By the time brothers Charlie and Ira Louvin worked their way out of the family cotton farm, and an abusive father, and onto the Grand Ole Opry stage in 1955, the duo had another battle to contend with: being labeled as a gospel duo.
Born and raised in Henagar, Alabama, the siblings started in gosepl, guided by their heavy Baptist upbringing, but also moved their sound into country and bluegrass only the way, first breaking away from the genre with their 1952 single, recorded with Chet Atkins, “The Get Acquainted Waltz,” along with the B-side, “My Love Song For You.”
By 1955, the duo also wrote and released a Top 10 hit, “When I Stop Dreaming,” which helped them crossover from gospel. But releasing “When I Stop Dreaming” was a battle for the brothers, who had to convince their label, Capitol Records, to record it. The slower waltz was something they believed would have a more universal appeal.
“We were dreamers,” said Charlie Louvin. “Everybody knows what it’s like to dream. I believe the world is made by the dreamers.”
Once released in 1955, “When I Stop Dreaming” went to No. 8 and was the duo’s first single released after joining the Opry, helping launch their career and a line of more hits, including their murder ballad, “The Knoxville Girl,” “Cash on the Barrelhead,” and “I Don’t Believe You’ve Met My Baby.”
“When I Stop Dreaming”
The brothers also promised that the song would not offend listeners. The Louvin waltz was about someone who promises to stop loving someone once he stops dreaming about them.
When I stop dreaming
That’s when I’ll stop loving you
The worst that I’ve ever been hurt in my life
The first time I ever have wanted to die
Was the night when you told me you loved someone else
And asked me if I could forget
When I stop dreaming
That’s when I’ll stop wanting you
I’d be like a flower unwanted in spring
Alone and neglected, transplanted in vain
To a garden of sadness where its petals would fall
In the shadow of undying pain
By 1963, the Louvin Brothers’ run came to an end when the brothers split due to Ira’s alcoholism and abusive behavior. Both transitioned into a solo career with Charlie releasing his solo album, Less and Less & I Don’t Love You Anymore, in 1965. Ira died two years later when he and his wife were killed while driving by a drunk driver, shortly after he finished recording his own solo debut.
“When I Stop Dreaming” was later covered by Skeeter Davis, Roy Orbison, Don Everly, Etta James, Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, Martina McBride, and others, along with another memorable duet in 2015.
Don Henley’s ‘Cass Country’
Six decades after its release, “When I Stop Dreaming” was revisited by Dolly Parton and Don Henley. The ballad was released on Henley’s 2015 solo album, Cass County, which also features guests Mick Jagger, Merle Haggard, Miranda Lambert, and Martina McBride.
“I think we had about two or three takes with Dolly,” recalled Henley of recording with Parton. “She comes in and goes, ‘I know this song; I used to do it with Porter [Wagoner].’”
Parton has always had a deep admiration for the Eagles and covered some of the band’s songs since the late 1970s, including their On the Border track, “Lyin’ Eyes,” which she performed on her variety show Dolly! on January 15, 1977. In 2001, Parton also covered the Eagles’ “Seven Bridges Road” on her bluegrass album Little Sparrow.
“The Eagles are one of my favorite groups,” said Dolly Parton on Dolly! That year, Parton also accepted the Eagles’ American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album for The Eagles Greatest Hits on the band’s behalf. “I think they’re terrific,” said Parton, accepting the award for the band, “and I love them.”
It was like someone sprinkled pixie dust all over the studio. — Don Henley
In 1977, Parton also sang backing vocals on Emmylou Harris’ rendition of “When I Stop Dreaming” for the album Luxury Liner.
Henley remembered being completely stunned by Parton’s performance of the song in the studio. “She said, ‘This key is a little bit high for me,’ and we said, ‘Well, that’s the only key we recorded it in,’” recalled Henley. “And she said, ‘Well, I guess I’ll just have to go back and get it then.’ So she rared back, and she did it in two takes, and she was gone.”
He added, “Me and my production team sat there in stunned silence for five minutes, going, ‘What the hell just happened here?’ It was like someone sprinkled pixie dust all over the studio.”
