2008|page=109|isbn=978-0-89820-177-2}}

The Dirt Band recording

It was later recorded by American country-rock music group the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, but using the shortened name "The Dirt Band." It was released in November 1979 as the only single and title track from the album An American Dream. The song reached number 58 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, number 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and number 16 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In Canada, it reached number three.{{cite web|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.0155a&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.0155a.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.0155a|title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |date=1980-04-26 |access-date=2020-05-25}} The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's version features a backing vocal from Linda Ronstadt;Whitburn, pp. 300-301 as such, it is sometimes included in Ronstadt greatest hits collections, such as the 2014 Capitol release, Icon.

The labels on some of the 45 rpm records were reversed, so that "An American Dream" was labeled "Take Me Back" and vice versa.

Track listing

;7" single - North America (1979)

  1. "An American Dream" - 3:50
  2. "Take Me Back" - 3:01

Chart performance

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

=Weekly charts=

class="wikitable sortable"
Chart (1979–1980)

! Peak
position

Australian (Kent Music Report){{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=91}}style="text-align:center;"|45
{{singlechart|Austria|12|artist=The Dirt Band|song=An American Dream}}
Canada (RPM) Top Singles{{cite web|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.0155a&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.0155a.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.0155a|title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |date=1980-04-26 |access-date=2020-05-25}}

| style="text-align:center;"|3

{{singlechart|Dutch40|3|artist=The Dirt Band|song=An American Dream}}
{{singlechart|New Zealand|39|artist=The Dirt Band|song=An American Dream}}
South African Top 20 {{cite web|author=Brian Currin |url=http://rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(D).html |title=South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Acts (D) |website=Rock.co.za |access-date=2016-10-14}}

| style="text-align:center;"|6

U.S. Billboard Hot 100Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - {{ISBN|0-89820-089-X}}

| style="text-align:center;"|13

U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary{{cite book|first= Joel |last= Whitburn |author-link= Joel Whitburn |year= 1993 |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993 |publisher= Record Research |page=177}}

|align="center"|16

U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks

| style="text-align:center;"|58

{{col-2}}

=Year-end charts=

class="wikitable"
Year-end chart (1980)Rank
Canada {{cite web |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.0272&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062 |title=Top 100 Singles (1980) |publisher=RPM |access-date=2017-07-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425051319/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.0272&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062 |archive-date=2016-04-25 |url-status=dead }}

|align="center"|26

US Top Pop Singles (Billboard){{cite magazine |date=December 20, 1980 |title=1980 Talent in Action – Year End Charts : Pop Singles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GyUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT63 |page=TIA-10 |magazine=Billboard |volume=92 |issue=51|access-date=5 April 2020}}

|align="center"|72

{{col-end}}

Other cover versions

  • The song was adapted into Norwegian as "Ein nordmann sin draum" (A norwegian man's dream) by Olav Stedje.
  • In the Philippines, the song was adapted by Fred Panopio as "Turistang Bilmoko."

References

{{reflist}}

{{Rodney Crowell}}

{{Nitty Gritty Dirt Band}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:American Dream}}

Category:1978 songs

Category:1979 singles

Category:1980 singles

Category:Nitty Gritty Dirt Band songs

Category:Rodney Crowell songs

Category:Songs written by Rodney Crowell

Category:United Artists Records singles

{{1970s-country-song-stub}}