THE HIT HAMMER: The Monkees' "I'm a Believer"

(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer down below)

The Monkees - "I'm a Believer"

Hit Number 1: December 31, 1966

Stay at Number 1: 7 Weeks

It hadn't been done since Beatlemania arrived in America. When the Monkees' "I'm a Believer" hit #1 in America, it stayed there for 7 weeks, which was the longest run a song ever had at the top spot since the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in 1964. It sold 1,051,280 copies in just 2 days, which immediately made it a gold record. The song wasn't even the Monkees' own, as it was written by Neil Diamond, who was just beginning to get his career underway himself. (He will show up in this blog with his own #1 hits eventually) With the Monkees' popularity skyrocketing after their first #1 hit "Last Train to Clarksville" and their comedic TV series, they needed to find a new song that had high potential to be a hit. Diamond's song not only gave the Monkees' their biggest hit, but they became international stars, with "I'm a Believer" taking over the top spot in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Ireland's respective charts. After listening to the song, it isn't that hard to see why.

"I'm a Believer" was produced by Jeff Barry, the same songwriter/producer who helped create songs like "Chapel of Love" and "Leader of the Pack" with his wife Ellie Greenwich. The lyrics start out rather somber, telling the story of a guy who has given up all hope in finding love, before he "saw her face". That line, "But then I saw her face", is the tipping point in the song, and the greatest line in the song. That's when the song becomes extremely fun. The narrator has found the woman he loves, has become a "believer" in love, and even says he "couldn't leave her if he tried". Not only is the song a good time, but it serves as a form of optimism for anyone who has not had the greatest of luck in finding love. It gives listeners fun, and it gives them hope. That's probably part of what helped it be #1 for 7 weeks.

The Monkees are clearly having a blast performing the song too. The keyboard riffs weave around gracefully in the chorus, Davy Jones and Peter Tork's harmonies together are great backing support to Mickey Dolenz's lead vocals, and Dolenz himself lets the song swoop him up into its exciting wave towards the end. There's a lot of "yeah yeah yeahs" being exclaimed by Dolenz, further implementing the song's bright nature. It sounds like a guy who knows that this song was going to be a huge hit, and he's relishing being a part of it.

"I'm a Believer" is what made the Monkees great. Of course, they were a bunch of goofballs on their TV show, but they had unreal talent as well. This song propelled them into their late 1960s super-stardom, and without "I'm a Believer", I'm not sure that they're quite as memorable as they are today. Nonetheless, they weren't done making hits yet, and we'll see them again in this blog.

GRADE: 8/10

JUST MISSED:

The Royal Guardsman's novelty hit "Snoopy V.S. the Red Baron" peaked at #2 behind "I'm a Believer" for 4 weeks. It's a 7.

Next to peak at #2 behind "I'm a Believer" was a a pretty lovely and cool song by Aaron Neville called "Tell It Like It Is". It's also a 7, but for completely different reasons from "Snoopy V.S. the Red Baron".