- I'm a Believer
Infobox Single
Name = I'm a Believer
Caption =
Type =
Artist =The Monkees
alt Artist =
from Album =More of The Monkees
Published =
B-side ="(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone "
Released =12 November 1966
track_no =
Recorded =
Genre = Rock
Length =
Writer =Neil Diamond
Composer =Neil Diamond
Label =RCA
Producer =Jeff Barry
Chart position = * #1 (US, UK, World)
Last single = "Last Train to Clarksville " (1966)
This single = "I'm a Believer" (1966)
Next single = "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You " (1967)Listen
filename=The_Monkees_-_I'm_a_Believer.ogg
title=The Monkees - "I'm a Believer"
description=16 seconds (of 2:47)
format=Ogg "I'm a Believer" is a song composed by
Neil Diamond and recorded by the bandThe Monkees in1966 with the lead vocals byMicky Dolenz . The single, produced byJeff 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 of1967 , and one of the biggest of all time. Because of advance orders, over 1,051,280, it went gold within two days of release.The song is listed at #48 on "Billboard's All Time Top 100." [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-titles-50.shtml]
History
The song became Billboard's top single of the year and kept the novelty smash, "
Snoopy & the Red Baron " byThe Royal Guardsmen , at number two for four weeks.Neil Diamond had already recorded this song before it was covered by the Monkees, and it still sometimes appears in his live concerts. Neil Diamond also suggested it to The Fifth Estate who recorded it as a 1967 album cut in follow up to their smash hit "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead ". This song was later covered bySmash Mouth andEddie Murphy in2001 , as part of the soundtrack to the movie "Shrek " (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 motif of the film. "I'm a Believer" was a hit for bothThe Monkees andSmash Mouth .A revised recording by Neil Diamond, featuring additional lyrics, appears on the album "
September Morn ", whilst his original recording can be found on several albums, including his greatest hits album, "The Essential Neil Diamond ". A cover by Britishsinger-songwriter Robert Wyatt was an unlikely hit in the UK in1974 . In1995 , British comedianVic Reeves teamed up with then-popular band EMF for a version which reached #3 on the UK singles chart; this cover is notable for its semi-comic inclusion of three solo drumbeats and a shout of "Oi!" between the first and second lines of the first and second verses. This addition to the song has permeated popular culture in the UK to the extent that it has become almost impossible for the original version to be played in public without the audience adding their own "Oi!" Fact|date=May 2008. A nod to this version is included in "Shrek"; though the "Oi!" does not appear in any album version of Smash Mouth's cover, it is inserted into the song when it is played in the film's finale, shouted bySnow White 'sSeven Dwarfs .In 2008, this song ranked #1 on
Dallas stationKLUV 98.7FM's Top 500Memorial Day Countdown, as voted on by the listeners.elected list of recorded versions
* 1966
The Monkees single, also on the 1967 album "More of The Monkees "
* 1967 The Fifth Estate on the album "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead ".
* 1967The Four Tops on the album "Reach Out "
* 1967The Ventures on the 1967 album "Guitar Freakout "
* 1967Neil Diamond on the album "Just for You", reissued on the 1983 album ""
* 1967Caterina Caselli single, sung in Italian with the title "Sono bugiarda" ("I am a liar")
* 1974Robert Wyatt single, also on the 2004 album "His Greatest Misses"
* 1979Bram Tchaikovsky on the albumStrange Man, Changed Man
* 1979Neil Diamond on the album "September Morn" (with new lyrics)
* 1979Tin Huey on the album "Contents Dislodged During Shipping"
* 1982A La Carte on the album "Rockin' Oldies"
* 1983 Ivan Cattaneo on the album "Bandiera Gialla" (as "Sono bugiardo")
* 1990Lulu Santos on the album "Honululu" (with Portuguese lyrics)
* 1995Vic and Bob with EMF, non-album track (#3 UK Singles Chart)
* 1996Neil Diamond on the album "In My Lifetime"
* 2001Cadet on the album "Cadet"
* 2001Smash Mouth on the "Shrek Soundtrack"
* 2001Eddie Murphy on the "Shrek Soundtrack"
* 2005 Daniel O'Donnell on his "Rock n' Roll Tour"
* 2008Brooke White during the Top 5 Neil Diamond week in season 7 of "American Idol "
* 2008Saba & Selina during episode 2 of "Coke Studio " inPakistan
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