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This was the first single Aerosmith released. Their manager had them share a house and concentrate on writing songs for their first album. Steven Tyler had been working on this on and off for about 6 years, and was able to complete it with the help of the rest of the band.
Aerosmith was their first album. It didn't do so well, mainly because their record company didn't promote it. Columbia records was focused on Bruce Springsteen's first album, and put little effort into promoting this. Aerosmith was in danger of being dropped, but Columbia decided to keep them when they released this as a single and it showed promise, reaching #59 in the US.
Tyler: "It's about the hunger to be somebody: Dream until your dreams come true."
This went to #6 when it was re-released in 1976, after the band had a larger audience.
Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry hated this. He thought it was much too soft.
Tyler played the piano on this. It provided an interlude at concerts where he could sit behind a piano instead of running around on stage.
The album was reissued in 1987 and 1993, after their albums Permanent Vacation and Get A Grip exposed them to a new audience who had not heard their early work.
Aerosmith first performed this at the Shaboo Inn in Willimantic, Connecticut. They were paid $175 and a bottle of gin for the show.
Tyler's ex-wife, actress Cyrinda Fox, wrote a book in 1996 called Dream On where she trashed Tyler for paying little child support and doing other bad things. Tyler was not pleased with Fox when the book came out, but they became friends once again when Cyrinda learned she had brain cancer. Tyler paid her medical bills until her death in 2002.
Eminem used this as the basis for his 2002 song "Sing For The Moment." Tyler's vocals were sampled and Perry played guitar on Eminem's track.
This plays over the closing credits of the 2004 movie Miracle, about the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team. In the credits, they explain what has happened to each member of the team since they won the gold medal.
Ronnie James Dio sang this on the album Aerosmith Tribute: Not The Same Old Song & Dance (released September 7, 1999). Yngwie Johann Malmsteen played the guitar part - It's what you'd expect, a million notes per minute. (thanks, Dino - Bandung, Indonesia)