When You Close Your Eyes

Hey there, Zoo Freaks! The Zoo Crew is spinning a classic tonight with When You Close Your Eyes by Night Ranger from their 1983 album Midnight Madness. This tune’s got a juicy backstory. Lead singer Jack Blades came up with the song’s hook while messing around on a piano in the studio, spontaneously singing, “When you close your eyes, do you dream about me?” He showed it to Harry Maslin, co-owner of the studio, who loved it and pushed him to keep going. The band hit a wall with the lyrics in Hollywood, so Blades jetted off to his parents’ place in Scottsdale, Arizona. Poolside for three days, he poured his heart into the song, thinking about an old girlfriend and wondering if she still thought of him after they’d gone their separate ways. He told Songfacts, “I thought about my old girlfriend, where we split up, and I wonder if she ever thinks about the past, and all these things you went through when you were growing up, and all these things you did when you were together, and your first love.” Blades says she probably doesn’t know the song’s about her—and he thinks it’s better that way.

The music video for When You Close Your Eyes is pure ‘80s gold, featuring Macha Bennet-Shephard, who also starred in the Sister Christian video. It mixes shots of the band rocking a back-lit stage with a story of a man and woman reflecting on their past romance, complete with a quirky twist: her current husband is portrayed by a chimpanzee in some scenes. A slightly tweaked version of the video tones down the chimp’s role, but both got heavy MTV play, boosting the song to number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 7 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Ultimate Classic Rock ranked it fifth on their list of top Night Ranger songs, calling it a standout from Midnight Madness. Released as the third single on July 14, 1984, it helped push the album past platinum status with over a million copies sold.

Night Ranger kicked off in San Francisco in 1982, born from the ashes of a band called Rubicon. Jack Blades (bass and vocals), Kelly Keagy (drums and vocals), and Brad Gillis (guitar) were Rubicon alumni, joined by Jeff Watson (guitar) and Alan Fitzgerald (keyboards). They wanted a sound that blended hard rock with pop hooks, inspired by bands like Journey and Foreigner. Their debut album, Dawn Patrol, dropped in 1982, and tracks like Don’t Tell Me You Love Me got MTV airplay, giving them a foothold. But it was Midnight Madness in 1983 that shot them to stardom, with hits like Sister Christian and When You Close Your Eyes. The band’s dueling guitarists, Gillis and Watson, drew comparisons to Van Halen, while Blades’ charisma won over fans. They’ve sold over 17 million albums worldwide, rocking stages across 4,000-plus shows.

Connect with Night Ranger on their Facebook, Instagram, and X accounts for the latest tour dates and news. Fans can dive deeper at the Night Ranger Wiki, a fan-driven site packed with band lore. Join the Night Ranger Fan Club on Facebook to swap stories and score updates from fellow Zoo Freaks who can’t get enough of that ‘80s rock vibe. Keep rocking, crew!