While this single almost made number 1 on the Hot 100 chart (number 2), it was number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Easy Listening chart and the U.S. Cash Box Top 100 chart.
“Classical Gas” is an instrumental composition written and performed by American guitarist Mason Williams, originally released in 1968 on his album The Mason Williams Phonograph Record. Blending classical guitar stylings with a pop-rock arrangement, the piece became an unexpected mainstream success,
The reason I worked so well with them [The Smothers Brothers] was that [like them] I had been a folksinger and I knew about 300 folk songs – Mason Williams
As a record collector, I went out and hunted down a lot of my favorites but obviously came nowhere near getting them all. These are some of the favorites that I didn’t own at the time.
