On this day in 2001, Shrek debuted in theaters. It introduced us to our ogre friend, a donkey and many other fairy tale characters.
I have featured other songs from the soundtrack in the past, so today I’ll focus on one of the great cover songs on the soundtrack.
From songfacts.com” Neil Diamond wrote “I’m A Believer.” He had his first big hit earlier in 1966 with “Cherry, Cherry,” which got the attention of Don Kirshner, who was looking for material for The Monkees. Kirshner was sold on “I’m A Believer,” and as part of the deal, allowed Diamond to record the song as well. Diamond’s version was released on his 1967 album Just For You. The Monkees version benefited from exposure on their television series.
Neil Diamond had originally intended the song to be recorded by the country artist Eddy Arnold. He was surprised when record executive Don Kirshner passed it instead to The Monkees. They took the song all the way to #1.
Smash Mouth’s success with their version led Neil Diamond to put the song back in his set list for concerts. Smashmouth didn’t have the same luck on the charts, as their version made it only to #25.
It really is the perfect song for the film. Shrek is just a big fairy tale and the opening line fits perfectly.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 