Mason Douglas Williams (born August 24, 1938, in Abilene, Texas) is an American musician, composer, guitarist, and comedy writer. He is best known for composing and performing the 1968 instrumental guitar piece “Classical Gas,” which won three Grammy Awards and became one of the most-played instrumentals in broadcast history. Williams was also a head writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, for which he won an Emmy Award in 1968.

“Classical Gas” remains a landmark crossover instrumental blending classical guitar technique with pop orchestration, and by 2008 had logged over six million broadcast performances, making Williams a distinctive figure bridging popular and classical guitar music.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_Williams