Biography
The Dream Weavers exemplify a musical act whose entire chart legacy rests on one release, the early-1956 single “It’s Almost Tomorrow.” Schoolmates Gene Adkinson and Wade Buff first crossed paths through the Greater Miami Boys’ Drum and Bugle Corps while Adkinson attended Miami Edison Senior High and Buff studied at Coral Gables High School. Their friendship continued at the University of Florida, where a 1955 freshman talent-show victory earned them a regular slot on WRUF’s Starlight Serenade with Gene and Wade. Because the program ran late, the pair routinely closed each broadcast with a composition they had written together two years earlier, “It’s Almost Tomorrow.” Female harmony parts rotated among Sally Sanborn, Mary Carr, and Mary Rude. Program announcer Chuck Murdock staged an on-air naming contest that produced the group’s eventual moniker, chosen because the members “weave dreams.” Lee Turner supplied piano and Eddie Newsom played bass on that first recording. Local interest prompted Milt Gabler of Decca Records to supervise a new version featuring Buff on lead and Adkinson handling baritone. The track entered Billboard’s Top 100 in November 1955, climbed to number eight on the sales chart and number seven on the most-played jukebox survey, and in Britain ascended to number one for three weeks during March. Television spots encompassed an Ed Sullivan Show appearance on New Year’s 1956 and a Valentine’s Day performance on The Perry Como Show. No subsequent British hits followed, cementing the group’s one-hit-wonder status there, although the United States yielded one further modest entry, “A Little Love Can Go A Long Way.” At the peak of the first single’s popularity, Wade Buff married occasional Dream Weaver Mary Rude, then concluded that domestic life clashed with touring demands; Lee Raymond stepped in to replace him. When Adkinson received his army draft notice, the revised duo disbanded, bringing the Dream Weavers’ brief run to an end.
Singles