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TL;DR:

  • A music supervisor discussed his work with Neil Sedaka and The Monkees’ “I’m a Believer.”
  • He said, for a while, everything The Monkees released hit the top 10.
  • The Monkees sold nearly 12 million records in a short amount of time.
The Monkees and a poster
The Monkees | James Jackson/Evening Standard/Getty Images

A famous music supervisor discussed what he thought of The Monkees‘ “I’m a Believer.” Subsequently, he said many songwriters from the same era did not understand music. Notably, “I’m a Believer” and some of The Monkees’ other songs sold nearly 12 million copies combined by early 1967.

A music supervisor praised The Monkees’ ‘I’m a Believer’ for its ‘handles’

Don Kirshner was The Monkees’ music supervisor. In a 1968 interview with New York, he discussed his career. “I try to cut hit records,” he said. “I’ve had 75 to 100 records in the top 10. I did songs for Neil Sedaka and he had 10 in the top 10.”

“With The Monkees, everything they did was top 10 until the explosion,” he continued. The “explosion” was his parting with the group. It’s not clear if he was talking about albums or singles always hitting the top 10. If he was talking about singles, his statement was inaccurate.

“‘I’m a Believer’ had good riff lines, good handles,” he opined. “I think it had a freshness to it, a happy young pulsating sound. It sold 4 million copies.”

Don Kirshner had issues with modern songwriters

Subsequently, he criticized some modern musicians. “And the formula doesn’t change,” he said. “I could take almost any song and make it a rock ‘n’ roll song. That’s the fallacy of many of the laymen and writers of today, they don’t know, well, I could sum it up in one sentence: a song today is a matter of interpretation.” 

Then, Kirshner discussed George Gershwin’s jazz standard Rhapsody in Blue. “You give me Rhapsody in Blue and I could take it and make a great bossa nova sound, a great Latin sound. If the melody line is there, it’s like a great painting or a form of art,” he opined. 

Related

How Mike Nesmith Reacted When The Monkees’ Producers Preferred Neil Diamond’s ‘I’m a Believer’ to 1 of His Songs

How ‘I’m a Believer’ Helped Make The Monkees Huge

Regardless of what made “I’m a Believer” a hit, it was an integral part of The Monkees’ career. According to the 2015 book Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Boyce & Hart, The Monkees, and Turning Mayhem Into Miracles, The Monkees became the most successful enterprise at the media company Screen Gems. “I’m a Believer,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,” and the band’s first two albums sold nearly 12 million copies combined by early 1967.

Subsequently, “I’m a Believer” became a standard. Smash Mouth, Weezer, and the song’s writer, Neil Diamond, all recorded versions of it. The tune appeared in everything from Shrek to House of Gucci.

“I’m a Believer” is a cultural juggernaut and Kirshner praised its energy.

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