The song, “I’m A Believer”, was originally recorded by The Monkees in 1966
None other than Neil Diamond (b.1941) wrote the song “I’m A Believer” in 1966, but it was not he that recorded or released it as a single, that honour fell to the American group The Monkees. The song featured on the band’s second studio album, “More Of The Monkees”, and it was released as the lead single in November 1966. The track went to number one in twenty countries around the world including the UK and the US, selling an estimated ten million copies to date.
Neil Diamond did eventually record the song in 1971 but his version could only make it to No.51 on the US singles chart.
Other versions of the song have come from British singer Robert Wyatt (b.1945) in 1974. He took his version to No.29 in the UK, while in 1995, British band EMF teamed up with comedians Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer for an Indie-Pop version of the song, taking it up to No.3, the highest the song had been in the UK since The Monkees original, becoming EMF’s joint highest charting single along with their debut, “Unbelievable”, in 1990.
In August 2001, American band Smash Mouth recorded the song for the soundtrack of the film ‘Shrek’. Their version hit No.25 at home and made the top ten in Australia and Canada, and although it failed to chart in the UK, it has since gone on to ‘sell’ more than 200,000 copies there through downloads and streaming. The track found its way onto the group’s self-titled 2001 album, released at the end of the year.
But which version is the best? THE MONKEES’ original, EMF/VIC and BOB’s 90’s cover or SMASH MOUTH’s 2001 version?
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