Noel Harrison

The Windmills of Your Mind.com 

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967)


Noel appeared twice on the American TV show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967, first on June 11 and then again on October 1.


The shows have never been officially released, but full versions of both episodes were published on YouTube in 2024.


Noel was liked by the stars of the show and was offered the opportunity of hosting a 'summer replacement' show which would have been aired while the Smothers Brothers took a break. Unfortunately Noel's agent asked for too much money and the deal fell through. 

Mrs Williams' Rose

In his first performance on the show on June 11, 1967, Noel sang his recently released single, Mrs Williams' Rose.

The song was taken from his 1967 album Collage.

The One on the Left is on the Right

Immediately after performing Mrs Williams' Rose, Noel joined the Smothers Brothers to sing The One on the Left is on the Right.

During the performance, Dick and Tom Smothers joked with Noel about the recent cancellation of his TV show, The Girl From UNCLE.

The One on the Left is on the Right had been released as a single by Johnny Cash in 1966. It was written by Jack Clement, who earlier in his life had discovered Jerry Lee Lewis.

Suzanne

Noel made his second appearance on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour on October 1, 1967.

He performed his version of Leonard Cohen’s song, Suzanne, from his album Collage.

Noel recorded his version of the popular song after hearing the version by Judy Collins from her 1966 album In My Life.

Sunshine Superman

As well as performing Suzanne on the October 1 show, Noel covered Donovan's Sunshine Superman.

The song had been released as a single by Donovan in July 1966. The cover version did not appear on any of Noel's albums and this is the only known recording of him singing the song.

Mason Williams advert


One of the writers for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was musician Mason Williams. He would go on to have a huge hit with the instrumental track Classical Gas from his album The Mason Williams Phonograph Record.


To promote the album in 1968, Warner Brothers got several stars from the day to record humorous radio adverts, including Noel Harrison, Glen Campbell, the Smothers Brothers and Nancy Sinatra.


Williams went on to win two Grammy awards for the album.


You can hear Noel's advert here, which includes a snippet of Classical Gas: