"Daydream Believer" was written by John Stewart, who composed it shortly before he left the Kingston Trio. The Monkees recorded it at RCA Victor in Hollywood on June 14 and August 9, 1967, with Davy Jones on lead vocals, a piano introduction by Peter Tork, lead guitar by Michael Nesmith and an orchestral arrangement by Shorty Rogers. Released as a Colgems single on October 25, 1967, with "Goin' Down" on the B-side, it reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in December 1967 and held the top spot for four weeks. It was the group's third and last US number one, and it reached No. 5 in the UK. Billboard called it a "well written easy beat rhythm ballad". The song later appeared on the album The Birds, The Bees & the Monkees (1968). Anne Murray's 1979 version reached No. 3 on the US country chart and No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Stewart recorded his own version in 1971. A 1986 remix by Michael Lloyd was also released by the Monkees. The song is categorised as psychedelic pop, baroque pop and sunshine pop. The title later gave its name to the 2000 biopic Daydream Believers: The Monkees' Story.
