"I'm a Believer" is a song written by Neil Diamond and recorded by 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.

"I'm a Believer"
US single cover
Single by the Monkees
from the album More of the Monkees
B-side"(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"
ReleasedNovember 1966 (1966-11)[1]
RecordedOctober 15 and 22–25, 1966[1]
Genre
Length2:47
LabelColgems
Songwriter(s)Neil Diamond
Producer(s)Jeff Barry
The Monkees singles chronology
"Last Train to Clarksville"
(1966)
"I'm a Believer"
(1966)
"A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You"
(1967)
Official audio
"I'm a Believer" (2006 Remaster) on YouTube

The song reached number one in the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in January and February 1967 and reached the top spot in numerous 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 appeared in four consecutive episodes of the television series The Monkees in December 1966. The Monkees' principals later played it for themselves in live appearances, on overseas tours, and at reunion concerts.[citation needed]

History edit

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".

A 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 edit

Neil Diamond

Chart (1971) Peak
position
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[10] 21
Canada RPM Top Singles[11] 61
Germany 23
Netherlands 29
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[12] 51
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 31
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 52

Recording edit

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 "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[14]

Personnel edit

The Monkees

Additional personnel

Charts edit

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Netherlands 100,000[28]
Norway (IFPI Norway)[29] Silver 25,000[29]
United Kingdom
Original release
750,000[30]
United Kingdom (BPI)[31]
2005 release
Platinum 600,000
United States (RIAA)[33] Gold 4,000,000[32]
Summaries
Worldwide 10,000,000[30]

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Smash Mouth version edit

"I'm a Believer"
 
Single by Smash Mouth
from the album Shrek: Music from the Original Motion Picture and Smash Mouth
ReleasedAugust 13, 2001 (2001-08-13)
Length3:02
LabelInterscope
Songwriter(s)Neil Diamond
Producer(s)Eric Valentine
Smash Mouth singles chronology
"Waste"
(2000)
"I'm a Believer"
(2001)
"Pacific Coast Party"
(2001)
Music video
"I'm a Believer" on YouTube

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 edit

The music video for Smash Mouth's version was directed by Scott Marshall. It at 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 bumps into a blond-haired woman by accident and then tries to catch up with her. However, a man with blond hair comes up as Harwell freaks out and screams. Afterwards, 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, it is a blond-haired chimpanzee, who dances 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 on 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 tent where the band's performance takes place). However, he sees multiple blond-haired women with the same red shirt on, all dancing. By the time he catches up to her, the woman goes on a boat. Harwell asks a boat captain for assistance. The band then performs on the boat during a heavy storm. Meanwhile, Harwell and the captain are on the lookout for the woman. He finally catches her on a dock and says 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 edit

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[51] Platinum 70,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[52] Silver 200,000

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history edit

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Australia August 13, 2001 CD Interscope [53]
Japan September 19, 2001 Universal Music Japan [54]

Other covers and later uses edit

British Canterbury scene musician Robert Wyatt issued a cover version of the song as a single on the Virgin Records label in 1974. The record was produced by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and hit number 29 on the UK Singles Chart.[55] Wyatt performed the song on BBC's Top of the Pops in September of that year.[56][57]

The song was originally used in the home video version of the Coen brothers' 1984 film Blood Simple, but after licensing issues were settled, 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".[58]

American rock band Weezer performed a cover for the 2010 animated film Shrek Forever After.

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.[59][60]

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.[61]

References edit

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  2. ^ Stanley, Bob (September 13, 2013). "Bubblegum is the Naked Truth: The Monkees". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.
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  5. ^ a b "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
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  12. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
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  30. ^ a b Murrells, Joseph (1985). Million selling records from the 1900s to the 1980s : an illustrated directory. Arco Pub. p. 227. ISBN 0668064595. It sold over three million in America in its first two months on the market, and over 750,000 in Britain on the RCA label... Gloval sales are estimated at around ten million
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  56. ^ "Robert Wyatt and Nick Mason on 'I'm A Believer': "We made our own rules and did what we liked"". January 27, 2017.
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