Classical Gas
Encyclopedia
"Classical Gas" is an instrumental
musical piece composed and originally performed by Mason Williams
. Originally released in 1968 on the album The Mason Williams Phonograph Record, it has been re-recorded and re-released numerous times since by Williams. One later version served as the title track of a 1987 album by Williams and the orchestra Mannheim Steamroller
.
Williams re-recorded "Classical Gas" as a solo guitar piece on his 1970 album Handmade. In 1987, he recorded a version with Mannheim Steamroller
. The song was also re-released by Sony in 2003, after being featured in the film Cheaper by the Dozen
.
Williams was the head writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
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 Ten, Williams asked an experimental filmmaker named Dan McLaughlin to create a video montage of classical art works edited in time to the music, using the visual effect now known as kinestasis. The pioneering work, 3000 Years of Art, premiered in the summer of 1968 and may have helped push the song high on the charts; it peaked at #2 for two weeks in August that year.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, many television
stations (such as WTAE-TV
in Pittsburgh, WBAL-TV
in Baltimore
and KNTV
in San Jose
) used the composition - or a version of it re-recorded by Telesound - as their theme song.
There is a common misconception that "Classical Gas" was composed and performed by Eric Clapton
. Clapton has never recorded a cover of the song. This misconception may possibly be attributed to the fact that Clapton was musical director of, and played much of the guitar music for, the feature film The Story of Us
. The version of the song on the film's soundtrack is actually Williams's own solo-guitar re-recording of it, from his 1970 album Handmade.
recorded an electronic version for his Synergy album Sequencer in 1976. Cozy Powell
performed a version of the song on his 1992 solo album The Drums Are Back, as did Australian musician Tommy Emmanuel
on his self-titled album, backed by the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra. Vanessa-Mae
, British violinist, covered "Classical Gas" in November 1995.
A live rendition by Glen Campbell
is included on 20 Greatest Hits and on the 3-CD set Classic Campbell.
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
musical piece composed and originally performed by Mason Williams
Mason Williams
Mason Williams is an American guitarist and composer, best known for his guitar instrumental "Classical Gas". He is also a comedy writer, known for his writing on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and Saturday Night Live...
. Originally released in 1968 on the album The Mason Williams Phonograph Record, it has been re-recorded and re-released numerous times since by Williams. One later version served as the title track of a 1987 album by Williams and the orchestra Mannheim Steamroller
Mannheim Steamroller
Mannheim Steamroller is an American music group founded by Chip Davis and Jackson Berkey, known primarily for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. alone.-Beginnings:...
.
Williams re-recorded "Classical Gas" as a solo guitar piece on his 1970 album Handmade. In 1987, he recorded a version with Mannheim Steamroller
Mannheim Steamroller
Mannheim Steamroller is an American music group founded by Chip Davis and Jackson Berkey, known primarily for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. alone.-Beginnings:...
. The song was also re-released by Sony in 2003, after being featured in the film Cheaper by the Dozen
Cheaper by the Dozen (2003 film)
Cheaper by the Dozen is a 2003 American comedy film about a family with 12 children . The film takes its title from the 1948 biography of the same name of Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth and their 12 children, but other than the title and the concept of a family with 12 children,...
.
Williams was the head writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour is an American comedy and variety show hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969.-History:...
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 Ten, Williams asked an experimental filmmaker named Dan McLaughlin to create a video montage of classical art works edited in time to the music, using the visual effect now known as kinestasis. The pioneering work, 3000 Years of Art, premiered in the summer of 1968 and may have helped push the song high on the charts; it peaked at #2 for two weeks in August that year.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, many television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
stations (such as WTAE-TV
WTAE-TV
WTAE-TV is the ABC affiliated television station for Western Pennsylvania that is licensed to Pittsburgh, broadcasting on UHF channel 51 and identifying via PSIP as channel 4 . It also serves as an ABC affiliate for the Wheeling/Steubenville and Clarksburg/Weston, West Virginia market areas...
in Pittsburgh, WBAL-TV
WBAL-TV
WBAL-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station in Baltimore, Maryland. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11. It is one of the flagship stations of Hearst Television, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation, which also owns sister radio stations WBAL and...
in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
and KNTV
KNTV
KNTV, channel 11, is the NBC owned-and-operated television station in the Bay Area market. It is licensed to San Jose, with its transmitter located on San Bruno Mountain, just south of San Francisco. It shares facilities in San Jose with NBC Universal sister station KSTS and CNBC's Silicon...
in San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
) used the composition - or a version of it re-recorded by Telesound - as their theme song.
There is a common misconception that "Classical Gas" was composed and performed by Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
. Clapton has never recorded a cover of the song. This misconception may possibly be attributed to the fact that Clapton was musical director of, and played much of the guitar music for, the feature film The Story of Us
The Story of Us
The Story of Us is a 1999 American film directed by Rob Reiner, and starring Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer as a couple married for fifteen years....
. The version of the song on the film's soundtrack is actually Williams's own solo-guitar re-recording of it, from his 1970 album Handmade.
Track listing of 1987 album
- "Classical Gas" 03:27
- "Sunflower" 02:08
- "Samba Beach" 03:54
- "Country Idyll" 02:11
- "Saturday Night at the World" 03:52
- "Shady Dell" 03:18
- "Katydid’s Ditty" 00:58
- "Greensleeves" 03:01
- "Doot-Doot" 02:03
- "La Chanson de Claudine" 03:12
- "McCall" 02:35
- "Vancouver Island" 02:45
- "Baroque-A-Nova" 03:04
Awards
- In 1969, the piece won three Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s: Best Instrumental CompositionGrammy Award for Best Instrumental CompositionThe Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition has been awarded since 1960. The award is presented to the composer of the music.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...
, Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, InstrumentalGrammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental PerformanceThe Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance was awarded between 1969 and 2011.*In 1969 it was awarded as Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, Instrumental*From 1970 to 1971 it was awarded as Best Contemporary Instrumental Performance...
, and Best Instrumental ArrangementGrammy Award for Best Instrumental ArrangementThe Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement has been awarded since 1963. The award is presented to the arranger of the music.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...
. - In 1998, Broadcast Music IncorporatedBroadcast Music IncorporatedBroadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
(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 compositionMusical compositionMusical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
for radio air play.
Covers
Area Code 615 covered "Classical Gas" in their 1970 album Trip in the Country, played by Bobby Thompson on banjo, parts of which are sampled and featured in a recent (Jan 2010) Irish & UK Guinness TV Commercial. Larry FastLarry Fast
Lawrence Roger 'Larry' Fast is a synthesizer expert and composer. He is best known for Synergy, his 1975–1987 series of synthesizer music albums, and for his contribution to a number of popular music acts, including Peter Gabriel, Foreigner, and Hall and Oates.- Biography :Fast grew up in...
recorded an electronic version for his Synergy album Sequencer in 1976. Cozy Powell
Cozy Powell
Colin Flooks , better known as Cozy Powell, was an English rock drummer who made his name with many major rock bands.-Early history:...
performed a version of the song on his 1992 solo album The Drums Are Back, as did Australian musician Tommy Emmanuel
Tommy Emmanuel
William Thomas "Tommy" Emmanuel AM is an Australian guitarist, best known for his complex fingerpicking style, energetic performances and the use of percussive effects on the guitar. In the May 2008 and 2010 issues of Guitar Player Magazine, he was named as "Best Acoustic Guitarist" in their...
on his self-titled album, backed by the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra. Vanessa-Mae
Vanessa-Mae
Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson , known professionally as Vanessa-Mae , is an internationally known British violinist. Her music style is self-described as "violin techno-acoustic fusion", as several of her albums prominently feature the techno style...
, British violinist, covered "Classical Gas" in November 1995.
A live rendition by Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...
is included on 20 Greatest Hits and on the 3-CD set Classic Campbell.