Introduction to the Dream Weavers
The Dream Weavers were a vocal pop group formed in Miami, Florida. They released a single called “It’s Almost Tomorrow,” released on Decca label. The album went to the Top 10 pop chart in 1955. Other minor hits followed such as “Into The Night”, “You’re Mine” and “Is There Somebody Else?” while “A Little Love Can Go A Long, Long Way” was their last Top 40 hit. In 1956, Buff and Rude got married and Buff eventually allowed original member Gene Adkinson to lead the band to concentrate on family life. Despite a new replacement in Lee Raymond, the Dreamweavers’ short tenure in showbiz ultimately ended with Adkinson’s conscription into the US Army. Despite a few minor hits, the Dream Weavers are now usually associated with one-hit wonders.
Formation of the Dream Weavers
The Dream Weavers were a short-lived vocal group formed in Florida in 1953. The lineup consisted of core members and long time buddies Gene Adkinson and Wade Buff. Adkinson was a sophomore at Miami Edison Senior High School, while Buff was also a senior at Coral Gables High School. The two started to write songs together from the moment they met each other. Adkinson and Buff then together attended the same university, the University of Florida. Later on, other members were Lee Turner, Eddie Newson, Sally Sanborn, Mary Carr and Mary Rude who at one time had been with the band.
“It’s Almost Tomorrow,” the duo’s only major hit
While at the university, Adkinson and Buff entered a freshman talent show which they won first place, paving the way for a radio career by appearing regularly on the half-hour slot Starlight Serenade with Gene and Wade at the local radio station WRUF. At the end of their show, they would always cap it off with a song that they had written together a few years back. The song was called “It’s Almost Tomorrow,” with Buff taking the lead vocals while the third part of the song was performed by female singers such as Sanborn, Carr and Rude and many others.
The song eventually gained some popularity among the listeners. This led to a contest thought up by the show’s announcer Chuck Murdock, where listeners were asked to name the about-to-be formed group. A contestant submitted his (or her?) winning entry: “The Dream Weavers,” because he (or she) thought the song was dreamy.
The song was eventually cut into a record done in Jacksonville, and it was now being heard regionally around Florida. Decca Records got wind of the song, and eventually secured and had it re-recorded. The song was released in 1956, and reached the Billboard Hot 100 where it stayed for a total of twenty-one weeks. It eventually reached #7 on the Billboard’s Top 10. In the United Kingdom, “It’s Almost Tomorrow” became an even bigger hit, peaking there at #1 and staying there for three weeks.
Other minor hits
The Dream Weavers released a few more charting hits, all in 1956: “Into the Night” (#82 pop), “You’re Mine” (at #100), another top 40 hit with “A Little Love Can Go a Long, Long Way,” (#33 pop) and “Is There Somebody Else?” (#87 pop). Unless you count “A Little Love Can Go a Long, Long Way,” the Dream Weavers will be considered one of the typical one-hit wonders.
The end of the Dream Weavers
Anyway, during the peak of the Dream Weavers’ fleeting popularity they appeared on a few television programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Perry Como Show on New Year 1956 and Valentine’s Day, respectively. Buff also married Rude at the height of their first single’s success, but later found out that married life wasn’t going right with a life on the road as a member of a pop act. Buff was replaced by Lee Raymond, but when Adkinson was drafted into the US army in 1956, the Dream Weavers’ short existence was ultimately finished.