The Monkees - "I`m a Believer"

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"I`m a Believer" is a song written by Neil Diamond and recorded by the American band 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 for the week ending December 31, 1966, and remained there for seven weeks [3] becoming the last number-one hit of 1966 and the biggest-selling single for all of 1967. Billboard ranked the record as the number-five song for 1967.[4] While originally published by Screen Gems-Columbia Music (BMI), it is now published by Stonebridge Music/EMI Foray Music (SESAC), with administration passed to Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing Group.

The song topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in January and February 1967. Also, it reached number one in several other countries, including Australia, New Zealand,[5] Canada, and Ireland.[6]

Billboard described the song as "an easy-go dance mover" that "will hit with immediate impact".[7] Cash Box said the single is a "medium-paced rocker [that] is full of the group`s top-notch harmonies and is laced with infectious sounds."[8] Record World said it was "sensational."[9]

The song was featured in four consecutive episodes of the television series The Monkees in December 1966. The members of the Monkees later performed it live during domestic and overseas tours at that time and many years later at reunion concerts.[citation needed]

History

Diamond also suggested the song to the Fifth Estate, who recorded it as a 1967 album cut to follow up their hit "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead".

Diamond recorded his own version of the song for his second album, Just For You, in 1967. This version became a minor chart hit in 1971. A new recording by Diamond, featuring additional lyrics, appears on his 1979 album September Morn. Diamond also performed it in a duet with Linda Ronstadt as part of a medley of his songs on an episode of The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour in 1970.

Charts

Neil Diamond

Recording

Session guitarist Al Gorgoni (who played on "The Sound of Silence" and later on "Brown Eyed Girl") had worked on Diamond`s "Cherry, Cherry" and also contributed to "I`m a Believer." Other personnel on the record include Sal DiTroia on rhythm guitar, Neil Diamond on acoustic guitar, Russ Savakus on bass, George Butcher on electric piano, Stan Free on organ, George Devens on tambourine, and Buddy Saltzman on drums.[13]

The song is listed at number 48 on Billboard`s All Time Top 100.[3] In 2021, it was listed at number 341 on Rolling Stone`s list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[14]

Personnel

The Monkees

• Micky Dolenz – lead and backing vocals
• Davy Jones and Peter Tork – backing vocals

Additional personnel

• Al Gorgoni, Sal DiTroia – electric guitars
• Neil Diamond – acoustic guitar
• Stan Free – organ
• George Butcher – electric piano
• George Devens – tambourine
• Russ Savakus – bass
• Buddy Saltzman – drums
• Jeff Barry – producer
• Artie Butler – arranger

Charts

Certifications

Smash Mouth version

The American pop rock band Smash Mouth covered the song in 2001 as part of the soundtrack to the movie Shrek, along with their previous Grammy-nominated hit "All Star". The band also released the song on its self-titled album. Eddie Murphy, portraying the character Donkey, also performed a rendition of the song in the film. The song was chosen for its opening line, "I thought love was only true in fairy tales", which matched the fairy tale theme of the film. Subsequently, the song was played as exit music for the Broadway musical adaptation of the film for comic effect. (Weezer also had a version of the song at the end of Shrek`s 2010 sequel Shrek Forever After, which was inserted into the musical`s finale a year into its run.) The Smash Mouth version peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top 20 in New Zealand and Spain. In Australia, the cover reached number nine on the ARIA Singles Chart, received a Platinum certification for sales exceeding 70,000 and came in at number 36 on ARIA`s year-end chart for 2001.

Music video

The music video for Smash Mouth`s version was directed by Scott Marshall. It first depicts the band performing in a tent; then, the scene switches to them walking out of a movie theater, complete with cardboard advertisements of Shrek and the characters. Then, lead vocalist Steve Harwell accidentally bumps into a blond-haired woman and tries to catch up with her. However, a man with blond hair comes up as Harwell freaks out and screams. Afterward, the woman walks into a "fairy tale convention" at a hotel. Harwell continues to follow the woman into the hotel. Once in the hotel, Harwell tries to find the woman by looking through different rooms. However, there are short clips from Shrek each time he opens the door. Finally, he tries one more door and thinks it is the woman. However, a blond-haired chimpanzee is dancing with a woman dressed as a banana. With no luck, Harwell walks out of the hotel, but the woman speeds off in her red convertible.

Hoping to catch up, Harwell sneakily takes a red jacket and borrows a silver Lexus car driven by a costumed gingerbread man who is injured and using crutches. Then, Harwell winks at the camera as the chase begins. While driving, he throws the jacket up and into the street. He then stops at a party where the woman is and goes into a tent, the same one where the band`s performance takes place). However, he observes several similar blonde-haired women, all dancing and wearing the same red shirt. Harwell somehow recognizes the woman again and catches up with her just as she boards a boat. He asks the boat captain for assistance, and the band performs on the boat during a heavy storm. Meanwhile, Harwell and the captain search for the woman. Finally, he catches her on a dock and informs her that she forgot her keys. Just as he is about to leave, the woman recognizes him as Steve from Smash Mouth and asks for his number. However, Harwell declines and says he has to go. The woman then chases him and yells, "Wait! Please! I love you!"

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Other covers and later uses

An Italian cover by Caterina Caselli, "Sono bugiarda" ("I`m a liar"), was released in 1967. It was used in Ridley Scott`s 2021 biopic House of Gucci.[58][59]

British Canterbury scene musician Robert Wyatt issued a cover version of the song as a single on the Virgin label in 1974. The record was produced by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and reached number 29 on the UK Singles Chart.[60] Wyatt performed the song on BBC`s Top of the Pops in September of that year.[61][62]

The song was also covered by EMF with Vic and Bob (Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer) in 1995 and reached number three on the UK Singles Chart.[63]

The song appeared in the Yugoslav Black Wave film When I Am Dead and Gone directed by Živojin Pavlović. The song appears in the singing competition scene, performed by singer Predrag Jovanović, who would later gain prominence as a member of the German band Jane and Yugoslav band Dʼ Boys.[64]

The song was initially used in the home video version of the Coen brothers` 1984 film Blood Simple, but after licensing issues were settled, it was replaced in the 2001 director`s cut of the film by the song used in the theatrical version, Four Tops` "It`s the Same Old Song."[65]

American rock band Weezer performed a cover for the 2010 animated film Shrek Forever After. In 2018 Hot Dad performed a cover for Shrek Retold.[66]