60s Music Video Flashback

The Monkees - I'm A Believer

The Monkees were a pop rock quartet assembled by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider in Los Angeles in 1966 for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968. The members were Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Englishman Davy Jones, who were supervised and popularized by Don Kirshner.

At the time of the band's formation, its producers saw The Monkees as a Beatles-like band. At the start, the band members provided vocals, and were given some performing and production opportunities, but they eventually fought for and earned the right to collectively supervise all musical output under the band's name. The group undertook several concert tours, allowing an opportunity to perform as a live band as well as on the TV series. Although the show was canceled in 1968, the band continued releasing records until 1970. In the 1980s, the television show and music experienced a revival, which led to a series of reunion tours, and new records featuring various incarnations of the band's lineup.

"I'm a Believer" is a song composed by Neil Diamond and recorded by the The Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on December 31, 1966 and remained there for seven weeks, becoming the biggest-selling record for all of 1967, and one of the biggest of all time. Because of advance orders, over 1,051,280, it went gold within two days of release.

60s Music Video Flashback

Mason Williams - "Classical Gas"

Mason Douglas Williams (born August 24, 1938) is an American guitarist and composer, best known for his guitar instrumental Classical Gas He is also a comedy writer, known for his writing on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and Saturday Night Live. He is also an eclectic poet and lyricist, who has published several books.

Mason Williams was born in Abilene, Texas. He grew up in Oakridge, Oregon, and is a graduate of Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Oklahoma City University. As of 2006, he lived in Eugene, Oregon with his wife, who is a defense attorney.

Mason Williams emerged in the late 1960s as a strong force in television and music circles. In 1968 he won two Grammy Awards for his unique composition for guitar, Classical Gas. That same year he also won an Emmy Award for his work as a comedy writer on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

In 1970, Williams made a memorable television appearance on a variety show, Just Friends, which reunited regulars of the The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. To create a visual element for his performance, he used a special playable classical plexiglass guitar built for him by Billy Cheatwood and a prop designer for ABC. For the performance, Williams filled the guitar with water and added a couple of goldfish. He then used the plexiglass guitar to finger-sync his hit version of Classical Gas.

On the Web:

Mason Williams Online