Once upon a time it wasn’t uncommon for instrumental tracks to become massive hits. One of the biggest came from one of the most unconventional people to ever create one.
Mason Williams was a classically trained guitarist, but that’s not how he made his living. During the folk-crazy ’60s he worked in comedy clubs playing humorous folk songs. He eventually landed a gig as the head writer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, which is where he debuted this composition, along with a video that compresses 3,000 years of art history into three minutes. It’s considered one of the first music videos.
Williams once said he composed the song, originally called “Classical Gasoline,” while sitting along the shores of The Williamette River in Oregon as he watched the river water go from calm to choppy and back again. Mike Post, later famous as a go-to guy for TV show theme music, arranged and produced the orchestrated version and even wrote the bridge after deciding it needed one. The record reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 in 1968 and won three Grammies.
Williams didn’t release it as an acoustic piece until 1970’s “Handmade” LP, but it had already became a standard for guitarists. Glen Campbell used it as a concert showstopper for years. Dave Edmunds recorded it for his “Hand Picked” album in 2015. Here’s Williams showing off his chops.
Guitar virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel’s might be the most famous rendition in the YouTube era. He likes to throw in a bit of the Ventures’ “Walk Don’t Run” in the middle.
Hundreds of artists, and not just guitarists, have covered the tune — it was once a marching band favorite — and Williams has played and/or recorded the song with many of them, including Mannheim Steamroller, who recorded an entire album with Williams called “Classical Gas” because of course they did. My favorite is this one with electric harpist Deborah Henson-Conant from her 2012 tour, because I didn’t even know electric harp was a thing.
