Daydream Believer
| "Daydream Believer" | |||||||||||
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| File:The Monkees single 05 Daydream Believer.jpg
US single cover
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| Single by The Monkees | |||||||||||
| from the album The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees | |||||||||||
| B-side | "Goin' Down" | ||||||||||
| Released | 25 October 1967 | ||||||||||
| Format | 7" | ||||||||||
| Recorded | 14 June & 9 August 1967 RCA Victor Studios Hollywood, CA |
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| Genre | |||||||||||
| Length | 2:54 | ||||||||||
| Label | Colgems #1012 | ||||||||||
| Writer(s) | John Stewart | ||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Chip Douglas | ||||||||||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | ||||||||||
| The Monkees singles chronology | |||||||||||
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"Daydream Believer" is a song composed by John Stewart shortly before he left the Kingston Trio. The song was originally recorded by The Monkees, with Davy Jones singing lead vocals. The single hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1967, remaining there for four weeks, and peaked at number five in the UK Singles Chart. It was the Monkees' last number one hit in the U.S. In 1979, the song was also recorded by Anne Murray, whose version reached number three on the U.S. country singles chart and number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has been recorded by others including John Stewart himself.
Contents
The Monkees version
Producer Chip Douglas was friends with John Stewart and ran into him at a party in Hollywood. Douglas told Stewart that he was now producing the Monkees and asked if he had any songs that might work for the group. Stewart offered "Daydream Believer" (which had already been turned down by the We Five and Spanky and Our Gang). When Douglas heard the song he knew it could be a hit, but, according to Stewart, RCA Records (Colgems Records distributor) had a problem with the word "funky" (the original lyric in the second stanza was: "You once thought of me as a white knight on a steed, Now you know how funky I can be"). RCA wanted to change the word to "happy" and Douglas asked Stewart if he could live with that. At first Stewart refused because the change made no sense in the context of the song, but realizing he might have a hit song on his hands, he relented.
"Daydream Believer" was recorded during the sessions for their 1967 album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd., but was ultimately included on their 1968 album The Birds, The Bees & the Monkees. All four Monkees appear on the track, with Michael Nesmith on lead guitar, Peter Tork on piano (he created the catchy piano introduction) (the orchestral arrangement was created by noted jazz trumpeteer and composer, Shorty Rogers), and Micky Dolenz on backing vocals. Davy Jones was not sure of the song's potential at first, and admitted later that he had recorded the vocal with a hint of annoyance at the ongoing takes.[1] His feelings changed when the song became a hit.
In 1986, three of the four Monkees (Dolenz, Jones, and Tork) mounted a successful reunion tour and had a major hit with the newly recorded "That Was Then, This Is Now." Arista Records, which owned the Monkees' masters at the time, re-released "Daydream Believer" as a follow-up single, remixed with a heavier drum track by Michael Lloyd who had produced "That Was Then, This Was Now". The re-released single was a minor hit garnering some airplay on Top 40 radio stations.
Chart positions
| Chart (1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Austrian Singles Chart [2] | 7 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[3] | 8 |
| German Singles Chart | 4 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Japanese Oricon Singles Chart | 4 |
| Norwegian VG-lista Singles Chart [2] | 2 |
| Swiss Singles Chart [2] | 10 |
| UK Singles Chart | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 79 |
| Preceded by | Billboard Hot 100 number one single December 2–23, 1967 |
Succeeded by "Hello, Goodbye" by The Beatles |
John Stewart version
Stewart ultimately recorded his own version of the song for his 1971 album The Lonesome Picker Rides Again. It stood in stark contrast to the popular Monkees single: it was slower and more folkish, and contained many lyrical differences. Most notably, it restored "funky" to where "happy" had been inserted, and referred to the shaving razor as "old" rather than "cold". Also, in refrains near the end, he repeatedly substituted words to mock the established lyrics, beginning with "...to a Lonesome Picker and a homecoming queen," then "...to an old surfer drummer and a homecoming queen," then "...to old Nashville Carter and a homecoming queen," and ultimately "...to a daydream deceiver and an old closet queen." In interviews, Stewart described that he originally envisioned the song as demonstrating the process of a relationship where at the start, both parties are in an idealistic haze, but later artifice falls away and each are confronted with their real selves, thus it's this point where love is really proven. Hence his initial insistence on the adjective "funky," as if to suggest his lover has grown to accept his less-pleasant aspects.
Anne Murray version
| "Daydream Believer" | ||||
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| Single by Anne Murray | ||||
| from the album I'll Always Love You | ||||
| B-side | "Do You Think Of Me?" | |||
| Released | December 1979 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Genre | Country pop | |||
| Length | 2:26 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer(s) | Jim Ed Norman | |||
| Anne Murray singles chronology | ||||
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Anne Murray included it on her Platinum-certified 1979 album, I'll Always Love You. The following year, Anne's single became her eighth #1 hit on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart, and number twelve on the pop chart.[4] In addition the Anne Murray version peaked at number three on the country chart.[5] She re-released the song as a duet with Nelly Furtado on her 2008 album, Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends.
Chart positions
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 17 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 12 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| Preceded by | Billboard Adult Contemporary (chart) number-one single March 1, 1980 |
Succeeded by "Give It All You Got" by Chuck Mangione |
| Preceded by | RPM Country Tracks number-one single March 22, 1980[7] |
Succeeded by "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" by Willie Nelson[8] |
See also
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1967 (U.S.)
- List of number-one singles of 1968 (Ireland)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1980 (U.S.)
References
- ↑ "You can tell from the vocal that I was pissed off!" Davy Jones, The Monkees Tale, Last Gasp Press, 1986
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 norwegiancharts.com The Monkees - Daydream Believer
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External links
- Pages with broken file links
- 1967 singles
- 1979 singles
- 1980 singles
- Songs written by John Stewart (musician)
- The Monkees songs
- Anne Murray songs
- Song recordings produced by Jim Ed Norman
- Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
- Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one singles
- Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
- RPM Country Tracks number-one singles
- RPM Adult Contemporary number-one singles
- Capitol Records singles
- 1967 songs
