The final studio album of singer-songwriter Tucker Zimmerman, who died in January at age 84, will be released posthumously on June 19. Titled Dream Me a Dream, the record features contributions from folk artist Jackie Oates and producer Nick Holton. A preview track, “Sun in Scorpio,” is available now.
Tucker Zimmerman, a storied singer-songwriter, passed away in January at the age of 84 in a house fire that also claimed the life of his wife, Marie-Claire. His label, Big Potato, had planned to announce his final studio album, Dream Me a Dream, the week of his death but postponed it following the tragedy. Now, the label has decided to proceed with the release on June 19.
In October of the previous year, Zimmerman provided a whimsical summary of the album to Big Potato: “The Little Prince by way of the pen of Antoine de Saint Exupéry said ‘Draw me a sheep’ and I said to the Little Prince ‘Dream me a dream’ overheard by Nick HOO (Big Potato Nick) who said ‘Record me a song’ so I recorded a song and then one or two more and just like that whip crack away and snap dragon fingers we had an album and just like that pump up the jambalaya and kick the chandelier Nick’s got the tracks mixed and mastered and pressed into 12” discs that say hallelujah and great balls of fire on the cover and that’s all I’m going to say about the outer wheels of this wagon as it rolls into your life the inner clockworks too intricate and deep to make language suffer so if you want more go to the Little Prince ask him to draw you a Dream of Now and Memory…”
The album includes contributions from folk artist Jackie Oates and producer Nick Holton. Marie-Claire, Zimmerman’s late wife, also features on the record. In a press release, Holton described the track “Rose of Sharon,” noting that Zimmerman said it addressed “the dark side of the hippie movement in California. Young girls being swept away with various cults.” He added that they recorded it with both on synths, giving it a “psychedelic, almost Krautyrock style,” with Oates on voice and violin. The track was initially recorded in 2024, with Zimmerman re-singing the vocals in 2025 despite his frailty, and “the energy came through when the tape was rolling.” Holton mentioned their deep conversations during recording, covering love, fear, and the future. Zimmerman, who had never recorded a cover before, included one of Big Thief’s “Wanted You to Stay,” retitled “Stay (I Want You to Stay)” on the album, dedicated to Marie-Claire.
The full tracklist is: 01 Sun in Scorpio, 02 Dream Me a Dream, 03 Orion Comes Down to Walk the Land, 04 Don’t Feel Like Doing Nothing Today, 05 Wolf Run, 06 Rose of Sharon, 07 Riding Around in My Dreams, 08 Lovers of Beggar St., 09 Rooftops of San Francisco, 10 Stay (I Want You to Stay), 11 Cross Walk.
