The week of August 28, 1993, saw two songs I’ve already covered in the #1 and #2 spots of the Billboard Hot 100: UB40’s ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ and Tag Team’s ‘Whoomp! (There it Is),’ respectively.
That brings us to #3, where Mariah Carey’s ‘Dreamlover’ sat on its way to a #1 berth the following week. This pop/R&B confection would be Carey’s seventh to top the charts, and ended up spending eight consecutive weeks at #1.
I’m not a big fan of Mariah Carey, so I don’t fully appreciate the degree to which she dominated the pop music landscape in the 90s. She had 14 #1 singles in the decade, more than any other artist, and released seven multi-platinum albums, including two that reached diamond status. She is one of the top-selling artists of all-time largely based on her 90s output.
‘Dreamlover’ makes great use of a sample of ‘Blind Alley’ by The Emotions to shift Carey’s music away from pure R&B and into a more hip-hop-influenced direction. I always like listening to the old songs that find their way into modern hits via sampling — it’s like watching a classic movie and seeing a camera movement or line of dialogue that’s been echoed in a recent film.
I need a lover to give me
The kind of love that will last always
I need somebody uplifting
To take me away, baby
[Verse 2]
I want a lover who knows me
Who understands how I feel inside
Someone to comfort and hold me
Through the long lonely nights
‘Till the dawn
Why don’t you take me away?
[Chorus]
Dreamlover, come rescue me
Take me up, take me down
Take me anywhere you want to, baby, now
I need you so desperately
Won’t you please come around?
‘Cause I wanna share forever with you, baby
[Verse 3]
I don’t want another pretender
To disillusion me one more time
Whispering words of forever
Playing with my mind
(No no no, no no, baby)
[Verse 4]
I need someone to hold on to
The kind of love that won’t fly away
I just want someone to belong to
Every day
Of my life
Always
So come and take me away
[Chorus]
Dreamlover, come rescue me
Take me up, take me down
Take me anywhere you want to, baby, now
I need you so desperately
Won’t you please come around?
‘Cause I wanna share forever with you, baby
(With you)
[Instrumental Break]
[Chorus]
(Baby, come and take me away)
Dreamlover, come rescue me
Take me up, take me down (Take me down)
Take me anywhere you want to, baby, now
I need you so desperately (I need you, baby)
Won’t you please come around? (Won’t you please?)
‘Cause I wanna share forever with you, baby
[Outro]
I need you so, I need you so
Take me up
Come on, baby
With you, baby
Meet Me In Montauk 
I’m sure I’ve heard many of Mariah’s hits through osmosis, but not this one, nor am I familiar with “Blind Alley.”