Mason Douglas Williams (born August 24, 1938) is an American classical guitarist, composer, singer, writer, comedian, and poet, best known for his 1968 instrumental "

Classical Gas "Classical Gas" is an instrumental musical piece composed and originally performed by American guitarist Mason Williams with instrumental backing by members of the Wrecking Crew. Originally released in 1968 on the album ''The Mason Williams Ph ...

" and for his work as a comedy writer on ''

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially considering it was sc ...

'', ''

The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' was an American music and comedy television variety show hosted by singer Glen Campbell from January 29, 1969, to June 13, 1972, on CBS. He was offered the show after he hosted a 1968 summer replacement for ' ...

'', and ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

''.

Early life

Williams was born in Abilene, Texas, the son of Jackson Eugene (a tile setter) and Kathlyn (née Nations) Williams. Williams grew up dividing his time between living with his father in Oklahoma and his mother in

Oakridge, Oregon Oakridge is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. The population was 3,205 as of the 2010 census. It is located east of Westfir on Oregon Route 58, about east of Eugene and southeast of Portland. Surrounded by the Willamette Nationa ...

. He graduated from

Northwest Classen High School Northwest Classen High School is a public high school serving students in grades 9–12 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. History Northwest Classen High School was built in 1955 to accommodate the growing population in the northwest corridor of Okla ...

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

in 1956. It was in Oklahoma that he began his lifelong friendship with artist

Edward Ruscha Edward Joseph Ruscha IV (, ''roo-SHAY''; born December 16, 1937) is an American artist associated with the pop art movement. He has worked in the media of painting, printmaking, drawing, photography and film. He is also noted for creating severa ...

. He attended

Oklahoma City University Oklahoma City University (OCU) is a private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The university offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, graduate master's degrees and docto ...

(1957–60) and

North Texas State University The University of North Texas (UNT) is a Public university, public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private Normal school, teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 y ...

for one semester, and served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1961 to 1963.

Career

Music

In 1968, Williams won three

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s for his guitar

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

". "Classical Gas" was released as a single from ''The Mason Williams Phonograph Record'' in 1968. "Classical Gas" won three Grammys that year for "Best Instrumental (theme) Composition", "Best Instrumental (theme) Performance", and "Best Instrumental Orchestra Arrangement",

Mike Post Mike Post (born Leland Michael Postil, September 29, 1944) is an American composer, best known for his TV theme music for various shows, including ''Law & Order''; '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''; ''The A-Team''; ''NYPD Blue''; ''Renegad ...

, arranger. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. He also wrote songs for

The Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

. For both ''Handmade'' and ''Sharepickers'', Mason received two more Grammy nominations for "Best Album Cover Design".Together with

Nancy Ames Nancy Ames (born Nancy Hamilton Alfaro on September 30, 1937) is an American folk singer and songwriter. She regularly appeared on the American version of the television series ''That Was the Week That Was''. The TW3 Girl, as she was known, s ...

, he wrote " Cinderella Rockefella", a 1968 number one hit for

Esther and Abi Ofarim Esther & Abi Ofarim were an Israeli musical duo active during the 1960s, consisting of husband and wife Abi Ofarim and Esther Ofarim. They enjoyed particular success in Germany. They had hits in Europe with their songs "One More Dance," "Morning o ...

in the United Kingdom. In 1970, Williams made a television appearance on a variety show, ''Just Friends'', which reunited regulars of ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour''. To create a visual element for his performance, he used a special playable classical

plexiglass Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) belongs to a group of materials called engineering plastics. It is a transparent thermoplastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Plexiglas, Acrylite, ...

guitar built for him b
Billy Cheatwood
and a prop designer for ABC. For the performance, Williams filled the guitar with water and added a couple of goldfish. He then used the plexiglass guitar to finger-sync his hit version of "Classical Gas". Williams has recorded more than a dozen albums, five on the

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

label (''The Mason Williams Phonograph Record'', ''The Mason Williams Ear Show'', ''Music'', ''Handmade'', and ''Sharepickers''). The LP cover for the 1968 ''Music'' was painted by pop artist

. The credit reads "Sorry, Cover by Edward Ruscha." In December 1970, Williams performed benefit concerts for the Pala Indian Reservation Cultural Center hosted by Clairemont High School. Sponsored by the nonprofit Americans for Indian Future and Tradition, with the help of Ken Kragen and Friends, Williams performed two shows. The event raised enough funds to pay for the construction of the block walls. In 1987, he teamed with

Mannheim Steamroller Mannheim Steamroller is an American neoclassical new-age music ensemble founded and directed by percussionist/composer Chip Davis in 1974. The group is known primarily for its '' Fresh Aire'' series of albums, which blend classical music with ...

to release a new album on the

American Gramaphone American Gramaphone is an American record company based in Omaha, Nebraska. It is best known for releasing Chip Davis' new age solo and Mannheim Steamroller albums. History American Gramaphone was formed in 1974 by Chip Davis. American Gra ...

label. The album, titled ''Classical Gas'', included a remake of the 1968 composition. Another track from the album, "Country Idyll", was a 1988 nominee for a Grammy in the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

category for "Best Instrumental Performance by a Soloist, Group or Orchestra". The album went gold in 1991. Williams' plexiglass guitar appears on the cover of the album. He released an acoustic instrumental album of Christmas and holiday music, ''A Gift of Song'', on the Real Music label, featuring arrangements of traditional carols and original compositions. In 1992, the

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

label released ''Music 1968–1971'', a compilation of tracks from his five

albums recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Williams relates that when compiling the album he went to Warner Bros. and asked "Where's that painting that

Ed Ruscha Edward Joseph Ruscha IV (, ''roo-SHAY''; born December 16, 1937) is an American artist associated with the pop art movement. He has worked in the media of painting, printmaking, drawing, photography and film. He is also noted for creating severa ...

did for that old 'Music''cover?" and was told it had been thrown away; a probable loss of 3–5 million dollars. In conjunction with the release of this album, Williams added a "Holiday Concert Program" to his repertoire, featuring music from the album as well as other traditional music of the season. In 1994, he played six sold-out concerts with the

Oregon Symphony The Oregon Symphony is an American symphony orchestra based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded as the 'Portland Symphony Society' in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States. I ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. In the 1990s he also performed with the Eugene Symphony with friend

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born in ...

. Williams then concentrated on a variety of programs for his concert appearances. His "Concert For Bluegrass Band And Orchestra", also titled "Symphonic Bluegrass", has been performed with over 40 symphony orchestras, including the

Colorado Symphony Orchestra The Colorado Symphony is an American symphony orchestra located in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1989 as the successor to the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony performs in Boettcher Concert Hall, located in the Denver Performing ...

Kansas City Symphony The Kansas City Symphony (KCS) is a United States symphony orchestra based in Kansas City, Missouri. The current music director is conductor Michael Stern. The Symphony performs at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, located at 1601 Br ...

Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is an American orchestra based in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only full-time, professional orchestra in the Gulf South. The orchestra performs at the Orpheum Theater. The Louisiana Philharmonic O ...

, Oklahoma City Philharmonic,

Louisville Orchestra The Louisville Orchestra is the primary orchestra in Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1937 by Robert Whitney (1904–1986) and Charles Farnsley, Mayor of Louisville. The Louisville Orchestra employs salaried musicians, and offers a wide ...

, and the

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Edmonton, Alberta. As the professional orchestra of Alberta's creative capital city it presents over 85 concerts a year of symphonic music in all genres, from classical to cou ...

. In 1984, Williams released an album, ''Of Time & Rivers Flowing'', on his own Skookum label, containing 14 of the approximately 35 songs performed in the concert. In 1993, the title cut from the album was used as the soundtrack for a ninety-second

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

(PSA) created by the American Rivers Council on the home video release of '' A River Runs Through It''. The PSA was also on the 1995 home video release of ''

The River Wild ''The River Wild'' is a 1994 American adventure thriller film directed by Curtis Hanson and starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, David Strathairn, John C. Reilly, Benjamin Bratt, and Joseph Mazzello as Roarke. It is about a family on a whitewate ...

''. That same year, in 1995, Williams was invited to play for Oregon governor

John Kitzhaber John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5, 1947) is an American former politician who served as the 35th governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003, and as the 37th governor of Oregon from 2011 until his resignation in 2015. A member of the Democratic Part ...

's inauguration and in 1996, Williams received an honorary Doctorate of Music from his alma mater,

. In 1998, BMI, the performance rights organization that tracks air play performances on radio and television, presented Williams with a Special Citation of Achievement in recognition of the great national and international popularity of "Classical Gas". By 2008, the song logged over six million broadcast performances, to become the all-time number-one instrumental composition for air play in BMI's repertoire. In 1999, Williams played again for the Kitzhaber's second inauguration. In February, Williams' "Bus" art piece was included in the

Norton Simon Museum The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California, United States. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds. Overview The Norton Si ...

exhibition "Radical Past", in Pasadena, California. In the spring he played his ''Of Time and Rivers Flowing'' concert with the Oregon Children's Choral Festival, a two-day event involving 3,000 elementary school children singing water and rivers songs with Williams and his band. Williams received the Distinguished Service Award from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

in honor of his contribution to the arts in Oregon. In late 1999, he and the Bluegrass Band played for

Byron Berline Byron Douglas Berline (July 6, 1944 – July 10, 2021) was an American fiddle player who played many American music styles, including old time, ragtime, bluegrass, Cajun, country, and rock. Life and career Berline was born in Caldwell, Kansas, ...

Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival The Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival is held annually in Guthrie, Oklahoma. The festival was founded as a nonprofit organization by Guthrie resident Byron Berline and Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okal ...

in Guthrie, Oklahoma with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. Williams' music has been featured in several movies including '' The Story of Us'', ''

Cheaper by the Dozen ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, published in 1948. The novel recounts the authors' childhood lives growing up in a household of 12 children. The bestsel ...

'', ''

The Dish ''The Dish'' is a 2000 Australian historical comedy-drama film that tells the story of the Parkes Observatory's role in relaying live television of humanity's first steps on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. It was the top-grossing ...

'', ''

The Heidi Chronicles ''The Heidi Chronicles'' is a 1988 play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Production history A workshop production at Seattle Repertory Theatre was held in April 1988, directed by Daniel J. Sullivan, starr ...

'', and '' Heartbreakers''. His compositions also have been played on the television series ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

''. In 2003, Williams released an EP, ''Music for the Epicurean Harkener'', and again was nominated for a Grammy in 2004 for best instrumental album. In 2005, he collaborated with UK guitarist Zoe McCulloch on the album ''Electrical Gas''. In June 2006, Williams performed at his 50th high school reunion at

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

. He performed with other musicians as 'Mason Williams and Friends' at concerts in Eugene and Springfield (

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

) and at the opening gala at the Richard E. Wildish Community Theater in Springfield. In January 2007, he was reunited with long-time friend and artist

, performing at the Getty Center in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. In October 2007, he was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame. and co-headlined a concert with Everclear and

Paul Revere and the Raiders Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revol ...

. In 2022, BGO Records announced the release of a 2-cd collection of five of his early albums.

Comedy

Like many writer-performers, Williams was also a stand-up comedian. He 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 Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

released ''Them Poems'', a record album 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" is "Them Banjo Pickers", which begins: "Them banjo pickers! Mighty funny ways. Same damn song for three or four days!" Several other "them" poems, along with many ditties, song lyrics, odd and amusing photographs from around the country, and assorted bits of visual and verbal silliness are collected in ''The Mason Williams Reading Matter'' ( Doubleday, 1969), and the ''Them Poems'' record album was reissued (also in 1969, on the heels of the success of "Classical Gas") as ''The Mason Williams Listening Matter''. Williams has written more than 175 hours of music and comedy for network television programming and was a prime creative force for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

' controversial ''Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour''. His experience in

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

gave him the background for many of Tom and

Dick Smothers Richard Remick Smothers (born November 20, 1938) is an American actor, comedian, composer, and musician. He was half of the musical comedy team the Smothers Brothers, with his older brother Tom. Life and career Smothers was born in New York Ci ...

' comedy routines and with co-writer Nancy Ames, also composed the show's musical theme. It was on the ''Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' that he created and perpetuated the 1968 "

Pat Paulsen Patrick Layton Paulsen (July 6, 1927 – April 25, 1997) was an American comedian and satirist notable for his roles on several of the Smothers Brothers television shows, and for his satirical campaigns for President of the United States between ...

for President" campaign, an elaborate

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where s ...

. Williams also helped launch the career of entertainer

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

. Martin was hired by Williams as a writer on the ''Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'', for which his contributions were initially paid out of Williams' own pocket. In 1968, he won an Emmy Award for his work as a comedy writer on ''

''. Other television personalities he has written for include Andy Williams,

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

, Roger Miller, and

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

. In 1980, Williams briefly served as head writer for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''

'', but left after clashing with producer

Jean Doumanian Jean Doumanian ( Karabas; born July 28, 1936) is an American stage, television and film producer. She briefly produced ''Saturday Night Live'', between November 1980 and March 1981. Early life Doumanian was born Jean (or Jeannine) Karabas, th ...

. In 1988, Williams received his third Emmy nomination as a comedy writer for his work on ''The Smothers Brothers 20th Reunion Special'' on CBS. In February 2000, Williams participated in the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Moun ...

. The sixth annual festival honored ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' and its contribution to television. Williams performed a concert with Tom and Dick Smothers, and again on a late night show with performers that included Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short,

Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

, and

Marc Shaiman Marc Shaiman (; born October 22, 1959) is an American composer and lyricist for films, television, and theatre, best known for his collaborations with lyricist and director Scott Wittman. He wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics for the Broa ...

Other artistic work

Also a

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

, Williams published a life-sized photo print of a

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...

bus in the 1960s. He appeared with the print on the cover of his first

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

, ''The Mason Williams Phonograph Record''.

Environmentalism

After becoming involved in protests against a

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...

hydroelectric power project, Williams eventually collected over 400 songs about rivers. He created a program called ''Of Time and Rivers Flowing''. that encompasses classical, folk,

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer ...

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, country, pop & contemporary

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

Personal life

Williams married Sheila Ann Massey on April 22, 1961; they had one daughter, Kathryn Michelle, before divorcing. He remarried, to Katherine Elizabeth Kahn, in February 1994; the couple divorced after ten years. He lives in Eugene, Oregon, with his Canadian-born wife, Karen, an attorney.

Discography

Albums

*''Them Poems'', Rel. 1964 *'' The Mason Williams Phonograph Record'', Rel. 2/1968 *''The Mason Williams Ear Show'', Rel. 11/1968 *''Music'', Rel. 3/1969; #27 Canada, June 23, 1969 *''The Mason Williams Listening Matter'' (Them Poems re-release), Rel. 3/1969 *''Handmade'', Rel. 3/1970 *''Sharepickers'', Rel. 10/1971 *''Of Time & Rivers Flowing'', Rel. 12/1984 *''Music 1968-1971'', Rel. 7/1992 *''A Gift of Song'', Rel. 9/1992 *''Of Time & Rivers Flowing'', Re-rel. 5/1997 *''Classical Gas'', at the Wildish Theater, Rel. 12/2006

Singles

* "Love Are Wine" / "The Exciting Accident", April 1966 * "

" / "Long Time Blues", April 1968 * "Baroque-a-Nova" / "Wanderlove", August 1968 * "Saturday Night at the World" / "One Minute Commercial", October 1968 * "Greensleeves" / "$13 Stella", March 1969 * "A Gift Of Song" / "A Major Thing", June 1969 * "José's Piece" / "Find a Reason To Believe, June 1970 * "Train Ride in G" / "Here I Am Again", August 1971

EPs

*'' EP 2003: Music for the Epicurean Harkener'', Rel. 12/2003 *''O Christmas Three'', Rel. 12/2009

For others

*''Folk Baroque'', producer/arranger, Rel. 10/1963 *''Introducing Jayne Heather'', arranger/musician, Rel. 12/1965 *''Tour de Farce'', The Smothers Brothers, sideman/songwriter, Rel. 1965 *''The Smothers Brothers Play It Straight'', co-producer, Rel 1966 *''Jennifer'' (Jennifer Warnes), guest vocalist, Rel. 1969 *''Fiddle & A Song'', Byron Berline CD, sideman, Rel. 9/1995 *''1995 Sony Disc Manufacturing Holiday Choir'', producer, Rel. 12.1995

With others

*''Little Billy Blue Shoe''s b/w ''Run Comeun See'', The Wayfarers Trio, Rel. 1960 *''Folk Music as Heard at the Gourd'', unknown group name, Rel. 8/1960 *''Songs of the Blue and Grey'', The Wayfarers Trio, Rel. 4/1961 *''Away All Boats'' (EP), unknown group name, Rel. 4/1962 *''More Hootenanny'' (LP), The Hootenaires, Rel. 8/1963 *''Fresh Fish'' (LP), as Mason Williams & the Santa Fe Recital, Rel. 1978 *''

'', with

(LP), Rel. 10/1987 *''Electrical Gas'', with Zoe McCulloch (CD), Rel. 7/2005 *''Classical Gas'', with Craig Einhorn, Rel. 9/2006

Compilation appearances

*''The Big Hootenanny'', Rel. 1963 *''I Am an American'', Rel. 3/1963 *''The Twelve-String Story Vol. 1'', Rel. 1963 *''The Twelve-String Story Vol. 2'', Rel. 1963 *''The Banjo Story'', Rel. 1963 *''5-String Banjo Greats'', Rel. 4/1964 *''Rock Instrumental Classics Vol. 2 - The Sixties''. Rel. 1994 *''1968 Billboard Top Pop Hits'' (CD) *''Cascadia'' (1996 Oregon Governor's Arts Awards) Rel. 4/1996

Misc.

*''40th Anniversary of Classical Gas'', Rel. 4/2008

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

*
Classical Gas
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Mason 1938 births Living people American classical guitarists American male guitarists Emmy Award winners People from Abilene, Texas Grammy Award winners Northwest Classen High School alumni Oklahoma City University alumni People from Oakridge, Oregon Musicians from Eugene, Oregon Musicians from Oklahoma City Vanguard Records artists Writers Guild of America Award winners Guitarists from Oregon Guitarists from Oklahoma 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Classical musicians from Oregon