"Dream Street" is a song written by Arthur Barrow, Pete
Bellotte and John Philip Shenale in 1984 for Janet Jackson's 2nd album and it
became the Title track.
The song was scheduled to be the 4th Single
from the album but after the sales were low for the previous 3 singles the
release was cancelled. Although it did appear as the B side to the Japanese
Release of "Two To The Power of Love".
By this point Janet's father, Joseph had
negotiated a deal for Janet to appear on Fame and to showcase her music.
On Fame "Dream Street" comes from
the season 4 episodes "Nothing Personal" and "School Is
Out" where it is performed by Janet Jackson, with the rest of the season 4
kids playing parts in what would become Janet Jackson's First Music Video. The
video follows the song lyrics and
depicts a girl's rise to stardom in the 1950s.
It starts off with Janet/Cleo on a bus to
Hollywood driven by Carlo Imperato, then she finds a roommate and a friend for
an apartment Valerie /Doris. The next scene is of her struggling working in a
restaurant having a hard time adjusting, but she meets a man Billy / Chris who
is attracted to her and gives her a card for an audition.
She tries out in a dance audition for
Debbie / Lydia with Carol / Sherwood as
the writer. Gene / Leroy and Jesse/ Jesse are part of her backing dancers and
Nia / Nicole and Cynthia / Holly are make up and hair artists. She gets the
part and the video is up to date in 1984, with Janet wearing a red leather
outfit doing a dance routine with the Fame dancers.
Janet performed the song on U.S. TV on American Bandstand in 1984 and the video appears on a Japanese Singles Collection Greatest Hits CD/DVD package in 2022.
And a bus comes in on the Hollywood freeway in the dark
A face catches sight of home, though at this spirited town
Such a beating of the heart and a hope deep down inside
They say the streets are paved with gold
But it sure looks kind of cold outside
Steppin' on the sidewalk with the stars beneath her feet
Just a handful of tourists, is all she's bound to meet
So tough to find a room and it takes more than a day
And it's not too nice and the price is high
Somehow she can't help but cry
In a world full of fantasies, reality can hurt
It's about the fiction, the odds won't go with her on
Dream street, dream street
Will it all come true? Will it all just fade away
Dream street, dream street
Well, it's hard to find and
It won't let hope escape from dream street
A year goes by, and the situation she can't stand
Came to be an actress, but a waitress is all she lands
Her colleague smiles at her through the wrinkles of her face
She came here too, with the self-same goals
She never got out of this place
She makes her mind up, she's gonna leave that very night
It's been so long now since she's felt that good inside
She calls the service line, there's a message in there for her
She's gotta star in a movie part, suddenly it's all worthwhile
Oh a little bit closer now, but really still too far
Is it always out of reach, that bright and shiny star of
Dream street, dream street
Will it all come true? Will it all just fade away
Dream street, dream street
Well, it's hard to find and
It won't let hope escape from dream street
