"Classical Gas" is an instrumental piece written by Mason Williams. The title of the song was originally "Classical Gasoline" but was changed to "Classical Gas" by the music copyist. On the original recording, Williams plays guitar and is accompanied by an orchestral backing. It was released in February 1968 from the album The Mason Williams Phonograph Record. In August 1968 it reached the top 5 in the American charts and went on to sell over a million copies. Williams re-recorded the tune as a solo guitar piece on his 1970 album Hand Made. An instrumental is, in contrast to a song, a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. ... Mason Williams with Claudine Longet Mason Williams (b. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Awards

In 1968 the piece won three Grammy awards: Best Instrumental Composition, Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, Instrumental, and Best Instrumental Arrangement. Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. ... The Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance has been awarded since 1969. ... The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement has been awarded since 1963. ...

In 1998 Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) awarded Williams a special Citation of Achievement. The piece has logged over five million broadcast performances to become BMI's all-time number-one instrumental composition for radio air play. Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) is a collecting society that protects composers intellectual property in the communications business, especially radio. ... An instrumental is, in contrast to a song, a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. ... Musical composition is: a piece of music the structure of a musical piece the process of creating a new piece of music // A piece of music exists in the form of a written composition in musical notation or as a single acoustic event (a live performance or recorded track). ...

Trivia

• Used as the theme music for Granada Television's watchdog broadcast "This is your right" running from 1972 to 1986.
• The 1980 film The Legend of Alfred Packer features a sound-alike tune by Jaime Mendoza-Nava over its main and end titles.
• Lisa Simpson plays "Union Strike Song" on guitar in the 1993 Simpsons episode Last Exit to Springfield. Once she is done, Lenny requests "now do Classical Gas".
• Frasier Crane plays the song on his CD player while testing his new furniture in the 2000 episode The Great Crane Robbery
• The music is played to a series of clips of the Parkes Radio Telescope in the 2000 movie "The Dish".
• Mannheim Steamroller re-recorded the song, along with other compositions by Williams, in their album of the same name.
• In the 1970s many local area news programs throughout the United States used it as their theme song.
• NASA used it as the background music for the Apollo 4 mission film.
• This song is played in the 2003 movie Cheaper By The Dozen, in a series of scenes when the family are looking for their son Mark, who ran away.
• The complete list of artists to release a copy of Classical Gas can be found on the Classical Gas Website.
• Many people mistakenly believe the song to be the work of artist Eric Clapton, and a mis-titled mp3 version is widely circulated on the internet. Clapton has never released any version of the song.
• The song was used as the background for the Ballad of Leeroy Jenkins.
• Larry Fast recorded a completely synthesized version for his 1976 Sequencer album. This version was used by Laserium in the 1970s.
• Classical Gas was recorded by Steve Howe on his album Pulling Strings and is often played on his live tours.
• Patrick Norman recorded the song on an album he simply named "Guitare" (Guitar in french).
• Mason Williams performed the song on an episode of the Glen Campbell show, enhanced with a visual presentation of classic works of art. The performance is thought of as the first contemporary music video.
• In 1995, the violinist Vanessa-Mae recorded an arrangement of Classical Gas by Mike Batt on her CD, The Violin Player
• Tommy Emmanuel, who has been hailed as the world's greatest Fingerstyle guitarist, has recorded this song with the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra, on his album, titled "Classical Gas." He plays it as a solo piece at most concerts.
• Sinai 48 recorded this song on their first release. The band's guitarist Ananiah McCarrell is a friend of Mason Williams.
• California Guitar Trio recorded an arrangement of the guitar & orchestra for 3 solo acoustic guitars on their album "Pathways" and frequently play it live in concert.
• This is the song Phillip interprets with his guitar in Miracle Run.

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Legend of Alfred Packer is a 1980 film by Jim Roberson from a script by acclaimed poet/translator Burton Raffel, a biopic of Alfred G. Packer starring Patrick Dray in the title role. ... Lisa Marie Simpson is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Yeardley Smith; Lisa is the only character Smith voices on a regular basis. ... The Simpsons. ... Last Exit to Springfield is the 17th episode of The Simpsons fourth season. ... Dr. Frasier Winslow Crane (b. ... The following is a complete list of all 265 episodes of Frasier (including the 200th Clip Show), from the pilot, The Good Son, to the finale, Goodnight, Seattle. // Season 1 01 - The Good Son 02 - Space Quest 03 - Dinner at Eight 04 - I Hate Frasier Crane 05 - Heres Looking... The Parkes Observatory in New South Wales, Australia The Parkes Observatory is a radio telescope observatory, 20 kilometres north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. ... you suck ... Mannheim Steamroller is an 18th century classical rock group founded by Chip Davis, and co-founded by Jackson Berkey, well-known for their modern recordings of holiday music (notably Christmas). ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... The theme music of a radio or television program is a melody closely associated with the show, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits. ... The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nations public space program. ... Apollo 4 was the first unmanned flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle. ... Cheaper by the Dozen is a 2003 American comedy film about a family with twelve children (seven boys and five girls). ... Leeroy Jenkins as he appears on a card in the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game Leeroy Jenkins, sometimes mis-spelled Leroy Jenkins and often elongated with numerous additional letters, is an Internet phenomenon named for a character created in Ultima Online and later redone by player Ben Schulz in... Larry Fast in his Synergy studio Larry Fast is a synthesizer expert and composer, and is regarded as one of the most important electronic music innovators of the late 1970s. ... Stephen James Steve Howe (born April 8, 1947 in Holloway, North London, England) is a guitarist best known for his work with the progressive rock group Yes. ... A violinist is an instrumentalist who plays the violin. ... Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson (born October 27, 1978), known on stage as Vanessa-Mae (in Chinese: 陈美, Chén Měi) is an internationally known classical and pop musician. ... Tommy Emmanuel, CGP (born May 31, 1955) is an Australian guitarist, best known for his fingerpicking style. ... Sinai 48 is an American band that consists of members Alex Helene (vocals), Ananiah McCarrell (guitars and synthesizers), Gary Hoppy Hodges (drums and percussion), and Tom Moncrieff (bass and digital editing). ... Mason Williams with Claudine Longet Mason Williams (b. ... Paul Richards of Salt Lake City, Utah, Bert Lams of Brussels, Belgium, and Hideyo Moriya of Tokyo first met in England at one of Robert Fripps Guitar Craft Courses in 1987. ... Miracle Run is a film made in 1984 starring Mary-Louise Parker and Aidan Quinn. ...

External links

• Official Classical Gas website
• Official Mason Williams website
• Broadcast Music, Inc
• Grammy Awards
• Mason Williams performing Classical Gas 2006 concert video on You Tube
• Mason Williams performing Classical Gas original recording with scenic video on You Tube