According to Gregg, this was written in Los Angeles after the breakup of Hourglass, the band he and his brother Duane had there. They opened up for acts such as Buffalo Springfield and The Doors. They were then forced by the record company to play more pop-style music so Duane quit and headed back home to Macon Georgia.
Gregg stayed behind to fulfill the contract and a little later Duane called him up to come to Macon and try out for a new band he put together. Gregg traveled to Macon and sat behind the keyboard and played them his songs. This song won them over and they soon became the Allman Brothers.
This was on their first album The Allman Brother’s Band and it peaked at #188.
Gregg’s autobiography on first playing with the Brothers: They asked me if I had any songs with me, and I told them I had twenty-two, so they told me to play them. I’d get through with one, and they’d ask me, “What else you got?” I’d play ’em another one and they were like, “That was kinda neat, a little potential; what else you got?”
After twenty of them, I’m going, “Oh fuck, I might be without a job here in a minute.” I had two songs left—“Not My Cross to Bear” and “Dreams.” I showed them “Dreams” first, and let me tell you, they joined right in. We proceeded to sit down, learn that song the same way you hear it today, and I was in, brother. They loved it. I bet we played that thing eleven times in a row, and the more we played it, the better it got.
From Songfacts
Gregg Allman wrote this sorrowful song about unrealized dreams when he was living in Los Angeles. He left Georgia to get his music career going there, and wrote a bunch of songs before returning and forming The Allman Brothers Band with his brother Duane. This was the song that won over his bandmates. Allman wrote in his 2012 biography: “I showed them ‘Dreams,’ and let me tell you, they joined right in. We learned that song the way you hear it today, and I was in, brother.”
Listen to the guitar part – you’ll hear Duane Allman switch to bottleneck guitar midway through the song.
“Dreams” was used as the title of The Allman Brothers 1989 5-album boxed set. An unreleased studio version of this song was used on it.
Molly Hatchet released a version of this in 1978.
This is one of the few songs Gregg Allman wrote on the Hammond B-3 organ.
Here is a live version at the Fillmore BUT someone didn’t plug the input in Gregg’s mic until a few minutes.
Dreams
Just one more mornin’
I had to wake up with the blues
Pulled myself out of bed, yeah
Put on my walkin’ shoes
And went up on the mountain
To see what I could see
The whole world was fallin’, right down in front of me
‘Cause I’ve a hunger for the dreams I’ll never see, yeah, baby
Ah, help me baby, or this will surely be the end of me, yeah
Pull myself together
Put on a new face
Climb down off the hilltop, baby
Get back in the race
‘Cause I’ve a hunger for dreams I’ll never see, yeah, babe
Lord, help me baby, or, this will surely be the end of me, yeah
Pull myself together
Put on a new face
Climb down off the hilltop, baby
And get back in the race
‘Cause I’ve a hunger for the dreams I’ll never see, yeah, baby
Ah, ah, help me baby, or this will surely be the end of me, yeah, ah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 
the background of the song makes it seem like “Midnight Train to Georgia”! First time I’d heard this one, quite decent.
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Can’t go wrong with the Brothers, especially their early stuff!
I think “Dreams” nicely illustrates they were more than just a southern blues rock band. The tune has a noticeable jazzy vibe to it, especially the drums.
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You said it. They were much more than “southern rock”…blues, jazz, and some rock in there. Excellent musicians.
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Great song, great band. I didn’t know the back story.
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I became a bigger fan after I read Allman’s autobiography. I would recommend that one.
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Dreams is the quintessential ABB tune, and one of the greatest songs of the era. There’s no youth culture influence or pop music fads at all – really pure songwriting and performance.
Your post also mentions the Molly Hatchet version from the 80s which was very popular at the time. The MH version is actually a cover of a cover – based on the Buddy Miles version from his awesome 1971 debut album Them Changes. I highly recommend checking out that record.
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You just described their early music better than anything I’ve read.
I always liked Buddy Miles…I’ll check it out.
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Tell you what, whoever forgot to plug that mike needs to be pistol whipped. 7 minutes in and you can hear Gregg singing. I hear jazz fusion in there as well. Good jam.
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If Duane would have got a hold of him he would have…the tv guy said oh that was because of the bass too loud…it shook the camera. How lame is that? Duane wanted to kill them.
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UGH!!!!! For real? omg that is so messed up.
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Especially in history…not long after Duane died.
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I have never heard this one. You can’t miss Gregg’s gravelly voice.
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“Listening To Records” summed them up the best in the comments. Their early stuff.
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Duane/pop? Man am I glad he went back to Georgia.
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Yea that didn’t fly…. he walked his ass out…the hell with the contract.
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Good thing for our ears. I think I said this to you before. The Allmans and Little Feat are sounding so good to me these days
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Two exceptional musician bands. Not only that…they clicked musically together.
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Yes. Max. You have so much product that I will catch up eventually. I will be commenting on a few at a time. I seen a couple that you just did like Otis. Back later for those.
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I really appreciate you reading. I’m slowing down a little bit.
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Cant stop creativity and inspiration.
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