“In Dreams” by Roy Orbison

Dad’s Song of the Day, Sept. 14, 2025

For my birthday, I went back to my birth year of 1963, and I checked the Billboard Top 100 to see what my favourite song was for the year I was born. I have to say that—while there were some really great songs that year—deciding my favourite song of 1963 was super easy. 

Listen to “In Dreams”—about a guy who only wins the attention of his crush when he sleeps— and notice how it starts low…and slow. Then, gradually throughout the song, the energy grows and Roy Orbison’s incredible voice gets higher and higher, and more plaintive with every line: it’s just a vocal masterpiece!! 

In the 1980s, there was a supergroup called The Travelling Willburys. The group was comprised of some of the greatest artists ever. Just think of this group: Bob Dylan; George Harrison of the Beatles; Tom Petty; and Jeff Lynne of ELO…but the bandmate that all those stars were all most in awe of and couldn’t believe they were playing with was Roy Orbison. What a singer…check him out.