This is 1970s soft rock that is so light and fluffy that I am surprised that it stayed on turntables and didn't just float away. It occurs to me that this song has the same theme as the Everly Brothers' "All I Have To Do Is Dream", which I like much better.
Kenny Nolan (born 1949) was from Los Angeles. "I Like Dreamin'" was his first single; it reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The followup, "Love's Grown Deep", reached #20 on the Hot 100; it is so soft that it makes "I Like Dreamin'" seem like heavy metal by comparison (but at least, in these lyrics, the singer is in an actual relationship). It didn't get airplay in Toronto but I recall hearing it somewhere; I was sometimes listening to a Buffalo radio station at the time, and they might have played it there. That was about it for his own personal success on the charts.
Nolan was an accomplished songwriter, both on his own and with Bob Crewe. In 1975, he wrote "Swing Your Daddy", which Jim Gilstrap took to #4 in the UK; it's an interesting combination of soul and soft rock. With Crewe, he wrote: "Lady Marmalade", a hit for Labelle; "My Eyes Adored You", with which Frankie Valli reached #1; "Get Dancin'", which was a one-hit wonder for Disco Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes. He has written a couple of hit songs since then, but this was his peak.
Created November 7, 2026.