 |
|
|
Mason Williams emerged in the late 1960's as a strong force in television and music circles. In 1968 he won two Grammy awards for his unique composition for guitar, "Classical Gas". That same year he also won an Emmy award for his work as a comedy writer on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour".
Mason is perhaps most widely known as a composer and recording artist. He has recorded over a dozen albums, five on the Warner Bros. label. "Classical Gas" was released as a single from "The Mason Williams Phonograph Record" in 1968.
In 1987, Mason teamed up with MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER of "Fresh Aire" fame, to release a new album on the American Gramaphone label. The Album, titled "Classical Gas", includes a remake of his 1968 Grammy award winning song. Another cut from this album, "Country Idyll", was a 1988 nominee for a Grammy in the Country Music category for "Best Instrumental Performance by a Soloist, Group or Orchestra." This album went Gold in 1991, and is now approaching platinum.
Most recently Mason has released an acoustic instrumental album of Christmas/Holiday music album titled "A GIFT OF SONG", featuring arrangements of traditional carols and original compositions. In 1992, the Vanguard label released "MUSIC 1968-1971", a compilation of cuts from his five Warner Bros. albums recorded in the late sixties, early seventies.
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's comedy routines, and with co-writer Nancy Ames, also composed the shows' musical theme. He also created and perpetuated the 1968 PAT PAULSEN FOR PRESIDENT CAMPAIGN, the most elaborate political satire in recent history.
Other major television personalities he has written for in the past include: Steve Martin, 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).
Mason has also written and produced over a dozen books of prose, poetry, and music including THE MASON WILLIAMS READING MATTER and FLAVORS. A new 144 page music book, CLASSICAL GAS - THE MUSIC OF MASON WILLIAMS, has just been published, containing 12 solo guitar and 6 duet original compositions by Mason.
As a conceptual artist, in the late 1960's Mason produced a work titled "Bus", a life-sized (11' x 37') photographic poster of a Greyhound Bus that is in the permanent collection of New York City's Museum of Modern Art. He is also the creator of the world's largest sunflower. Originally intended as a short film, the sunflower concept was conceived as a slow-motion aerial ballet in which an old biplane skywrites ("draws") the stem and leaves of a sunflower in the sky beneath the sun, the sun thereby becoming the blossom of the flower.
In the last few years, Mason's CONCERT FOR BLUEGRASS, also titled SYMPHONIC BLUEGRASS, has been performed with over 40 symphonies.
In line with a nationwide growing awareness of the importance of saving our rivers from unnecessary hydroelectric exploitation, and a concerted effort to help preserve what remains of America's wild, free-flowing streams, Mason has created "OF TIME AND RIVERS FLOWING", a program consisting entirely of songs and music pertaining to water and rivers. Spanning over 300 years, "OF TIME AND RIVERS FLOWING" is a tour de force of arrangement and performance, encompassing the realms of classical, folk, minstrel, gospel, jazz, country, pop, and contemporary rock. He recently performed at the 25th anniversary celebration of American Rivers in Washington, D.C., where Vice President Al Gole was the principle speaker. In 1993 the title cut from the album of the same name was used as the sound track for a ninety second PSA created by The American Rivers Council on the home video release of Robert Redford's film "A River Runs Through It." The same spot was also used on the 1995 home video release of "The River Wild" filmed in Oregon.
Most recently, in conjunction with the release of his "A Gift of Song" Christmas CD in 1992, Mason has added a Holiday Concert Program to his repertoire featuring music from the album as well as other traditional music of the season.