"Classical Gas" is an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

musical piece composed and originally performed by American guitarist

Mason Williams Mason Douglas Williams (born August 24, 1938) is an American classical guitarist, composer, singer, writer, comedian, and poet, best known for his 1968 instrumental "Classical Gas" and for his work as a comedy writer on ''The Smothers Brothers ...

with instrumental backing by members of the Wrecking Crew. Originally released in 1968 on the album ''

The Mason Williams Phonograph Record ''The Mason Williams Phonograph Record'' is an album by classical guitarist and composer Mason Williams (with various accompaniment) released in 1968. It is Williams's most successful and most recognized album, and contains the instrumental "Clas ...

'', it has been rerecorded and rereleased numerous times since by Williams. One later version served as the title track of a 1987 album by Williams and the band

Mannheim Steamroller Mannheim Steamroller is an American neoclassical new-age music ensemble founded and directed by percussionist/composer Chip Davis in 1974. The group is known primarily for its '' Fresh Aire'' series of albums, which blend classical music with ...

History

Originally named "Classical Gasoline", the tune was envisioned to be "fuel" for the

classical guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor o ...

repertoire. The title was later inadvertently shortened by a music copyist.

Mike Post Mike Post (born Leland Michael Postil, September 29, 1944) is an American composer, best known for his TV theme music for various shows, including ''Law & Order''; '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''; ''The A-Team''; ''NYPD Blue''; ''Renegad ...

, later famous for television theme music, was a producer and arranger for the song. Williams was the

head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...

for ''

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially considering it was sc ...

'' at the time of the piece's release and premiered the composition on the show. Williams performed it several times over several episodes. After the piece had reached the Top 10, Williams asked an

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

maker named Dan McLaughlin to adjust a student video montage that he had created of classical art works using

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

's 5th Symphony and edit it in time to "Classical Gas", using the visual effect now known as kinestasis. The work, ''3000 Years of Art'', premiered in 1968 on an episode of the '' Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour''. The song peaked at number two for two weeks in August that year, behind " Hello, I Love You" by

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

. On the US

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

chart, it went to number one for three weeks. "Classical Gas" is sometimes erroneously thought to have been performed, or even composed, by

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

, because Clapton was the musical director of, and played much of the guitar music for, the feature film '' The Story of Us'' in which Williams' own recording of it from his album ''Handmade'' appeared. Williams re-recorded "Classical Gas" as a solo guitar piece on his 1970 album ''Handmade''. This version was re-released by Sony in 2003, after being featured in the film ''

Cheaper by the Dozen ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, published in 1948. The novel recounts the authors' childhood lives growing up in a household of 12 children. The bestsel ...

'', which starred Williams' ''Smothers Brothers'' ''protégé'', actor/comedian/musician

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

. In the mid-to-late 1970s and early 1980s Williams' version of "Classical Gas" was used by television stations across the United States as their opening news themes. News music company Telesound followed with an identically-named and quicker-tempo version of the song for television stations to use.

Awards and honors

* In 1969, the piece won three

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s: Best Instrumental Composition, Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, Instrumental, and Best Instrumental Arrangement. * In 1998,

Broadcast Music Incorporated Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 20.6 mill ...

(BMI) awarded Williams a special Citation of Achievement. The piece has logged over five million broadcast performances to become BMI's all-time number-one instrumental composition for radio air play.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions and later versions

Midnight String Quartet The Midnight String Quartet were an easy listening chamber music quartet, consisting of two violins, a viola, and a cello, made up of students (at the time) or graduates from the University of Southern California. They played covers and standards o ...

covered the song on their 1968 album ''The Look of Love and Other Rhapsodies for Young Lovers''. In Canada, this version was co-charted with the Mason Williams version and they reached number two on the '' RPM'' magazine charts. *In 1968, the

Alan Copeland Alan Robert Copeland (October 6, 1926 – December 28, 2022), also known as Weaver Copeland, was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and conductor. Life and career Copeland was born in Los Angeles, California on October 6, 1926. Copeland wa ...

singers recorded a song that combined "Classical Gas" with "Scarborough Fair". *

The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

recorded a cover for the album ''More Golden Greats'', released in 1969. *

Paul Mauriat Paul Julien André Mauriat ( or ; 4 March 1925 – 3 November 2006) was a French orchestra leader, conductor of Le Grand Orchestre de Paul Mauriat, who specialized in the easy listening genre. He is best known in the United States for his mill ...

and his Orchestra recorded a cover for the album '' Gone Is Love'', released in 1970. * Hugo Montenegro and his Orchestra recorded a cover for the album ''The Best Of Hugo Montenegro'', released in 1970. *Deep Feeling, UK prog-rock band, recorded the song on their 1971 album, ''Deep Feeling''. *

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

, the British

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical inst ...

, performed a version for piano on the 1971 album ''

Piano Vibrations ''Piano Vibrations'' is a studio album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released in 1971 by Polydor Records. Recorded when Wakeman was a session musician and a member of the folk rock group The Strawbs, it features covers of pop, jazz, and fo ...

''. *A college marching band plays the song at a basketball game in the 1971 film '' Drive, He Said''. * The progressive rock band

Beggars Opera (band) Beggars Opera was a Scottish progressive rock band from Glasgow, Scotland, formed in 1969 by guitarist Ricky Gardiner, vocalist Martin Griffiths, and bassist Marshall Erskine. The line-up consisted of Ricky Gardiner (guitar/vocals) (born 31 A ...

recorded a cover which was released on their "Get Your Dog Off Me!" album in 1973 * Under the name Synergy,

Larry Fast Lawrence Roger Fast (born December 10, 1951) is an American synthesizer player and composer. He is best known for his 1975–1987 series of synthesizer music albums (''Synergy'') and for his contributions to a number of popular music acts, inclu ...

recorded an electronic version for the album ''Sequencer'' in 1976. This version has served as the theme song for the WUSB (FM) radio program, ''Destinies-The Voice of Science Fiction'' since 1983. *

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

recorded a version for their 1979 album '' String Of Hits''. *Argentine virtuoso guitarist Cacho Tirao (member of the

Astor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed '' nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fro ...

quintet) recorded the song along with Jorge Padín and Manolo Juárez for their 1980 album ''Encuentro''. * Dutch violinist Judy Schomper and flautist Berdien Stenberg (then still performing under her real name of Steunenberg) recorded a version for their 1980 LP ''Secret Gardens'', performed on

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

and

concert flute The Western concert flute is a family of transverse (side-blown) woodwind instruments made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist (in British English), flutist (in Am ...

. *In 1983, Hong Kong Cantopop singer/music producer

George Lam George Lam Tsz-Cheung (born 12 October 1947), also known professionally by his surname Lam, is a Hong Kong-based veteran Cantopop singer, singer-songwriter, music producer and actor, with a career that has so far lasted more than four decades. Lam ...

put Chinese lyrics to the music and turned it into a Cantopop song, entitled “Love Story” in Chinese. It can be found on the album bearing the same title. *

Vanessa-Mae Vanessa-Mae (陈美 Chén Měi; born 27 October 1978) also called Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson, is a Singaporean-born British violinist with album sales reaching several million, having made her the wealthiest entertainer under 30 in the Uni ...

recorded the song for her 1994 album '' The Violin Player''. *

Zlatko Manojlović Zlatko Manojlović (Serbian Cyrillic: Златко Манојловић; born 1951) is a Serbian guitarist and singer. He is known as the leader of the progressive rock band Dah and the heavy metal band Gordi, as well as for his eclectic solo ...

, Serbian guitarist, included the song on his 1995 album ''Zlatko''. *

Tommy Emmanuel William Thomas Emmanuel (born 31 May 1955) is an Australian guitarist. Regarded as one of the greatest acoustic guitarists of all time, he is known for his complex fingerstyle technique, energetic performances and use of percussive effects on ...

recorded the song with the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra on his 1996 album, '' Classical Gas''. * Australian actor and musician Daniel Amalm released a cover of "Classical Gas" in 1996 that peaked at number 31 on the Australian

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

that May. *

Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to le ...

recorded the song for his 1999 live album '' Pulling Strings''. *

Les Fradkin Les Fradkin (born 1951) is an American MIDI guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He is best known for being a member of the original cast of the hit Broadway show ''Beatlemania''. In addition to playing MIDI guitar, ...

recorded the song for his 2009 Ztar album '' Baroque Rocks''. *

Doyle Dykes Doyle Dykes (born May 23, 1954) is an American country acoustic guitarist from Jacksonville, Florida. He is influenced by a wide variety of musical styles and musicians such as Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Duane Eddy, to the Beatles and U2. Cited ...

recorded a version for his 2017 album ''Life Behind the Guitar'', combining it with parts of " 25 or 6 to 4" by

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. *

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...

performed an accordion rendition of the song on his YouTube channel in March 2020. *

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...

also recorded and performed the instrumental regularly at his concerts. *

Lisa Simpson Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. She is the middle child and most accomplished of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa was born as a character in ''The Tracey Ullman Sh ...

plays a rendition at the request of

Lenny Leonard The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...

in the episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' "

Last Exit to Springfield "Last Exit to Springfield" is the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 11, 1993. The plot revolves around Homer ...

References

External links

* * {{authority control 1960s instrumentals 1968 singles 1968 songs Cashbox number-one singles Glen Campbell songs Rock instrumentals Songs written by Mason Williams Songs written for films Television news music packages Warner Records singles Song recordings produced by Mike Post