As a student he made pocket money playing saxophone in a band and coaching football. During the Depression, he turned to music as a full-time career.
Nelson started his entertainment career as a band leader. He formed and led the Ozzie Nelson Band, and had some initial limited success. He made his own "big break" in 1930. The New York Daily Mirror ran a poll of its readers to determine their favorite band. He knew that news vendors got credit from the newspaper for unsold copies by returning the front page and discarding the rest of the issue. Gathering hundreds of discarded newspapers, the band filled out ballots in their favor. They edged out Paul Whiteman and were pronounced the winners.
From 1930 through the 1940s, Nelson's band recorded prolifically—first on Brunswick (1930–1933), then Vocalion (1933–1934), then back to Brunswick (1934–1936), Bluebird (1937–1941), Victor (1941) and finally back to Bluebird (1941-through the 1940s). Nelson's records were consistently popular and in 1934 Nelson enjoyed success with his hit song, "Over Somebody Else's Shoulder" which he introduced. Nelson was their primary vocalist and (from August 1932) featured in duets with his other star vocalist, Harriet Hilliard. Nelson's calm, easy vocal style was popular on records and radio and quite similar to son Rick's voice and Harriet's perky vocals added to the band's popularity.
In 1935, Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra had a number one hit with "And Then Some", which was number one for one week on the U.S. pop singles chart. Ozzie Nelson composed several songs, including "Wave the Stick Blues", "Subway", "Jersey Jive", "Swingin' on the Golden Gate", and "Central Avenue Shuffle".
In October 1935 he married the band's vocalist Harriet Hilliard. The couple had two children. David (1936–2011), became an actor and director. Eric ("Ricky") (1940–1985), became an actor and singer.
Ozzie Nelson appeared with his band in feature films and short subjects of the 1940s, and often played speaking parts, displaying a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor (as in the 1942 musical Strictly in the Groove). He shrewdly promoted the band by agreeing to appear in soundies, three-minute musical movies shown in "film jukeboxes" of the 1940s. In 1952, when he and his family were established as radio and TV favorites, they starred in a feature film, Here Come the Nelsons (which actually doubled as a "pilot" for the TV series).
In the 1940s, Nelson began to look for a way to spend more time with his family, especially his growing sons. Besides band appearances, he and Harriet had been regulars on Red Skelton's radio show. He developed and produced his own radio series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. The show went on the air in 1944, with their sons played by actors until 1949, and in 1952 it moved over to television (the radio version continued for another two years). The show starred the entire family, and America watched Ozzie and Harriet raise their boys. Nelson was producer and co-writer of the entire series. He was very hands-on and involved with every aspect of the radio and then TV program.
His last television show was in the fall of 1973 and entitled Ozzie's Girls, and lasted for a year. Syndicated only, the premise was Ozzie and Harriet renting their sons' former room to two college girls (one caucasian, one African American), and concerned the Nelsons' efforts at adjusting to living with two young women, after having raised two sons.
Cultural historians have noted that the on-screen character was very different from the real-life Ozzie Nelson, who has been characterized as an authoritarian figure who monitored every aspect of his children's lives. In 1998, A&E broadcast a documentary entitled Ozzie and Harriet: The Adventures of America's Favorite Family, which depicted Ozzie Nelson as a dictatorial personality who "thwarted his sons, preventing them from attending college and reminding them that they were obliged to work on television". Author David Halberstam has written, "the Nelsons arguably were a dysfunctional family. In real life, Ozzie was a workaholic who stole his sons' childhood (by having them grow up in show business)".
In 1973, Ozzie Nelson published his autobiography, Ozzie, (Prentice Hall, 1973, ISBN 0-13-647768-2). He suffered from recurring malignant tumors in his later years, and died of liver cancer. He died at his home in the San Fernando Valley at 4:30 a.m. on June 3, 1975, with his wife and sons at his bedside. Services were held at the Church of the Hills at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, California on Friday, June 6.[8] He is interred with his wife and son (and pop singer) Ricky in the Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. David Nelson was cremated, and chose not to be interred in the Nelson family plot, instead choosing a niche in Westwood Memorial Park's outdoor Garden of Serenity columbarium.
For his contribution to the television industry, Ozzie Nelson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6555 Hollywood Boulevard. He has an additional star with his wife at 6260 Hollywood Boulevard for their contribution to radio.
Dream A Little Dream Of Me
Ozzie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me
Say "Night-ie night" and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Stars fading, but I linger on, dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear
Just saying this
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me
Stars fading, but I linger on, dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear
Just saying this
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries far behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me
The song, Dream a Little Dream of Me by Ozzie Nelson & His Orchestra, is a sweet and romantic song about a person who is longing for their lover. The song begins with the singer talking about stars and night breezes, and how they seem to be whispering about love. The birds singing in the sycamore tree add to the romantic atmosphere of the song, and the singer encourages the listener to dream a little dream of them.
The second verse of the song is where the singer literally asks the listener to say "Night-ie night" and kiss them. They ask to be held tight and told that they will be missed. The singer expresses his loneliness and sadness while being alone, and again encourages the listener to dream a little dream of him.
The chorus is repeated twice in the song, and the singer talks about how they are still thinking about their lover as the stars begin to fade. They express their longing to linger until dawn, and wish for the listener to have sweet dreams that leave all worries behind them, but to also dream a little dream of them.
Overall, the song is a beautiful and romantic way to express one's love for another.
Line by Line Meaning
Stars shining bright above you
The stars above you are shining bright and clear.
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
The breeze at night is so calm it seems to whisper 'I love you.'
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
The birds are singing beautifully in the sycamore tree.
Dream a little dream of me
Please think of me tonight and dream of me.
Say "Night-ie night" and kiss me
Say 'Goodnight' and give me a loving kiss before we go to sleep.
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
Hold me close and promise that you will miss me while we are apart.
While I'm alone and blue as can be
I am feeling lonely and sad right now.
Dream a little dream of me
Please think of me tonight and dream of me.
Stars fading, but I linger on, dear
The stars are disappearing, but I'm still here longing for you.
Still craving your kiss
I still want to be kissed by you.
I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear
I want to stay with you until the break of dawn.
Just saying this
I just want to tell you this.
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
I hope you have sweet dreams until the morning sun wakes you up.
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
May your dreams bring you peace and leave all your worries behind.
But in your dreams whatever they be
Whatever you dream of, I hope it brings you happiness and joy.
Dream a little dream of me
Please think of me tonight and dream of me.
Lyrics © DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Fabian Andre, Gus Kahn, Wilbur Schwandt
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Thomas Smith
Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me
Say "Night-ie night" and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me
Stars fading but I linger on, dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear
Just saying this
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me
Wolfgang
Timeless. And what a fantastic sound quality of this 90+ years old recording!
pltarblag
I love the fact that you're uploading older records. I know these kinds of songs were popularised by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald etcetera, but I personally like these versions way better.
Vintage
Cass Elliot did a version of this song in the 60’s this classic never gets old!
Thomas Smith
Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me
Say "Night-ie night" and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me
Stars fading but I linger on, dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear
Just saying this
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me
Liam VnBw
How I adore this channel! I am discovering these wonderful old versions of songs I always believed to be more recent. (e.g. I only knew this song sung by Doris Day!) Thank you for this, I love this style of music.
Anthony Frew
@Alissa Reminiec Cheak out Al Bowlly - he made a number of songs famous the first time around - including 'The Very Thought of You' and 'My melancholy baby
Alissa Reminiec
I kmow the Cass Eliott version of this song
The78Prof
So glad to hear that you're enjoying the music!
JimE901
The fact I just found this at a thrift store and bought it right before finding this is amazing
Gerome Torribio
Synchronicity!