Today’s Song of the Day is my favorite song by Irene Cara, who was born on this day in 1959, “The Dream (Hold On to the Dream)”. Irene Cara is a singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Most people know her from the song “Flashdance… What a Feeling” (which she wrote and is from the film Flashdance), for which she won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. She is also known for playing the role of Coco Hernandez in the 1980 film Fame, and for recording the film’s title song “Fame“.

This song was written by Irene, along with Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte, for the film D.C. Cab. The movie starred Mr. T, Max Gail (Barney Miller), Adam Baldwin (My Bodyguard), Charlie Barnett, Gary Busey, Marsha Warfield, and Bill Mahr, and Paul Rodriguez.

“The Dream” reached number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984. The music video was broadcast on MTV and interspersed clips from the film with scenes of Cara performing the song in various London locales.