For their latest release, some of the world’s most prominent musicians, including guitarist TOM MORELLO (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, AUDIOSLAVE), keyboardist RAMI JAFFEE (FOO FIGHTERS), bassist KATHY VALENTINE (THE GO-GO’S), guitarist VICKI PETERSON (THE BANGLES), singer CHERIE CURRIE (THE RUNAWAYS), guitarist WAYNE KRAMER (MC5), drummer KRIS MYERS (UMPHREY’S MCGEE), along with singer INARA GEORGE and multi-instrumentalist GREG KURSTIN of THE BIRD AND THE BEE, have come together with THE MIRACULOUS LOVE KIDS to share their take on this classic song with unprecedented depth and dimension. 

“I feel a moral and spiritual imperative to awaken humanity, in particular my brethren in the music community to help give a voice to the horrible plight of poverty-stricken, war-torn girls,” LANNY explains. “Why girls? Because they have it the worst — forced into childhood marriages, stripped of their rights, and exploited in every way imaginable.”

When asked why he and the girls chose “SWEET DREAMS,” LANNY conjures a ruminative reply: “We wanted to do something moody — a kind of gothic hymn — and we gravitated towards the dark yet hopeful spirit of this song,” he says. “The lines in the song — ’some of them want to use you, some of them want to get used by you, some of them want to abuse you, some of them want to be abused — really resonate, reflecting these troubled times. But then a glimmer of optimism — ‘hold your head up…keep your head up’ — gently flows through the voices of these girls who have experienced the worst that humanity has to offer.”

TOM MORELLO, who not only played guitar for both RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and AUDIOSLAVE but also spent time on the road with BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, adds, “These girls are so brave and so inspiring. It is an honor to make music with them.”

When she heard about the cause, KATHY VALENTINE — who released her memoir, ALL I EVER WANTED, in April, then reunited with THE GO-GO’S for a SHOWTIME documentary about the group — immediately stepped up. “I watched all the videos, looked at the entire website, and read all the press,” she says. “After doing all that, I decided I wanted to be of service to THE MIRACULOUS LOVE KIDS.”

As an original member of THE BANGLES, VICKI PETERSON can definitely relate to the ambition of being a GIRL WITH A GUITAR: “This was a singular honor for me to be a part of and I would love to be involved further.”

For WAYNE KRAMER, who pioneered American hard rock with MC5 in the late 1960s, the experience of playing with THE MIRACULOUS LOVE KIDS was simply “inspirational.”

LANNY has the final word: “The girls are learning about the world through rock and roll, and have begun discovering the wonders and magic of the guitar from this incredible cast of soul-filled musicians from America, who all offered their services with great generosity and enthusiasm.”

“SWEET DREAMS” was produced by LANNY CORDOLA and SARMAD GHAFOOR, who also engineered and mixed the song, with additional engineering by FAISAL ZIA. It was recorded over the span of a year in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the United States.

The “SWEET DREAMS” video was directed by documentary filmmaker HANS FJELLESTAD (SUNSET STRIP, MOOG) with videography in Kabul by TAWFIQ LAYEQ and MUNIR TAWEER, and videography for TOM MORELLO by RHOADS MORELLO.

Special thanks to DEBBIE BICKERSTAFF, RAFI BEHROOZIAN, SHAWN PERRY, JOHN GREENBERG, DAVID LAVERY, ERIN HANSON, NICKI LORANGER, JOHN DOMINGUE, NEIL WILLIAMS, and JOHN PUMPHREY.