Do You Have Classical
Gas?
Name This Tune
Every so often, a piece of music
captures the imagination of the public and becomes a
cultural icon. One such case is the catchy instrumental,
Classical Gas.
It features Mason Williams on guitar
with a backing orchestra. Williams, who also wrote the
track, is something of a renaissance man. He has written
books, poetry and produced artwork in addition to composing
music.
The other string to Williams' bow is
comedy writing. At the time of composing Classical Gas, he
was working as head writer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy
Hour television show.
It was Tom Smothers who suggested to
Warner Brothers that they sign Williams up to a record deal.
He cut his debut album, The Mason Williams Phonograph
Record, from which the hit single was released in 1968. The
track got to the Top 5 in the US charts, was also a big
seller in the UK and sold over a million copies.
Classical Gas And The Grammy
Awards
In addition to chart success, the
record was honored at the Grammy Award ceremony.
Williams won in the Best Instrumental
Composition and the Best Contemporary Instrumental Pop
Performance. Mike Post won for the Best Instrumental
Arrangement. Post would go on to be feted as a successful
composer of TV themes for series such as Magnum P.I., NYPD
Blue and Law and Order.
Classical Gas entered the record books
as the most requested instrumental on the radio and it still
gets lots of airplay today. The record was accompanied by a
promotional video, one of the earliest to be
done.
Musicians Jump On The Band
Wagon Of Classical Gas
Other musicians too have paid tribute
to the tune by recording their own versions. Covers have
been done by Glen Campbell, John Williams with the Boston
Pops Orchestra, Steve Howe and the country music guitarist,
Chet Atkins. The violinist, Vanessa-Mae has also done her
own interpretation.
About Original Classical Gas
Musician Mason Williams
Mason Williams still records today and
is happy to talk about the success of his most famous
release. Classical Gas has been used in many forms over the
years and Williams could not have anticipated the impact
that it would have. The tune can be heard as background
music for movies and as theme tunes for television shows.
Skaters, body builders, gymnasts and
dancers have used the tune as accompanying music for their
routines. Not many pieces of music get so much airplay for
almost forty years since the original release.
Other composers can only look on in
envy, wishing that they had come up with that particular
chord sequence.
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