Mason Williams was a man of many talents. Not only did he write and arrange “Classical Gas,’ he performed it on guitar and directed  the orchestsra –all while working as head writer for The infamous Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour!

The initial title was “Classical Gasoline,” but when the song was published, someone left off the “O-Line, and the rest is history.
Naturally, Mason debuted the song on the show..and both Tommy & Dick  Smothers enjoyed it so much, they allowed him to perform it on several episodes.

Because of all that exposure–and because it was such a Great song, radio stations quickly added it to their playlists, and the result was a #1 hit on Billboard’s Easy Listening Chart, while just missing at #2 on The Hot 100.

And that was just the beginning: “Classical Gas” won  THREE Grammy Awards: Best Instrumental Composition, Best Instrumental Arrangement…and Best Contemporary Pop Instrumental Performance!
Fun Fact :  the song was featured in the 2003 film “Cheaper by the Dozen”, which starred Steve Martin, who was one of Mason’s comedy co-writers for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour!

Classical Gas by Mason Williams: Gallon for Gallon, it was a Great Song  of 1968.