Here we have collected the most commonly asked questions about Mason Williams & his career.
You may also visit the Classical Gas website for questions and answers specifically regarding Mason’s hit “Classical Gas.”
- Where is Mason from originally?
- Where is Mason's current residence?
- Are there any plans for Mason to release another album in the near future?
- I'm looking for copies of Mason's older books. Are they still available for purchase?
- Can I email Mason directly? Are questions answered by him or his staff?
- Is there a book by Mason Williams entitled "the bicyclists enthusiast" containing poems? Is it available for purchase?
- Where can I find “THEM POEMS?”
- Where can I find music and tab for some of Mason's songs?
- I was interested in some information on Mr. Williams’ choice of classical guitars. What are his favorite make and models?
- How often is this website updated?
Mason Williams was born in Abilene, Texas spending some of his very early years in the small town of Rule, 50 Miles to the north. He grew up in both Oklahoma and Oregon, attending Oklahoma City University, majoring in Music.
Mason Williams lives primarily in Oregon.
Mason continues to work on compositions, arranging and recording, but there are no new commercial releases in the works.
Some are and some aren’t. You will find certain books available at www.amazon.com & www.abebooks.com. Mason personally has copies of some books, for example FLAVORS, which has become a collector's item, is no longer in print, but there are some copies left over (remainders) that Mason is willing to sell on a special order basis.
Mason reads and often responds personally to his fan mail. For general questions, his staff may provide the answer, but any personal notes or direct inquiries go to the man himself! Contact us.
Mason's book was called Bicyclists Dismount but it was a collection of poems, lyrics, snippets, and photos — nothing specifically about bicycles. "Bicyclists Dismount" was a sign Mason saw on a bridge. The book is out of print and there are no copies available for sale.
Mason's album titled Them Poems has been digitally remastered and is available for purchase only through Mason. Contact us. His chapbook of Them Poems was recently reprinted by the University of Wisconsin's Parallel Press. You can order it here.
With all of the free music available on the web, we get this question often, but as we all know, music is copyright protected.
Mason's latest guitar book by Warner Bros. Publications, Classical Gas: The Music of Mason Williams, has many tunes in both standard notation and tab and is a wonderful resource for guitarists. It is available from Amazon here.
From Mason: I am fortunate to have had good guitars to play, more by accident than design. My 1st guitar was an old Stella for which I paid $13.00! I bought it in 1958 when I was a college student at Oklahoma City University. It had a metal tail piece, which I took off and threw away. I had a classical guitar bridge put on it. I still have this guitar & enjoy playing it. It's the guitar on the cover of the Mason Williams Ear Show LP (1968).
My 2nd guitar, which I also bought in 1958, was a Goya. It served me well until I got my 3rd guitar, a Cordova. Tommy Smothers gave it to me and it is still my primary guitar. It's actually a guitar by a German Luthier, Oskar Teller. In 1971 I bought a Martin D-28 for Rhythm guitar, and I have an Epiphone 12-string that once belonged to Ken Kesey.
We are currently updating the archival aspects of the site. It is a work in progress, to be sure.