The Monkees – Daydream Believer

“Daydream Believer” – Single by the Monkees from the album The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees.
Released October 25, 1967.

The single reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1967, remaining there for four weeks, and peaked at No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the Monkees’ third and last No. 1 hit in the U.S.

“Daydream Believer” was not envisaged by the label to be a hit and, in fact, it wasn’t even met to be an A-side single. However, an unexpected turn of events would lead to the underdog champion topping the charts for four weeks.

The track was originally scheduled to be the B-side of their cover of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil’s song “Love Is Only Sleeping” which saw Michael Nesmith take up lead vocals. A week before it was set to be released, in a dramatic turn of events, it was discovered that the European single masters for ‘Love Is Only Sleeping’ were not ready, but the masters for “Daydream Believer” were. This left the label in somewhat of a quandary and they made the call to switch, promoting “Daydream Believer” to the A-side and “Goin’ Down” on the reverse.

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The Monkees - Daydream Believer

The Monkees - Daydream Believer (Official Music Video)02:47

RCA Records did not like the song as written by Stewart, and insisted on changing a critical word. Stewart originally wrote: “Now you know how funky I can be,” but RCA wanted to change it to “Now you know how happy I can be,” as one meaning of “funky” is “smelly.” Stewart initially objected because the change would completely reverse the meaning of the line and would not make sense in the context of the song. He relented because RCA was adamant and Stewart realized that the song could be a hit. In 2006, Stewart said that the proceeds from “Daydream Believer” “…kept me alive for all these years.”

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