Today in Music (1966): The Monkees’ hit #1 with “I’m a Believer”

I’m a Believer The Monkees

Writer(s): Neil Diamond (see lyrics here) Released: November 12, 1966 First Charted: December 3, 1966 Peak: 17 US, 18 CB, 13 GR, 15 HR, 14 UK, 12 CN, 11 AU, 5 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.4 UK, 10.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 4.0 radio, 21.28 video, 439.40 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Jeff Barry discovered Neil Diamond singing in a coffee house in Greenwich Village. FB They became two of the biggest talents for the hit-making machine known as the Brill Building. Diamond became one of the most successful singer/songwriters, ranking #3 all-time on the adult contemporary charts and in the top 25 for the pop charts. However, his biggest success came via a made-for-television group. That group, the Monkees, were modeled after the playful spirit of the Beatles’ movies. DJ While they fought to play their own songs, producers limited the Monkees to singing and brought in session musicians for the instruments. SF The show, which aired from 1966 to 1968, propelled the Monkees to the top of the charts with debut single “Last Train to Clarksville.” When publisher Don Kirshner was seeking a million-selling follow-up, he turned to Barry and Elle Greenwich, Diamond’s producers, after hearing Diamond’s top 10 hit “Cherry Cherry” on the radio. FB Kirshner picked out several songs Diamond was prepping for his next album, among them “I’m a Believer.” The head of Diamond’s record company couldn’t believe he’d give away potential number ones, but, as Diamond says, “I couldn’t have cared less because I had to pay the rent.” SF After all, Diamond intended to give the song to country artist Eddy Arnold. KL The song featured session guitarist Al Gorgoni, who had also played on Diamond’s “Cherry Cherry.” He would go on to play on two more of the most celebrated songs of the rock era – Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” and Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl.” RC The Monkees heavily promoted “I’m a Believer” through their TV series, racking up one million in advance sales. RC It went on top the BillboardHot 100 for 7 weeks and be the biggest hit of 1966 CPM and “one of the Hot 100’s finest specimens of pure pop genius.” BB Diamond still recorded the song, releasing it on his 1967 album Just for You and as a single in 1971, peaking at #51. The song resurfaced in 2001 when the alternative rock group Smash Mouth recorded it for the movie Shrek and took it to #25 on the pop charts. Resources: DMDB blog entry (9/12/1966). “The Monkees debuts on TV” BB Billboard (9/08). “All-Time Hot 100” FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 216. RC Rod Couch (2015). The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955-2015. Pages 104-5. DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 95. KL Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh (2005). 1000 UK Number One Hits: The Stories Behind Every Number One Single Since 1952. London, Great Britain: Omnibus Press. Page 129. SF Songfacts.com CPM Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Record Research, Inc.: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 91. Related Links: First posted 3/1/2012; updated 4/21/2024.