A folk singer named John Stewart wrote "Daydream Believer," one of the most cheerful hits of the '60s. Stewart wrote a trilogy of songs that day, but "Daydream Believer" was the one that stood out.
Stewart played the song at his shows and pitched it to groups like We Five and Spanky & Our Gang, but couldn't find any takers until he played it for Monkees producer Chip Douglas, who thought it would be perfect for the group. Douglas recorded the song with the band, and it ended up being their third and final #1 hit. It held the top spot for four weeks before getting bumped by The Beatles' "
Hello Goodbye."
The Monkees were a fictional band that became real. They were assembled for the TV series The Monkees, which was in its second (and final) season when they performed "Daydream Believer" on the October 9, 1967 episode. By this time, the group had a big following and a string of hits buoyed by the show. The song played in three more episodes and roses to #1 on December 2.
The song's writer, John Stewart, was a member of The Kingston Trio from 1961 to 1967. He wrote "Daydream Believer" soon after leaving the group and teaming up with a pre-famous John Denver. In 1968, Stewart became the official musician of the Democratic party, which involved traveling with Senator Robert Kennedy during his Presidential campaign.
Stewart wrote The Kingston Trio songs "One More Town" and "If You Don't Look Around," which went to #97 and #123, respectively. He also wrote a song for The Lovin' Spoonful called "Never Going Back," which went to #73, and had a #5 hit as a solo artist in 1979 with "Gold." But "Daydream Believer," by miles, was the most popular and most lucrative song he wrote. Thanks to constant airplay, cover versions and uses in media, it provided a steady stream of royalty income.
John Stewart died on January 19, 2008 from a massive stroke. In a letter posted on the Kingston Trio site, Stewart's close friend Tom Delisle wrote: "John Stewart leaves a compilation of musical excellence unparalleled in his time. He recorded over 45 solo albums following his seven years in the Kingston Trio, 1961-67. He worked all the way up to the time of his death, having recently completed his latest as-yet untitled album. It is estimated that he wrote more than 600 unique and highly personal songs, many of them constituting a modern musical history of his beloved America."
To appease their record label, the Monkees had to make one small change to Stewart's lyrics. The group's drummer Micky Dolenz explained: "As we sing it, there's a line, 'Now, you know how happy I can be.' John wrote, 'Now, you know how funky I can be.' But the music department said, 'The Monkees are not singing the word 'funky.'' [Laughs] Funky meant oily, and greasy, and sexy - and they weren't going to have us say it."
Lead singer Davy Jones named "Daydream Believer" his favorite Monkees song.
Anne Murray released a popular cover of "Daydream Believer" in 1979 that reached #3 on the Country chart and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other artists to cover it include Four Tops, Shonen Knife, Susan Boyle, and Olivia Newton-John, whose version appears in the 2011 movie A Few Best Men, in which she also has a role.
John Stewart, who wrote this song, almost bailed on it because he didn't like the way "to a" got mashed together in the line, "to a daydream believer."
Chris Colfer and Darren Criss sang "Daydream Believer" on the 2015 episode of Glee, "Dreams Come True." Their version appears on the show's soundtrack album Glee: The Music, Dreams Come True.
"Daydream Believer" returned to the charts in 1986 when a re-tooled version by the reunited Monkees peaked at #79. This Monkees resurgence was kickstarted by MTV, which started airing the show that year, 20 years after it debuted.
