Mason Williams
Like many writer-performers, Mason Williams was also a talented stand-up comedian. Unlike the standard comedy acts of the 1960s, however, Williams set most of his comic ideas to music, and sang or recited the jokes in lyric form, with guitar accompaniment. In 1964 Vee Jay Records released the album Them Poems, on which Williams entertains a live audience with "them poems about them people," covering such varied topics as "Them Moose Goosers," "Them Sand Pickers," and "Them Surf Serfs." A typical "them poem" was "Them Banjo Pickers," which began: "Them banjo pickers! Mighty funny ways. Same damn song for three or four days!" Them Poems was reissued in 1969 (on the heels of "Classical Gas") as The Mason Williams Listening Matter.
As a comedy writer, Mason has written for more than 150 hours of network television programming. Writing both music and comedy, Mason was a prime creative force for CBS' controversial Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. His extensive repertoire in folk music gave him the background for many of Tom and Dick Smothers' comedy routines, and with co-writer Nancy Ames, he also composed the shows' musical theme. He also created and perpetuated the 1968 "Pat Paulsen for President" campaign, an elaborate political satire. Mason's longest running contribution to date is the launching of the career of Steve Martin. Martin was initially hired by Williams as a writer on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, for which his contributions were initially paid out of Williams' own pocket.
Other major television personalities he has written for include Steve Martin (a writing colleague on "Smothers Brothers"), Andy Williams, Glen Campbell, Dinah Shore, Roger Miller, and Petula Clark. In 1980 Mason was head writer for NBC's Saturday Night Live. In 1988 Mason received his third Emmy nomination as a comedy writer for his work on The Smothers Brothers 20th Reunion Special (CBS). According to his book The Mason Williams FCC Rapport, Williams also credits himself with the first concept of a VJ and MTV at large. His concept included visual representations of the music and a video host announcing each piece of music on the air. CBS executives scoffed at his idea at the time. However, this didn't stop him from trying out his idea on the air as his composition Classical Gas was played on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour against a backdrop of 2,000 renaissance art pieces, which by effect made the composition one of the first music videos.
In February 2000, Mason participated in the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado. The Festival's 6th annual show honored The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and its unique contribution to television. Mason performed a concert with Tom and Dick, and again on a late night show with Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Andrea Martin, Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Marc Shaiman, and many newcomers to the world of comedy.
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Environmentalism
After becoming involved in protests against a Willamette River hydroelectric power project, Williams began to think of how the river itself should have a voice in its fate, and eventually collected over 400 songs about rivers, which he crafted into his program Of Time and Rivers Flowing.[2] A chronological "river" of music and time, it encompasses the realms of classical, folk, minstrel, gospel, jazz, country, pop, and contemporary rock.[citation needed] Mason has performed the program for benefits, conferences, and in concert. A recent event of note was the 25th anniversary celebration of American Rivers in Washington, D.C., where Vice President Al Gore was the principal speaker.[citation needed]
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Discography
From masonwilliams-online.com and Yahoo's "Mason Williams: Discography".
| July 14, 1960 | Little Billy Blue Shoes/Run Come See |
| August 1960 | Folk Music as Heard at The Gourd |
| April 1961 | Songs of the Blue and Grey ; recorded by The Wayfarers Trio |
| April 30, 1962 | Away All Boats |
| 1963 | The Big Hootenanny |
| March 12, 1963 | I Am an American |
| August 26, 1963 | More Hootenany |
| Unknown[3] | Feudin' Banjos |
| 1963 | The Twelve-String Story Vol. I |
| 1963 | The Twelve-String Story Vol. II |
| October 1963 | The Banjo Story |
| October 29, 1963 | Folk Baroque |
| 2 April 1964 | 5-String Banjo Greats |
| 1964 | Them Poems |
| December 24, 1965 | Introducing Jayne Heather |
| April 1965 | Tour de Farce (The Smothers Brothers) |
| April 22, 1966 | Love Are Wine/The Exciting Accident |
| 1966 | The Smothers Brothers Play It Straight |
| 1968 | Classical Gas/Baroque-a-Nova |
| February 1968 | The Mason Williams Phonograph Record |
| August 10, 1968 | Classical Gas/Long Time Blues |
| November 1968 | The Mason Williams Ear Show |
| 1968 | Saturday Night at the World/One-Minute Commercial |
| March 13, 1969 | Music |
| March 1969 | Greensleeves/$13 Stella |
| 1969 | Jennifer |
| March 1969 | The Mason Williams Listening Matter (Them Poems) |
| March 10, 1970 | Handmade |
| 1970 | José's Piece |
| 1 January 1971 | Improved |
| October 1971 | Sharepickers |
| 1971 | Train Ride in G/Here I Am Again |
| November 1978 | Fresh Fish |
| December 1984 | Of Time and Rivers Flowing |
| October 22, 1987 | Classical Gas — Mason Williams and Mannheim Steamroller |
| July 13, 1992 | Music 1968 – 1972 |
| September 18, 1992 | A Gift of Song |
| 1994 | Rock Instrumental Classics, Vol. 2: The Sixties |
| September 1995 | Fiddle and a Song |
| Unknown | 1968 Billboard Top Pop Hits (Rhino) (features "Classical Gas") |
| December 20, 1995 | 1995 Sony Disc Manufacturing Holiday Choir |
| 9 April 1996 | Cascadia (1996 Oregon Governor's Arts Awards) |
| May 17, 1996 | Of Time and Rivers Flowing (re-released) |
| December 25, 2003 | Music for the Epicurean Harkener (EP) |
| September 27, 2005 | Electrical Gas — Mason Williams and Zoe McCulloch |
| September 30, 2006 | Classical Gas - Mason Williams, Craig Einhorn, Online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=078N20Zxx1k |
| December 1, 2006 | Classical Gas - Mason Williams at the Wildish Theater, Online at |
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Footnotes
- ^ [ http://www.omhof.org/honorees.html Oregon Music Hall of Fame Honorees]
- ^ Williams, Mason (May 1996). "Of Time and Rivers Flowing Concert History". MasonWilliams-Online.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-28.
- ^ The release date of Feudin' Banjos is unknown. Its chronological position in the list is estimated from context. The Everest 7105 album was issued in 1973
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External links
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