| Classical Gas is one of the most requested and most | | | | unforgettable "surprises" making use of syncopation, |
| familiar instrumental pieces of all time. In an episode of | | | | scales, strums, and abrupt time signature changes. |
| The Simpsons called "Last Exit to Springfield" Homer | | | | Somehow all the bits link together like pearls on a |
| leads the workers of the nuclear power plant in a | | | | necklace, and the final note adds a sublime resolution. |
| strike to recover their lost dental plan. While they picket | | | | The composer, Mason Williams, states on his website, |
| the plant, Lisa plays a bleak worker\'s song. As she | | | | "I didn\'t really have any big plans for it, other than |
| finishes, Lenny shouts, "Play Classical Gas". Lisa plays | | | | maybe to have a piece to play at parties when they |
| the guitar and everybody watching the episode on TV | | | | passed the guitar around. I envisioned it as simply |
| goes, "Oh, yeah, THAT tune!" Classical Gas is always | | | | repertoire or "fuel" for the classical guitar, so I called it |
| asked for whenever a bunch of people and a nylon | | | | Classical Gasoline." Mason Williams\' day job was as a |
| string acoustic guitar are in the same room. It is not | | | | comedy writer and stand-up comedian who had lots |
| really a great technical showcase for finger style | | | | of other projects besides writing a classical guitar |
| guitarists but it is a great vehicle to show off the sound | | | | instrumental. |
| of the classical guitar. | | | | It was Mason Williams\' work on the Smothers |
| Classical Gas was released into the world in 1968. A | | | | Brothers\' "Comedy Hour" which gave him the |
| song by The Doors prevented it from turning into a | | | | opportunity to have his pet composition heard by the |
| number one hit but it remained in the second place for | | | | American public. The original score of the piece shows |
| two weeks. Forty years later it is still among the most | | | | only chords and a few notes. Mason Williams had a |
| familiar tunes of all time and, along with The | | | | twenty-three year old composer named Mike Post |
| Anonymous Romance and Leucona\'s Malaguena | | | | finish off the arrangement. |
| regarded as an essential element of the classical guitar | | | | At the Grammys it won Best Instrumental Composition |
| repertoire. And nobody can say why. | | | | and Best Instrumental Performance for Mason Williams |
| The impact of Classical Gas is way more than the | | | | and Best Instrumental Arrangement for Mike Post who |
| sum of its parts. There are very few musical ideas in | | | | has had a career full of triumphs in the field of TV |
| the tune. It is mainly repetition of a theme made up of | | | | theme music. His latest victory is the theme(s) for the |
| a few notes. There are a few parts that are | | | | "Law And Order" series. |