![]() ![]() “I was thrilled, because at heart I was still a songwriter and I wanted my songs on the charts,” said Diamond. In 2008, Mojo interviewed Diamond and asked him if he’d ever resented the success that The Monkees had with his song, and the answer was a resounding “no.” Happily, Nesmith was very, very wrong: as noted above, “I’m a Believer” was a #1 hit.ĭiamond also recorded his own version of the song for his 1967 album JUST FOR YOU, but it’s fair to say that The Monkees ended up with the bigger hit. “I’m a Believer” was sung by Micky Dolenz, and at least one reason why that ended up being the case was that Michael Nesmith told producer Jeff Barry, “I’m a songwriter, and that’s no hit,” which led to Barry banning him from the studio while Dolenz recorded his vocal for the track. The song found its way into the group’s orbit through Don Kirshner, who’d been aware of the success Diamond had found with “Cherry, Cherry.” Diamond reportedly wanted country singer Eddy Arnold to record the song, so one can only imagine his surprise when the song was instead turned into a pop hit. ![]() Written by Neil Diamond, “I’m a Believer” wasn’t actually written for The Monkees. He always wanted to be a popular singing artist.52 years ago today, The Monkees entered the studio and began the process of recording the song that would become their second #1 hit. RICHARD SINCLAIR: In The Wilde Flowers with Robert, I remember doing things like Chuck Berry numbers, so “I’m A Believer” wasn’t anything unusual from Robert. Then I produced Rock Bottom.ĭAVE MACRAE: Was I surprised Robert was doing a Monkees song? Working with Robert, surprises were the norm! He has great mental energy, always looking for new ways to express his ideas. We were all holed up in the same hotel there in 1968. NICK MASON: I met Robert at UFO, then we did some gigs together – we certainly spent time together in New York when Soft Machine were touring with Hendrix. Simon Draper at Virgin, he saw this and he called my bluff, saying “Would you do a pop song?” I’d intended to do “Last Train To Clarksville”, ’cause I like that, but I got muddled up. ROBERT WYATT: I’d said in NME or Melody Maker that I really liked pop music – to me, it’s the folk music of the industrial age, it’s what people sing and dance to on a Saturday night. “That well-known saying – well, not that well-known, because I made it up – ‘we live and learn, but in that order, unfortunately.’” But we all learn from our mistakes,” he says, mock-philosophically. “If you’re going to do it, do it properly, like Wilko Johnson… I just thought, note to self, don’t do that anymore. The irrepressible Wyatt wouldn’t have had it any other way, though – the only reservation he has about the track is his own “jigging about” when miming on TV. An appearance on Top Of The Pops led to arguments with the show’s producer and threats of a ban, then Virgin refused to release his follow-up single. But rather than hindering him creatively, his paralysis allowed the drummer to put down his sticks and concentrate on singing, keyboards and songwriting, crafting the experimental, pastoral Rock Bottom, produced by Mason and featuring Fred Frith and Richard Sinclair.įar from starting a more commercial era in his career, though, things didn’t run smoothly after the release of “I’m A Believer”. Wyatt has been in a wheelchair since June 1, 1973, when he fell out of a window at a Maida Vale party. ![]()
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