Neil Diamond discusses writing hit song “I’m a Believer” for The Monkees

ongwriters writing for us,” Micky Dolenz told us recently, “and we were like, ‘this is too good to be true to have all these hit songs written for you.’”Diamond’s “I’m a Believer” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks beginning in December 1966. It went on to earn a gold record for a million sales and remains one of the Monkees’ signature songs, besides inspiring other hit renditions of the track over the years.“When we were recording it, I thought it would be the A-side, but the head of the record label thought it should be the B-side,” Diamond recalled. “He thought a song called ‘By the Time We Get to Phoenix’ should have been the A-side. He was wrong about that.”Diamond decided to cut his own version of the tune for his album Just for You, which was released in 1967 by Bang Records. The song was also featured on the soundtrack of the 2001 movie “Shrek.” The film’s producers also involved Smash Mouth to record a new version of “I’m a Believer” for the film.However, in 1967, “I’m a Believer,” was the biggest-selling single for one week Music Week in the UK for the Trident group. According to information provided by the UK pop music newspaper Record Mirror, agreeably the single during the charging arguments between it, The Troggs’ “Love Is All Around,” Herman’s Hermits’ “There’s A Kind Of Hush,” and The Monkee’s ferociously immature, but totally appealing, “I’m A Believer.”Around the same time, The Monkees TV show aired an episode titled “Captain Crocodile.” The cable was described as “The cruel Captain Crocodile broadcasts his own children’s TV network. (Episode aired 8 February 1997).”Diamond learned to play guitar as a teenager and, while attending New York University, performed at the Noble Lounge in Greenwich Village, where he received $7 for a three-hour performance. After dropping out of college, Diamond worked for the Sunbeam Music publishing company as a songwriter, co-writer, and occasionally a singer. By 1963, he was a staff songwriter for $50 a week and had penned “Sunday and Me,” which was used by Jay and the Americans in 1965. Diamond also recorded “You Are My Love at Last” for Colonel Records, giving him his first commercial appearance on vinyl.Diamond described himself as a young, cocky guy when he pitched “I’m a Believer” around to publishers, who passed on it. “I was very sure of myself, but nobody wanted the song. And then I became a little less sure of myself, and my song ended up being a hit. That’s always kind of been my story,” he remarked. Diamond returned to the top of the chart under his own steam in 1969 with the Ryan/Albhy Galuten/Barry Gibb-produced “Sweet Caroline.” He would top the UK chart for the first time in 1971 with “I Am … I Said.”