I’m A Believer – The Monkees | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1); 1966
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Producers Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson had a surefire idea. With the massive movie success of the Beatles‘ A Hard Day’s Night, why not do the same on television? When their first choice (The Lovin’ Spoonful) didn’t work out, they placed a musicians/singers-wanted ad in the Daily Variety.
From the several hundred respondents they chose four fortunate fellows: Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Now all they now needed for the fictitious Fab Four was some music.
For the first Monkees single, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart – who’d written hits such as Pretty Little Angel Eyes and Come A Little Bit Closer – came up with Last Train To Clarksville which went all the way to #1.
For their second outing, record producer Jeff Barry picked a tune written by another artist with whom he was working: Neil Diamond. I’m A Believer topped the Hot 100 on the last day of 1966, and its seven-week stay there made it the #1 single of 1967.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Jeff Barry
Lyrics Written by:
- Neil Diamond
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).