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"I'm A Believer" is a song composed by Neil Diamond, recorded by the band The Monkees in 1966. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on December 31, 1966 and remained there for seven weeks, becoming the biggest-selling record for all of 1967, and one of the biggest of all time. Because of advance orders, it went gold within two days of release.
This song was covered by Smash Mouth and Eddie Murphy in 2001, as part of the soundtrack to the movie Shrek (the band also released the song on their self-titled album). Eddie Murphy, portraying the character "Donkey", also performed a rendition of the song in the film. "I'm a Believer" was a hit for both The Monkees and Smash Mouth.
Diamond's own recording of the song is available on September Morn and his greatest hits album, The Essential Neil Diamond. A cover by British singer-songwriter Robert Wyatt was an unlikely hit in the UK in 1974.
Selected list of recorded versions
- 1966 The Monkees single, also on the 1967 album More of The Monkees
- 1974 Robert Wyatt single, also on the 2004 album His Greatest Misses
- 1979 Neil Diamond on the album September Morn
- 1982 A La Carte on the album Rockin' Oldies
- 1993 Lulu Santos on the album Acervo Especial
- 1996 Neil Diamond on the album In My Lifetime
- 2001 Smash Mouth on the Shrek Soundtrack
- 2001 Eddie Murphy on the Shrek Soundtrack
