The song that never goes away

April 8, 2026

You know a song is good when it’s featured in a movie half a century after it was written. Neil Diamond’s “I’m a Believer” is such a song. Written in 1966 for the pop rock band, The Monkees (above), it immediately shot to #1 on the charts.

Fifty years later, you’ll hear it sung by Hugh Jackman in the hit movie, “Song Sung Blue”.

Hugh Jackman sings “I’m a Believer” in the movie, Song Sung Blue

In between, Smash Mouth and Eddie Murphy sang it as part of the soundtrack from “Shrek” in 2001.

Smash Mouth sings “I’m a Believer”

Eddie Murphy sings “I’m a Believer” in Shrek

What makes the song so timeless? You’ve got to credit a fabulous title and lyric that never grows old: that love is something in which to believe. Diamond’s lyrics tell a story most people can relate to at some time or another:

“Love was out to get me,

That’s the way it seemed,

Disappointment haunted all my dreams.

Then I saw her face, now I’m a believer!”

Add in a totally catchy melody and you have a song for the ages! Yes, couples keep requesting it at their wedding celebration to this very day.

Neil Diamond recorded the song a few years after he wrote it for the Monkees and enjoyed a modest hit. But ever since, it keeps popping up in movies, including these:

Shampoo (1975)

Shrek (2001)

Shrek Forever After (2010)

Shrek Retold (2018)

Song Sung Blue (2026)

Maybe “I’m a Believer” should be a part of the soundtrack of your upcoming Cookeville wedding celebration. Scott Stevens Entertainment will play it on high end equipment that shows off the reasons why Hollywood loves the song so much! And our DJ/MCs are pros who know how to pack a dance floor all night long. Check us out.

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