This was my 3 year old’s favorite song in ‘83 and he would often dance to it. We were at a mall in Altus, Oklahoma when the song came on over the speaker system and, yes, he started to dance. By the end of the song he had about 100 people surrounding him and clapping to the beat and cheering. The song always triggers that memory. Forty year old memories are the best!
Can we all just take a minute to appreciate how these 2 were lovers, broke up and stayed together as friends to still make music. They weren’t trying to screw each other over and were able to compartmentalize keep their romantic relationship separate from their work relationship.
Actually if you look at their history it was this on again off again romantic relationship that caused divorces with other partners. They’ve both acknowledged this and is the main reason they can’t do music together anymore because it always resurfaces
Eurythmics had one of the most eclectic musical journeys of the 80's...from synth pop ('Sweet Dreams'), to pop ('Here Comes The Rain Again'), to Reggae ('Right By Your Side') to pop rock ('Would I Lie To You'), to Soundtrack Music ('1984'), to R&B ('Missionary Man')...even collaborating with Aretha Franklin ('Sisters Are Doing it For Themselves') and Stevie Wonder ('There Must Be An Angel')...no other '80's act had that wide open range of musical genres...
That is why Annie Lennox was chosen to co-write and perform "Into the West" for the finale of the exceptional score by Howard Shore in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. (I was privileged to sing in the live screening of the entire trilogy of films on the West Coast. Shih-Hung Young conducted all three performances for the giant-screen presentations; Clara Sanabras sang "May It Be", "Gollum's Song", and "Into the West".)
After watching on my TV, I HAD to get on my phone to leave a message that sends the very sentiment. YES, Annie's voice is SO very good. Also the reason I like her solo work, as well. What I like about the Eurythmics is they do not outshine each other. I LOVE music played by real instruments, BUT the composition of this group's music, the layout of it, amazes me.
I absolutely agree which was why I was VERY confused when Rolling Stone magazine had their 200 best rock vocalists article she was nowhere to be seen. Annie Lennox' voice is unmistakable and fabulous.
I was 23 in 1983. It was a great time to be alive. Songs like these were hitting the airwaves and the clubs. Can you imagine? Yes, you have a right to be jealous. 🙂 I think back on the 80s dance scene fondly.
Professor you’re not getting older you’re getting better. Sir, you have honed your craft of music history story telling and consistently delivered great content.
The band I'm in (Punch Drunk Cabaret) covers Sweet Dreams. Our lead singer/guitarist introduces it by saying he is taking everyone back to the 1980s to pick up a song, then way back to the 1930's, back to the days of swing music, and then time traveling everyone to the present day to give them this. Basically our version is a swing version of the song. Apparently a band in Brazil has heard our version and has been covering it the way we do... Gotta love that. Of course, our version has evolved as band members have come and gone from around the lead singer/guitarist. I'd say the current version is best of our versions, but I guess I'm a bit biased.
Bless that DJ from Cleveland!!! He had a better ear than the record label. One of most original songs of the 80s. Fantastic story behind the music professor. Keep your head up moving on!!
One of the most Iconic Duo's not only of the 80's but literally of all time. They truly were one of the Artists that defined New Wave for us back then.
I've always respected the fact that not only did they stay together as a band but stayed friends through out, they both still talk lovingly about each other and the contribution the other has had to their career.
Currently, as an 80-yr-old, your channel lets me re-live my personal music journey. You NEVER outgrow rock ‘n’ roll. I include folk rock, new wave, pop, and blues in my catalog. Thanks for all the memories 🥂
It's always the best decision to let the musicians call the music for what it is, they wrote it! Very intense classic, all while still indicative of the new wave sound.
@@istankimjong-unbutcantstan3398 Correct as Human League didn't want to release a 4th single from their album Dare yet the record label insisted on releasing "Don't You Want Me" while A-ha didn't want to record "The Sun Only Shines On TV" yet the producer told them it was a hit single...both got to #1
She sure showed the teenie-boppers they could knock it off and sing like adults. She used her voice almost as a warning that we better listen up or there's gonna be some serious pain. It's like speaking softly and carrying a big stick. So much power in the tense verses - wait till she starts wailing.
This work was so great it dragged me from classical music back to listening to pop music. A little anecdote, a co-worker was listening to my classical radio station with me when he heard a more modern work and he was stunned to recognize it from one of his favourite rock groups. Music is the heart of emotion.
I love this channel. I’m 55 years old. These are the songs from my youth. At the time I had no idea there was so much depth thought I was listening to. What you have taught me on this channel deepens my appreciation of music. I thank you for that.
You think some people are so talented that it's a matter of destiny but hard work and not giving up is more the rule, not the exception. So interesting to hear that history. I've always loved Annie's voice.
It sounds like many of us feels this way. The first couple of lines planted themselves in my brain like a happy little ear worm. But instead of driving me nuts, they have always, ALWAYS, drawn me in for a serious listen. Incredible.
Sure Annie Lennox might've exposed herself through fashion and ideology. But we all know that she had the pipes to back up everything. I've always loved that voice. Part classical, part world music, and part straight up soul. I may not love all the songs, but whether Annie and Dave are together or apart, they always know what the hell they're doing.
Man I love your channel. I look forward to each new episode. I feel lie the quintessential GenXer and I'm so glad I am. We were born in the very best time for music, it wasn't just the 80's (I was born in'65) and we had the last of the 60's, 70's rock, glam, disco, punk and post punk, new wave, new romantic, and all of the other styles of music that came out in the 80's. It really was a glorious time to be born and to be alive. Thanks heaps for string those memories.
1983, I and my 3 kids had moved out of the burbs to a country town. My oldest son was 11, and had spent time with my parents who raised him on the music of HeeHaw 🤦♀️. 83’ he heard Michael Jackson for the first time and got rescued from country music and aspired to be a drummer. I remember standing in my sunny dining room and him saying I had to hear this song that was on MTV, the Eurythmics, I loved it. Now 40 yrs later, my baby lives in Cali and has been a professional drummer for 20yrs. Thank you Prof, for a sweet memory.
She's really shown her diversity with songs like Missionary Man and No More I Love You's... and I always thought he was the secret sauce to their success
@@ProfessorofRockI Saved The World Today is a great song by them, and of course Why is classic. I’m not Flave, just a guy who appreciates your channel. Thank you Professor…
@@ProfessorofRock unfortunately UA-cam doesn’t always seem to alert people about responses to their comments these days. Maybe flave will see this. If not, in the meantime I’ll say my favorite is No More I love You’s… but then again, I’m not sure she wrote that one? …And wasn’t that them collaborating Tom Petty’s “Don’t come around here no more”? If so l, that’s definitely my second favorite! Edit: I guess that was just Dave working with Tom Petty on that one? So now you have my favorite from each! Hahah Then would be Here Comes the Rain Again
They were absolutely pioneers of industrial, new wave, & goth rock!! I don’t care how many hits they had, you can hear their foot prints all over electronic music since that album came out!!! And Ministry’s cover RULES!! (Well all of Al’s cover rule!!🤘)
Great music GRABS you from the very first notes and doesn't let go until it's taken you where it decides to take you. Sweet Dreams does that. I imagine that when Annie heard those notes (and that driving beat) for the very first time... she felt that too. It definitely took her and Dave where they were meant to be. I will forever feel so fortunate and thankful to have grown up and lived during the late 70s and 80s... surrounded by songs with that kind of power.
As a young woman in 83, she was someone who looked like people I hung around. She impressed me with this image of female strength- no holds barred, power!
❤ The mega-talented Eurythmics! Love the Sweet Dreams video with the close closeup of the cow! 😊 Dave Stewart is really underrated. Paired with the incomparable Annie Lennox. And Would I Lie to you? Thanks Professor! Another great start to a week!
The video is typically British i.e surreal and off the wall. Sometimes it can be a good thing. It certainly worked for the Eurythmics as they made their mark.
I always thought that the cow was what the execs and elite thought of the bands and the general public. They were nothing but cattle to them to be used as the higher-ups saw fit.
It’s hard to state what an impact the song had, or how original it seemed to us all at that time. I suppose one way to sum it up is that I showed this video to a group of high schoolers who had never heard the song in 2022 . . . and they went ballistic. The song, Annie Lennox’ style and the video remain as fresh and stunning today as they were forty years ago. A masterpiece.
I got to see them at the Berkeley Greek Theatre and Annie's mike went out for a while and her voice is so powerful she sang one song without the Mike and was heard just fine! Would I lie to you? Ha ha. I'm serious! She really did! What a voice! What a woman! Love you forever Annie! Jim
I graduated HS in 1983. I remember seeing the video on MTV and was just amazed. That they weren't a couple just amazed me, because they just seemed right together.
I love the Eurythmics! It’s nice to get some history on this band. Annie has such a haunting voice, and she really knows how to use it. I bought a lot of their albums, and would listen to them endlessly and the sing to them. I saw them in concert at Park city Utah on top of a mountain. They were amazing. I had no idea that they would be that good in concert. It really surprised me. I’m a major fan! One of my favorite songs is “here comes the rain again”.
My dad was never a rock fan, his hero was Luciano Pavarotti, and he regularly dismissed our "jungle music" Then one evening, he walked in when we were watching the video for "Would I Lie to You". He responded to Annie Lennox's voice with "who the hell is that?", promptly sat down and watched and listened... Over the ensuing years we gradually indoctrinated him, to the point he ended up as an unofficial roadie for my brother's band... And it was Annie's voice that flicked the switch...
I never really appreciated the music of Annie and Dave until Would I Lie to You came out. After that I was hooked! I've loved their music ever since!! Annie's voice is amazing!!
So many great songs are born out of desperation. Annie was a revelation to a 16 year old in 1983, she's intelligent, gorgeous, and that voice! Plus, that look, she looked powerful and striking. I shaved my head too, though I didn't color it orange.
I love "Sweet Dreams"! I always cranked up the volume when ever I heard this song on the radio. This song is SO Iconic and helps define the decade. The 80's wouldn't have been the same without it. I had no idea about the history behind it. This song means a lot to me. I used to lip sync to it as a kid in the 80's. I'm very surprised that the professor hasn't talked about this song before. I also love the Hot Wheels reference at the beginning. I didn't get many as a kid, so I ended up buying tons of them as an adult. Thank you.
Annie is easily in my top 5 female vocalists. The Eurythmics' music videos were cutting edge creative as well. Personally, I think music execs don't know as much as they think they know. So much of the music featured on this channel became hits because a "DJ heard it, loved it. and played it", and it's a bummer to imagine how much amazing music we may have missed simply because it didn't get heard by the right people at the right time.
I am 57 and I still love them from day one!!! Before Eurithmics! The Garden is still one of my favorite albums ever!!! The genesis of Sweet Dreams brought tears to my eyes in the depths of meaning I always loved...but now knowing the history....more so!!!
okay that's the other song I like more than "sweet dreams"..... that one and "here comes the rain again" had nice melody change-ups while "sweet dreams"... .well was just the hook with a bridge.
When I was in the music industry in the early 90s, I had the privelege to listen to Annie Lennox recording while I was workng in the same studio complex. I have never seen any other artist able to lay down a whole track with no glitches, interruptions or straying off the note, her pitching was amazing. A truly exceptional singer and writer.
Most unique voice in rock history. Feel free to take the Anne Lennox challenge: put any singer you’d like in a studio and try to duplicate her. Take as long as you’d like, I’ll wait 😂
This is probably THE song of the 80’s. It’s one of those songs I will listen to every time it’s on. I won’t change the channel or get out of the car. It’s a good thing I’m not a paramedic. People would die while I’m listening to Sweet Dreams.
The first time I heard this song, I was 9 years old. I remember feeling scared and excited at the same time. There was so much going on in this video. I had never seen a gorgeous woman with an army haircut and wearing a tux. And those eyes! The accompanying synth sound and visual effects…it hit me like a ton of bricks. It truly felt like a window to the future had just slid open promising a world of possibilities. This is what this channel does for me everyday Professor. It brings back a lost feeling from the past linked to our ability to relate to the lyrics in the present. 🙏🙏👏👏
1984 soundtrack is so underrated. Especially Julia, which is one of the saddest songs ever. Sweet Dreams works so well imo because of the contrast between the deep soulful vocal and the future-shock lyric and sonics. It’s shocking but it’s equally inviting. Every piece of music should surprise, a little bit. And that one certainly did.
I don't think one can claim to be a fan of music in general, not taking any certain genre into consideration, without appreciation for what these 2 people did for the industry. They were ground shakers!! Great music!!
I still play "Blind among the flowers" by the Tourists - just love it and it still sounds fresh and new 😍 I love it more than anything Annie and Dave did subsequently, perhaps other than 'Love is a stranger'.
Its literally a 'broken record' hearing about record dumexecutives not thinking a classic hit song will be a hit. Record companies should have a focus group of 50 regular people listening to the songs. Sweet dreams is one of those songs the first time you hear it you love it, and 1000 times later you still love it.
I dig how you uploaded this retrospective 40 years past the debut of "Sweet Dreams", Adam. (Eurythmics was easily one of those acts whose music impacted me in my youth but whose name escaped me.) I was 3 years old when this song struck. It's been important to me ever since. The other Eurythmics classic at the center of my musical interests of the 80s is "Here Comes the Rain Again".
Annie Lennox, Stevie Nicks, Roberta Flack, Karen Carpenter, Dione Warwick These women have always been the best of the best for me. Annie’s voice is simply perfect.
Incredible that really deep spiritual wisdom can come to you in an MTV video on a big screen in Six Flags in LA. Couldn't believe the setting of my first exposure to this beauty of a song and singer. Love Annie. ❤ Especially her duet with David Bowie singing "Under Pressure"❤
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 , It was 1983, just finished my last college year up here in Canada. Had never been to California, so me and a bud hit the road looking for adventure in LA. That's the name: Magic Mountain. They had a dance scene there, big video screen with the latest rock and new wave videos.
Annie Lennox' voice has always impressed me deeply. I am, apparently, the same age as your sister. This song was one of my favorites whenever I heard it, and I've always been excited to hear more of Annie's vocals on new music.
I've always been a fan of the early Eurythmics (Sweet Dreams, Touch, 1984) and play those albums. Here Comes the Rain Again is one of my favorite songs. Sexcrime off of 1984 is another. I never cared that much for Annie's solo work but I do respect her ability to sing. Dave has always had a way with music that struck. I like his solo works. Great Video Prof.
The combination of Annie and Dave...their musical abilities and creativity...Annie's voice...just perfect! They were just something that was totally different at that time. And I loved it. Annie is a beautiful soul...dazzling eyes...and truly amazing voice. Dave's craftsmanship...awesome. Totally tripendicular...to coin a phrase from my college days! "Sweet Dreams" is one of my favorite songs from that wonderful year of 1983. Thanks for the background...as always...didn't understand the depth of sadness...so glad that Dave spun the positive vibe...that is what makes it a classic.
This song scared me as a kid. My uncle was in a fairly successful band in town and they were right on top of the 80's synth trend. Watching it get played on the keys 'unfreaked' me out and turned into fascination. Hearing Marilyn Manson's version gave me a chuckle so many years later....Like that was supposed to be freaky.
My older sister was crazy about this song. One time, I was walking behind her in the hallway inside our apartment, and she heard the song coming on on the radio in our bedroom. She (being a lot bigger and over five years older than me) immediately yelled, “MY SONG!” and turned to run and turn up the radio. She inadvertently knocked me down and ran me over. Our dad, whom we barely knew and almost never saw, just happened to be visiting and saw what had happened. My only memory of that day (and one of the few memories of my dad who died when I was 19 and still barely knew him) was his reaction to my sister’s accidental violence. He was actually really patient and gentle and called my sister out for her clumsiness in a funny way while also making sure I wasn’t seriously injured. The older I get and the more life teaches me, the more I understand why my dad wasn’t around much. My mother was the most intolerable narcissistic B you’ve ever met, but that’s another story…
My favorite Eurythmics song is “Love is a Stranger,” which I find to be absolutely riveting. But I do have a small connection to “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” A couple I knew took me to a burlesque show while I was visiting them in Seattle in 2015. One busty performer did her act with “Sweet Dreams” as accompaniment, and at one point she was pointing her riding crop directly at me with a snarl on her face. Quite a moment!
Hard to believe RCA execs could be so clueless as to not hear the brilliance and marketability of this song (though the video did go a long way to "selling" the single). To me, "Sweet Dreams" will always be the song that ushered in the completely new sound of the '80s (I first knew the sonic landscape was changing the first time I heard "Hungry Like the Wolf" on the radio, but "Sweet Dreams" will always be the signature, pioneer song of that decade).
I always loved "walking on broken glass" by Annie Lennox. John Malkovich and hugh laurie were in the video. I didn't get sweet dreams when it was big. I was only 9 at the time.
I want to personally recommend the Eurythmics first album to anyone who is a fan of the band but not familiar with that album. They were the first concert I ever went to, and I remember spending the entire time just transfixed by the beauty and talent of Annie and the genius of Dave
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 back in August of 1984 the second I believe, it was a birthday present from my brother and sister-in-law. I was just turning 12, and at that point was already utterly fascinated by music and the magic that is and was Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart
This song, this album, this band are all so iconic and a perfect reflection of life in the 80’s. The is just no one else like them. Absolutely incredible music!
When I first heard sweet dreams my church used it as a way to demonize music in general. I had to sneak listening to it and it revolutionized my budding musical genius. Iconic... years later I would nix it with here comes the rain again . Mahalo Annie and Dave. You have given me so many hours of tr uly memorable epiphany of transcendence into my own met a morphosis into the butterfly of rock . Couldn't have fone it without you. All hail rock n roll
I was not a fan of Eurythmics when they came out. Strangely, I liked each of their succeeding sonic evolutions better than the previous one, culminating in a song I really liked, "Missionary Man." That's my favorite. The bluesy harmonica, the soulful backup singer. Good stuff.
Annie Lennox is the queen. Sweet dreams are made of cheese Who am I to dis a Brie? I travel the world with Feta and Halloumi Everybody's looking for Muenster
I was 13 when sweet dreams was released. I was an only child faced with the prospect of some very big changes that were about to happen if i was to survive. The eurythmics in many way was the sound of my triumph over what came next. Their music has remained part of the soundtrack of my life.
Poll: What is your pick for the greatest synth line of the 80s?
Take On Me, A-ha
"Just Like Heaven" The Cure
I'll nominate that of "Cars" by Gary Numan.
The Final Countdown, Europe
Best 80s synth riff for me….
Just can’t get enough, Depeche Mode…. Keep up the great work prof! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
This was my 3 year old’s favorite song in ‘83 and he would often dance to it. We were at a mall in Altus, Oklahoma when the song came on over the speaker system and, yes, he started to dance. By the end of the song he had about 100 people surrounding him and clapping to the beat and cheering. The song always triggers that memory. Forty year old memories are the best!
Thanks for sharing!
That’s awesome!
Can we all just take a minute to appreciate how these 2 were lovers, broke up and stayed together as friends to still make music. They weren’t trying to screw each other over and were able to compartmentalize keep their romantic relationship separate from their work relationship.
Exactly. And you know it wasn’t easy to do so!
Lesson learned? You don’t have to be in a romantic relationship with somebody to be their friend. 😊
Fleetwood Mac anyone!!!
@@firebythewater4477Exactly. Try Eurythmics times 3.
Actually if you look at their history it was this on again off again romantic relationship that caused divorces with other partners. They’ve both acknowledged this and is the main reason they can’t do music together anymore because it always resurfaces
Eurythmics had one of the most eclectic musical journeys of the 80's...from synth pop ('Sweet Dreams'), to pop ('Here Comes The Rain Again'), to Reggae ('Right By Your Side') to pop rock ('Would I Lie To You'), to Soundtrack Music ('1984'), to R&B ('Missionary Man')...even collaborating with Aretha Franklin ('Sisters Are Doing it For Themselves') and Stevie Wonder ('There Must Be An Angel')...no other '80's act had that wide open range of musical genres...
Annie has one of the most outstanding, unbelievable, profound voices ever. She blows me away!
She can put me in a state of wonder.
That is why Annie Lennox was chosen to co-write and perform "Into the West" for the finale of the exceptional score by Howard Shore in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. (I was privileged to sing in the live screening of the entire trilogy of films on the West Coast. Shih-Hung Young conducted all three performances for the giant-screen presentations; Clara Sanabras sang "May It Be", "Gollum's Song", and "Into the West".)
@@DanielByers-qf9qiand she did an incredible job with that song 😋
After watching on my TV, I HAD to get on my phone to leave a message that sends the very sentiment. YES, Annie's voice is SO very good. Also the reason I like her solo work, as well. What I like about the Eurythmics is they do not outshine each other. I LOVE music played by real instruments, BUT the composition of this group's music, the layout of it, amazes me.
I absolutely agree which was why I was VERY confused when Rolling Stone magazine had their 200 best rock vocalists article she was nowhere to be seen. Annie Lennox' voice is unmistakable and fabulous.
He hit the nail on the head. The whole song is a hypnotic hook.
Truth!!!
Así mero es👍
One of the most iconic songs of all time. Still feels futuristic today.
I never heard this song as a dark song. Hahaha
The song and video haven’t aged a day.
You are absolutely spot on…. It was edgy then and more edgy sounding now than most pop offerings.
I was 23 in 1983. It was a great time to be alive. Songs like these were hitting the airwaves and the clubs. Can you imagine? Yes, you have a right to be jealous. 🙂 I think back on the 80s dance scene fondly.
I was in college that same period, what a glorious time.
What was your favorite song of 1983?
same August 10.. What an era.
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 Lots of Van Halen...and Prince.
I was teen and i lived 80's. In Thessaloniki greece there were great clubs.
To go from depression thinking your career is over to decades later entry to the RHOF, that says it all. Never give up.
Never give in, as Churchill said.
This song came on in the car when my son was 11 years old. Within 30 seconds he told me how much he really liked it. That made me a proud father.
That is so sweet!
Professor you’re not getting older you’re getting better. Sir, you have honed your craft of music history story telling and consistently delivered great content.
Wow! Thanks!
Some praise..!!!!😄😄😄 Love the first line..And I TOTALLY AGREE with you.....
I totally agree! Great comment!
Hear hear!
The band I'm in (Punch Drunk Cabaret) covers Sweet Dreams. Our lead singer/guitarist introduces it by saying he is taking everyone back to the 1980s to pick up a song, then way back to the 1930's, back to the days of swing music, and then time traveling everyone to the present day to give them this. Basically our version is a swing version of the song. Apparently a band in Brazil has heard our version and has been covering it the way we do... Gotta love that. Of course, our version has evolved as band members have come and gone from around the lead singer/guitarist. I'd say the current version is best of our versions, but I guess I'm a bit biased.
😊😊
"Synthesizer junk with nonsense lyrics!," my friends and I yelled in High School...
This video made me appreciate the song!
This song, with its haunting melody and Annie with her powerhouse vocals, is an all-time Hall Of Fame track! 🤘🖤
Of course!
Bless that DJ from Cleveland!!! He had a better ear than the record label. One of most original songs of the 80s. Fantastic story behind the music professor. Keep your head up moving on!!
Thanks for listening
And remember it was a Cleveland DJ who brought Rush to the world as well - makes me want to dig a little deeper into the whole scene back then
Without the record label the DJ would have nothing to put on the turntable. 😃
“Hey Mr. DJ, thanks for playing this song!”
@@benkyle76 yes and a Cleveland DJ was the first in the country to play rock and roll in the 50s, Alan Freed is a legend!
One of the most Iconic Duo's not only of the 80's but literally of all time. They truly were one of the Artists that defined New Wave for us back then.
No question!
On par with Hall and Oates.
Brings me back to the greatest MTV days. If you're too young to immediately see the music video in your head, you need to leave.
I've always respected the fact that not only did they stay together as a band but stayed friends through out, they both still talk lovingly about each other and the contribution the other has had to their career.
Currently, as an 80-yr-old, your channel lets me re-live my personal music journey. You NEVER outgrow rock ‘n’ roll. I include folk rock, new wave, pop, and blues in my catalog.
Thanks for all the memories 🥂
Annie’s voice together with Daves innovation we’re the sounds of the 80’s for me.
For sure!
The perfect duo giving Hall and Oates and Tears for Fears some serious competition!
Definitely on the soundtrack of my life!
It's always the best decision to let the musicians call the music for what it is, they wrote it! Very intense classic, all while still indicative of the new wave sound.
Exactly right and there you have what's wrong with music today, it's being run by the suits and not the artist.
Good call RC32!
The original song cannot be beat!
...although in some far and few in-between occasions, the label makes a good call.
@@istankimjong-unbutcantstan3398
Correct as Human League didn't want to release a 4th single from their album Dare yet the record label insisted on releasing "Don't You Want Me" while A-ha didn't want to record "The Sun Only Shines On TV" yet the producer told them it was a hit single...both got to #1
Forty years later, still my all-time favorite female singer. I was hooked from the moment I laid eyes and ears on her.
Isn’t she wonderful?
She sure showed the teenie-boppers they could knock it off and sing like adults. She used her voice almost as a warning that we better listen up or there's gonna be some serious pain. It's like speaking softly and carrying a big stick. So much power in the tense verses - wait till she starts wailing.
This work was so great it dragged me from classical music back to listening to pop music. A little anecdote, a co-worker was listening to my classical radio station with me when he heard a more modern work and he was stunned to recognize it from one of his favourite rock groups. Music is the heart of emotion.
I love this channel. I’m 55 years old. These are the songs from my youth. At the time I had no idea there was so much depth thought I was listening to. What you have taught me on this channel deepens my appreciation of music. I thank you for that.
You think some people are so talented that it's a matter of destiny but hard work and not giving up is more the rule, not the exception. So interesting to hear that history. I've always loved Annie's voice.
Well said!
I always wanted Annie's voice. But even as a soprano in choir couldn't hit the high notes
You have to keep yourself afloat in the music industry!
Talent is nothing without hard work. Talent alone makes a hobby. Hard work produces success. Hard work plus talent makes legends.
Annie lennox is definet;y one of the top 20 female singers of all time. never a bad vocal from her.
That song never feels like it's getting, or has gotten overplayed! Anytime it comes on, you can't help singing it a little!
I was thinking the same thing!
It sounds like many of us feels this way. The first couple of lines planted themselves in my brain like a happy little ear worm. But instead of driving me nuts, they have always, ALWAYS, drawn me in for a serious listen. Incredible.
Sure Annie Lennox might've exposed herself through fashion and ideology. But we all know that she had the pipes to back up everything. I've always loved that voice. Part classical, part world music, and part straight up soul. I may not love all the songs, but whether Annie and Dave are together or apart, they always know what the hell they're doing.
Her voice is that of an angel.
Great comment!
Man I love your channel. I look forward to each new episode. I feel lie the quintessential GenXer and I'm so glad I am. We were born in the very best time for music, it wasn't just the 80's (I was born in'65) and we had the last of the 60's, 70's rock, glam, disco, punk and post punk, new wave, new romantic, and all of the other styles of music that came out in the 80's. It really was a glorious time to be born and to be alive. Thanks heaps for string those memories.
1983, I and my 3 kids had moved out of the burbs to a country town. My oldest son was 11, and had spent time with my parents who raised him on the music of HeeHaw 🤦♀️. 83’ he heard Michael Jackson for the first time and got rescued from country music and aspired to be a drummer. I remember standing in my sunny dining room and him saying I had to hear this song that was on MTV, the Eurythmics, I loved it. Now 40 yrs later, my baby lives in Cali and has been a professional drummer for 20yrs. Thank you Prof, for a sweet memory.
She's really shown her diversity with songs like Missionary Man and No More I Love You's... and I always thought he was the secret sauce to their success
I agree. She was so unique. So was Dave! What's your favorite song by her Flave?
@@ProfessorofRockI Saved The World Today is a great song by them, and of course Why is classic. I’m not Flave, just a guy who appreciates your channel. Thank you Professor…
@@ProfessorofRock unfortunately UA-cam doesn’t always seem to alert people about responses to their comments these days. Maybe flave will see this. If not, in the meantime I’ll say my favorite is No More I love You’s… but then again, I’m not sure she wrote that one? …And wasn’t that them collaborating Tom Petty’s “Don’t come around here no more”? If so l, that’s definitely my second favorite!
Edit: I guess that was just Dave working with Tom Petty on that one? So now you have my favorite from each! Hahah
Then would be Here Comes the Rain Again
@@joen8529it sure sounds like her voice on the Petty song, the sitar is a very intering/captivating sounding instrument.
@@williamgaines9784 I always thought so too! I probably need more than the lazy google search I just did to really get to the bottom of it? Hahaha!
🤟😂
As good as the music is, Annie's voice makes their music what it is. She could sing the ingredients off of a soup can and it would sound great.
One of the greatest voices of humankind.
My soup is made of this?
Chicken stock and celery
Turmeric powder and carrots peas
Potatoes chicken no msg
I'd show up to clap, too.
@@Tony8418😂😂😂
They were absolutely pioneers of industrial, new wave, & goth rock!! I don’t care how many hits they had, you can hear their foot prints all over electronic music since that album came out!!! And Ministry’s cover RULES!! (Well all of Al’s cover rule!!🤘)
So true!
The Marilyn Manson cover isn’t too shabby either.
Love love love Sweet Dreams and Here Comes the Rain Again!!!!
Great music GRABS you from the very first notes and doesn't let go until it's taken you where it decides to take you. Sweet Dreams does that. I imagine that when Annie heard those notes (and that driving beat) for the very first time... she felt that too. It definitely took her and Dave where they were meant to be. I will forever feel so fortunate and thankful to have grown up and lived during the late 70s and 80s... surrounded by songs with that kind of power.
Nailed it! The 80s were the coolest decade ever.
Annie is so sweet, she deserved every ounce of success they got =)
What a voice and what a beautiful woman!
As a young woman in 83, she was someone who looked like people I hung around. She impressed me with this image of female strength- no holds barred, power!
She’s just so badass.
❤
The mega-talented Eurythmics! Love the Sweet Dreams video with the close closeup of the cow! 😊
Dave Stewart is really underrated. Paired with the incomparable Annie Lennox. And Would I Lie to you?
Thanks Professor!
Another great start to a week!
The video is typically British i.e surreal and off the wall. Sometimes it can be a good thing. It certainly worked for the Eurythmics as they made their mark.
I always thought that the cow was what the execs and elite thought of the bands and the general public. They were nothing but cattle to them to be used as the higher-ups saw fit.
And Dave playing the cello. Iconic image right there.
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 Almost as significant as Andre 3000 playing the flute.
Man, the Eurythmics had such a striking and unique sound. Loved them!
Annie’s eyes. Especially at the moment of “I’ve traveled the world, and the seven seas,” as she looks off, and then back at us.
The 80s was an era of female empowerment. Annie in her power suit was an icon. And that incredible voice. Just wow.
She’s the best!
All empowerment is violence. Maybe consider reasoning.
@@Reggie2000🤔
It’s hard to state what an impact the song had, or how original it seemed to us all at that time. I suppose one way to sum it up is that I showed this video to a group of high schoolers who had never heard the song in 2022 . . . and they went ballistic. The song, Annie Lennox’ style and the video remain as fresh and stunning today as they were forty years ago. A masterpiece.
I got to see them at the Berkeley Greek Theatre and Annie's mike went out for a while and her voice is so powerful she sang one song without the Mike and was heard just fine! Would I lie to you? Ha ha. I'm serious! She really did! What a voice! What a woman! Love you forever Annie! Jim
Shows the sheer power of her voice.
Mic - short for microphone.
I ❤ Would I lie to you. It brings me back to the Summer of 1985 when I was 8. It is a rocker compared to their core synth sound.
Great music. Here Comes The Rain Again is another big one!
Never been a fan of the Eurythmics, but this is a good story that helps me appreciate the duo. Thanks, Adam.
I graduated HS in 1983. I remember seeing the video on MTV and was just amazed. That they weren't a couple just amazed me, because they just seemed right together.
The professor holds a very important position of honor. What Casey Kasem was to the 20th century, the professor is to the 21st
HAY ADAM NICE SHIRT MAN... I WISH MORE PEOPLE OF THIS ERA COULD SEE HIS GREATNESS... PEACE, FROM CREEL CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO...
I love the Eurythmics! It’s nice to get some history on this band. Annie has such a haunting voice, and she really knows how to use it. I bought a lot of their albums, and would listen to them endlessly and the sing to them.
I saw them in concert at Park city Utah on top of a mountain. They were amazing. I had no idea that they would be that good in concert. It really surprised me. I’m a major fan! One of my favorite songs is “here comes the rain again”.
When did you see them?
I’m guessing 1984? Something like that.
My dad was never a rock fan, his hero was Luciano Pavarotti, and he regularly dismissed our "jungle music"
Then one evening, he walked in when we were watching the video for "Would I Lie to You". He responded to Annie Lennox's voice with "who the hell is that?", promptly sat down
and watched and listened...
Over the ensuing years we gradually indoctrinated him, to the point he ended up as an unofficial roadie for my brother's band...
And it was Annie's voice that flicked the switch...
Great song!! I also love her x-mas song winter wonderland ❤
Definitely one of the greatest duos of all time.
I never really appreciated the music of Annie and Dave until Would I Lie to You came out. After that I was hooked! I've loved their music ever since!! Annie's voice is amazing!!
So many great songs are born out of desperation. Annie was a revelation to a 16 year old in 1983, she's intelligent, gorgeous, and that voice! Plus, that look, she looked powerful and striking. I shaved my head too, though I didn't color it orange.
I remember being almost horrified by her looks and hypnotized by her voice & lyrics. Eurythmics quickly became favorites.
I love "Sweet Dreams"! I always cranked up the volume when ever I heard this song on the radio. This song is SO Iconic and helps define the decade. The 80's wouldn't have been the same without it. I had no idea about the history behind it. This song means a lot to me. I used to lip sync to it as a kid in the 80's. I'm very surprised that the professor hasn't talked about this song before. I also love the Hot Wheels reference at the beginning. I didn't get many as a kid, so I ended up buying tons of them as an adult. Thank you.
Annie is easily in my top 5 female vocalists. The Eurythmics' music videos were cutting edge creative as well. Personally, I think music execs don't know as much as they think they know. So much of the music featured on this channel became hits because a "DJ heard it, loved it. and played it", and it's a bummer to imagine how much amazing music we may have missed simply because it didn't get heard by the right people at the right time.
I am 57 and I still love them from day one!!! Before Eurithmics! The Garden is still one of my favorite albums ever!!! The genesis of Sweet Dreams brought tears to my eyes in the depths of meaning I always loved...but now knowing the history....more so!!!
Thanks for sharing!
Awesome story about an awesome duo! Thanks again, professor!! You truly ROCK!!
You rock!
Love is a Stranger is still my favourite song and video. Annie Lennox is like the perfect canvas. She can be anything. Crisp and ice. Too cool.
Another great one, Professor. Thank you!🙏
I still don’t understand how Love is a Stranger was not a bigger hit.
okay that's the other song I like more than "sweet dreams"..... that one and "here comes the rain again" had nice melody change-ups while "sweet dreams"... .well was just the hook with a bridge.
When I was in the music industry in the early 90s, I had the privelege to listen to Annie Lennox recording while I was workng in the same studio complex. I have never seen any other artist able to lay down a whole track with no glitches, interruptions or straying off the note, her pitching was amazing. A truly exceptional singer and writer.
Most unique voice in rock history. Feel free to take the Anne Lennox challenge: put any singer you’d like in a studio and try to duplicate her. Take as long as you’d like, I’ll wait 😂
It's true.
That really is true! A gorgeous strong voice that can sing any note and tempo.
Annie is phenomenal. One of a kind.
When I heard Florence and the machine I became convinced that she and Annie Lennox had to do a duet together
Excuse me, JANIS JOPLIN.
This is probably THE song of the 80’s. It’s one of those songs I will listen to every time it’s on. I won’t change the channel or get out of the car. It’s a good thing I’m not a paramedic. People would die while I’m listening to Sweet Dreams.
Well done, Adam. Seriously well done. Thanks for covering this one! One of the tracks to my high school era soundtrack.
Thank you!
The first time I heard this song, I was 9 years old. I remember feeling scared and excited at the same time. There was so much going on in this video. I had never seen a gorgeous woman with an army haircut and wearing a tux. And those eyes! The accompanying synth sound and visual effects…it hit me like a ton of bricks. It truly felt like a window to the future had just slid open promising a world of possibilities. This is what this channel does for me everyday Professor. It brings back a lost feeling from the past linked to our ability to relate to the lyrics in the present. 🙏🙏👏👏
1984 soundtrack is so underrated. Especially Julia, which is one of the saddest songs ever. Sweet Dreams works so well imo because of the contrast between the deep soulful vocal and the future-shock lyric and sonics. It’s shocking but it’s equally inviting. Every piece of music should surprise, a little bit. And that one certainly did.
I don't think one can claim to be a fan of music in general, not taking any certain genre into consideration, without appreciation for what these 2 people did for the industry. They were ground shakers!! Great music!!
Love the synthesizer keyboards 🎹 in this song - catchy ! Hooks you into the song !
Like a gothic haunted house type of song
The two synths used were the Roland SH-101 and the Oberheim OB-X.
@@mournblade1066 nice 👍!
The synth riff is chilling.
"Sweet Dreams" is a certifiable classic from start to finish.
They made some great music. I hate their romantic relationship did not survive. so much talent.
At least they remained platonic!
I still play "Blind among the flowers" by the Tourists - just love it and it still sounds fresh and new 😍 I love it more than anything Annie and Dave did subsequently, perhaps other than 'Love is a stranger'.
Great song! I think ‘Would I Lie to You’ is my favorite by them.
Great choice!
Nice!
Its literally a 'broken record' hearing about record dumexecutives not thinking a classic hit song will be a hit. Record companies should have a focus group of 50 regular people listening to the songs. Sweet dreams is one of those songs the first time you hear it you love it, and 1000 times later you still love it.
I dig how you uploaded this retrospective 40 years past the debut of "Sweet Dreams", Adam. (Eurythmics was easily one of those acts whose music impacted me in my youth but whose name escaped me.) I was 3 years old when this song struck. It's been important to me ever since. The other Eurythmics classic at the center of my musical interests of the 80s is "Here Comes the Rain Again".
Thanks Eric!
Here Comes the Rain Again is just…incredible.
Annie Lennox, Stevie Nicks, Roberta Flack, Karen Carpenter, Dione Warwick These women have always been the best of the best for me. Annie’s voice is simply perfect.
Incredible that really deep spiritual wisdom can come to you in an MTV video on a big screen in Six Flags in LA. Couldn't believe the setting of my first exposure to this beauty of a song and singer. Love Annie. ❤ Especially her duet with David Bowie singing "Under Pressure"❤
Very true!
You saw it at Magic Mountain?
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 , It was 1983, just finished my last college year up here in Canada. Had never been to California, so me and a bud hit the road looking for adventure in LA. That's the name: Magic Mountain. They had a dance scene there, big video screen with the latest rock and new wave videos.
@@rabby-u Oh, I would die to go there! Hope they still do it!
I was 16 when this song came out and I absolutely FLIPPED over it! I still love it!
Also, the drumming at the end of the episodes is awesome!
Annie Lennox is my favorite female vocalist in the 80s.
I am happy to see your John Denver tee shirt. 😊
JOHN DENVER RULES! Have you ever seen Annie or the band live Catherine?
@@ProfessorofRockNo ,I have not. I am a fan of Annie's Diva album in 1995. It would be great to see her live.
Considering you just went to a John Denver tribute event!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 I been a fan since I was a child. 😊
Annie Lennox' voice has always impressed me deeply. I am, apparently, the same age as your sister. This song was one of my favorites whenever I heard it, and I've always been excited to hear more of Annie's vocals on new music.
I've always been a fan of the early Eurythmics (Sweet Dreams, Touch, 1984) and play those albums. Here Comes the Rain Again is one of my favorite songs. Sexcrime off of 1984 is another. I never cared that much for Annie's solo work but I do respect her ability to sing. Dave has always had a way with music that struck. I like his solo works. Great Video Prof.
The early stuff is amazing!
I loved it when Annie sang at the London Olympics opening ceremony. She's a worldwide icon.
The combination of Annie and Dave...their musical abilities and creativity...Annie's voice...just perfect! They were just something that was totally different at that time. And I loved it. Annie is a beautiful soul...dazzling eyes...and truly amazing voice. Dave's craftsmanship...awesome. Totally tripendicular...to coin a phrase from my college days! "Sweet Dreams" is one of my favorite songs from that wonderful year of 1983. Thanks for the background...as always...didn't understand the depth of sadness...so glad that Dave spun the positive vibe...that is what makes it a classic.
TOTALLY 80's sound. The middle of my Highschool days and brings back many memories. LOVE this song and Well deserving of any and all accolades.
This song scared me as a kid. My uncle was in a fairly successful band in town and they were right on top of the 80's synth trend. Watching it get played on the keys 'unfreaked' me out and turned into fascination. Hearing Marilyn Manson's version gave me a chuckle so many years later....Like that was supposed to be freaky.
I'll Bet! I know what you mean about it scaring you! Thanks for watching!
It is a scary song.
Born in 87 and this song is one of my faves of life!! So good at any point in my life x
My older sister was crazy about this song. One time, I was walking behind her in the hallway inside our apartment, and she heard the song coming on on the radio in our bedroom. She (being a lot bigger and over five years older than me) immediately yelled, “MY SONG!” and turned to run and turn up the radio. She inadvertently knocked me down and ran me over. Our dad, whom we barely knew and almost never saw, just happened to be visiting and saw what had happened. My only memory of that day (and one of the few memories of my dad who died when I was 19 and still barely knew him) was his reaction to my sister’s accidental violence. He was actually really patient and gentle and called my sister out for her clumsiness in a funny way while also making sure I wasn’t seriously injured. The older I get and the more life teaches me, the more I understand why my dad wasn’t around much. My mother was the most intolerable narcissistic B you’ve ever met, but that’s another story…
. Wow. Thanks for sharing.
Wow! 😮
I hear you
My favorite Eurythmics song is “Love is a Stranger,” which I find to be absolutely riveting. But I do have a small connection to “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” A couple I knew took me to a burlesque show while I was visiting them in Seattle in 2015. One busty performer did her act with “Sweet Dreams” as accompaniment, and at one point she was pointing her riding crop directly at me with a snarl on her face. Quite a moment!
Hard to believe RCA execs could be so clueless as to not hear the brilliance and marketability of this song (though the video did go a long way to "selling" the single). To me, "Sweet Dreams" will always be the song that ushered in the completely new sound of the '80s (I first knew the sonic landscape was changing the first time I heard "Hungry Like the Wolf" on the radio, but "Sweet Dreams" will always be the signature, pioneer song of that decade).
I always loved "walking on broken glass" by Annie Lennox. John Malkovich and hugh laurie were in the video.
I didn't get sweet dreams when it was big. I was only 9 at the time.
I want to personally recommend the Eurythmics first album to anyone who is a fan of the band but not familiar with that album. They were the first concert I ever went to, and I remember spending the entire time just transfixed by the beauty and talent of Annie and the genius of Dave
It's really great!
I just downloaded it - looking forward to my first listen!
When did you see them and where?
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 back in August of 1984 the second I believe, it was a birthday present from my brother and sister-in-law. I was just turning 12, and at that point was already utterly fascinated by music and the magic that is and was Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart
@@Polyphemus47 enjoy, I guarantee it will be like nothing else you've listened to, but it's a masterpiece
This song, this album, this band are all so iconic and a perfect reflection of life in the 80’s. The is just no one else like them. Absolutely incredible music!
Wonderful band. Her own works are wonderful. WHY was a brilliant song! Still listening to the total works!
another great episode professor. Who am I to disagree.
THanks!
When I first heard sweet dreams my church used it as a way to demonize music in general. I had to sneak listening to it and it revolutionized my budding musical genius. Iconic... years later I would nix it with here comes the rain again . Mahalo Annie and Dave. You have given me so many hours of tr uly memorable epiphany of transcendence into my own met a morphosis into the butterfly of rock . Couldn't have fone it without you. All hail rock n roll
I was not a fan of Eurythmics when they came out. Strangely, I liked each of their succeeding sonic evolutions better than the previous one, culminating in a song I really liked, "Missionary Man." That's my favorite. The bluesy harmonica, the soulful backup singer. Good stuff.
Thanks Lewis!
Sweet Dreams is a song that cannot be denied. So catchy, so dark, so delicious.
Annie Lennox is the queen.
Sweet dreams are made of cheese
Who am I to dis a Brie?
I travel the world with Feta and Halloumi
Everybody's looking for Muenster
Love it!
🧀
One of my favorite songs! Annie Lennox had an outstanding musical career! I loved listening to her. So many great moments and memories!
I was 13 when sweet dreams was released. I was an only child faced with the prospect of some very big changes that were about to happen if i was to survive. The eurythmics in many way was the sound of my triumph over what came next. Their music has remained part of the soundtrack of my life.