Home / Birthday profiles / Mason Williams
Portrait of Mason Williams

Birthday profile

Mason Williams

Mason Williams, American guitarist and composer

Find birthday twinsOpen interactive profile
Born
August 24, 1938
Age in 2026
88
Zodiac sign
Virgo
Birth year
1938

About Mason Williams

Mason Douglas Williams is an American classical guitarist, composer, singer, writer, comedian, and poet, best known for his 1968 instrumental "Classical Gas" and for his work as a comedy writer on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and Saturday Night Live. In 1968, Mason's instrumental, "Classical Gas", was released as a single from The Mason Williams Phonograph Record. Five were released on the Warner Bros. label: The Mason Williams Phonograph Record (1968), The Mason Williams Ear Show (1968), Music by Mason Williams (1968), Hand Made (1970), and Sharepickers (1971). The song won three Grammy Awards: "Best Instrumental (theme) Composition", "Best Instrumental (theme) Performance", and "Best Instrumental Orchestra Arrangement", Mike Post, arranger. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Mason Williams timeline

  1. In 1968, Mason's instrumental, "Classical Gas", was released as a single from The Mason Williams Phonograph Record.
  2. Five were released on the Warner Bros. label: The Mason Williams Phonograph Record (1968), The Mason Williams Ear Show (1968), Music by Mason Williams (1968), Hand Made (1970), and Sharepickers (1971).

The world when Mason Williams was born

Mason Williams was born in 1938. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1938

  • #1 song"A-Tisket, A-Tasket" – Ella Fitzgerald
  • Top movieThe Adventures of Robin Hood
  • Best-selling bookRebecca – Daphne du Maurier

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJoe Louis knocks out Max Schmeling in round 1
  • Top headlineWar of the Worlds broadcast causes nationwide panic
  • Technology milestoneNuclear fission discovered
  • Defining fadSuperman debuts in Action Comics #1
  • Notable inventionInstant coffee (Nescafé)
  • World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population129.8M

1938 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Mason Williams's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19382026
Gas$0.20$3.45/gal
Average home$5,100$435,000
Average income$2,800$67,500
Minimum wage$0.25$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population129.8M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.