2 Bands Passed on ‘Daydream Believer’ Before the Monkees Agreed To Record It
An eerie rendition of “Daydream Believer” that plays throughout the 87-second trailer for WandaVision has brought the 1967 hit back into modern the modern conscious. Sure, the effects added to the pop track make it markedly different than the hit The Monkees sang, but the song is still recognizable. Did you know the song almost wasn’t produced, though? Two other bands passed on the tune before the Monkees agreed to record it.
The Monkees were the third band approached to produce “Daydream Believer”
Largely considered a classic now, “Daydream Believer” wasn’t well-received when it was being shopped around. John Stewart wrote the tune and passed it around without success. According to Den of Geek, We Five and Spanky & Our Gang were both approached with the song. They both turned down the future hit. Eventually, Stewart was approached by Chip Douglas about any new music he had available. Stewart passed along “Daydream Believer” to Douglas, who decided it was a good fit for the Monkees, with a couple of minor tweaks.
The song went on to be a massive hit, and Davey Jones has regularly admitted it was his absolute favorite from the band’s catalog. Upon its release, it hit number 1 on the United States’ music charts and number 3 in the United Kingdom. Since then, the song has been covered by various musicians and used in movies, television, and commercials.
“Daydream Believer” isn’t the first classic song used in a WandaVision trailer
While “Daydream Believer” is the chosen song for the second WandaVision trailer, it isn’t the first classic tune that is barely recognizable in a trailer for the upcoming series. In September 2020, Marvel and Disney produced a first look trailer of the series and used “Twilight Time” as the background music.
“Twilight Time” was originally written by Buck Ram with music provided by the Three Suns. Later, Les Brown produced a version of the song. Thirteen years later, the Platters recorded a cover of the song that became a massive hit. The Platters’ version of the tune is what is used in the WandaVision trailer.
What is WandaVision about?
WandaVision is an upcoming miniseries produced for Disney+ that will follow Wanda and Vision as they live a somewhat idyllic life in a suburban town. As they move through the years, though, it becomes clear that something is amiss in Westview, and everyone isn’t who they appear. The storyline for the series remains largely under wraps, but the trailer drops clarify that Wanda and Vision will be moving through multiple decades. The music in the trailers plays into that timeline, too.
An earlier WandaVision trailer, which was released in September, utilized a song popularized in the 1950s. The most recent trailer seems to push the storyline a bit further and uses a song from the 1960s to make that fact clear. It’s unknown if additional trailers will be released ahead of the miniseries’ January 2021 premiere.
