I've heard this so often that I didn't need to play it when I found its YouTube reference. It's been in my brain for as long as I can remember.
Mason Williams had many talents. Besides being an accomplished musician and songwriter, he was also a comedy writer. While working as the head writer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, he developed the "Pat Paulsen For President" comedy routine and gave Steve Martin his first career break, hiring him as a writer and initially paying Martin's salary himself.
"Classical Gas" reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won three Grammy awards: Best Instrumental Composition, Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, Instrumental, and Best Instrumental Arrangement. Williams didn't reach the charts again but he has had such a successful career in a variety of fields that it doesn't really matter. He is still alive; he turns 88 in August.
Created March 3, 2026.