Tell Me That I'm Dreaming

Was (Not Was) recorded Tell Me That I'm Dreaming during the sessions for the group's debut album, recorded at The Sound Suite in Detroit in early 1981. The track was written by David Was and Don Was and produced with Jack Tann and ZE Records founder Michael Zilkha. The single became one of the group's early club breakthroughs, reaching number 3 on Billboard's dance chart in 1982. Its collage-like use of absurdist narration, dance rhythm and Ronald Reagan speech samples helped define the band's early ZE Records identity. The record remains a key early Was (Not Was) single and a durable example of the downtown New York and Detroit art-dance crossover of the early 1980s. Its political speech sampling and surreal funk construction anticipated later dance records built around media fragments and spoken-word hooks.