Daydream Believer

"Daydream Believer" is a song composed by John Stewart shortly before he left the Kingston Trio. The song was originally recorded by The Monkees, with Davy Jones singing lead vocals. The single hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1967, remaining there for four weeks, and peaked at number five in the UK Singles Chart. It was the Monkees' last number one hit in the U.S. In June 1974 the song was featured on Lobo's fourth album, Just A Singer. In 1979, the song was also recorded by Anne Murray, whose version reached number three on the U.S. country singles chart and number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has been recorded by others including John Stewart.



Contents
[hide]  *1 The Monkees version  ==The Monkees version[ edit] == Producer Chip Douglas was friends with John Stewart and ran into him at a party in Hollywood. Douglas told Stewart that he was now producing the Monkees and asked if he had any songs that might work for the group. Stewart offered "Daydream Believer" (which had already been turned down by the We Five and Spanky and Our Gang). When Douglas heard the song he knew it could be a hit, but, according to Stewart, RCA Records (Colgems Records distributor) had a problem with the word, "funky" (the original lyric in the second stanza was: "You once thought of me as a white knight on a steed, Now you know how funky I can be"). RCA wanted to change the word to "happy" and Douglas asked Stewart if he could live with that. At first Stewart refused because the change made no sense in the context of the song, but realizing he might have a hit song on his hands, he relented.
 * 1.1 Chart positions
 * 2 Anne Murray version
 * 2.1 Chart positions
 * 3 See also
 * 4 References
 * 5 External links

"Daydream Believer" was recorded during the sessions for their 1967 album ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisces,_Aquarius,_Capricorn_%26_Jones_Ltd. Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.], but was ultimately included on their 1968 album The Birds, The Bees & the Monkees''. All four Monkees appear on the track, with Michael Nesmith on lead guitar, Peter Tork on piano (he created the catchy piano introduction) (the orchestral arrangement was created by noted jazz trumpeteer and composer, Shorty Rogers), andMicky Dolenz on backing vocals. Davy Jones was not sure of the song's potential at first, and admitted later that he had recorded the vocal with a hint of annoyance at the ongoing takes.[1]  His feelings changed when the song became a hit.

In 1986, three of the four Monkees (Dolenz, Jones, and Tork) mounted a successful reunion tour and had a major hit with the newly recorded "That Was Then, This Is Now." Arista Records, which owned the Monkees' masters at the time, re-released "Daydream Believer" as a follow-up single, remixed with a heavier drum track by Michael Lloyd who had produced "That Was Then, This Was Now". The re-released single was a minor hit garnering some airplay on Top 40 radio stations. ===Chart positions[ edit] === ==Anne Murray version[ edit] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Anne Murray included it on her 1979 album, I'll Always Love You. The following year her single peaked at number one on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart, and number twelve on the pop chart.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[4]  In addition the Anne Murray version peaked at number three on the country chart.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[5]  She re-released the song as a duet with Nelly Furtado on her 2008 album, Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends. ===Chart positions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ===