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Happy 79th birthday, Bobby Hart, of the songwriting duo Boyce and Hart
Boyce and Hart
Sidney Thomas "Tommy" Boyce (September 29, 1939 – November 23, 1994) and Bobby Hart (born Robert Luke Harshman; February 18, 1939) were a prolific songwriting duo, best known for the songs they wrote for The Monkees.
Early years
....
Boyce met Hart in 1959, and the following year played guitar on Hart's single "Girl in the Window", which flopped, but marked the first time he used the name Bobby Hart, since his manager shortened it to fit the label.
Their partnership made a breakthrough with a song recorded by Chubby Checker, "Lazy Elsie Molly", in 1964. They went on to write hits for Jay & the Americans ( "Come a Little Bit Closer" ), Paul Revere and the Raiders ( " (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" ) and The Leaves ( "Words" ). The latter two songs provided the Monkees with hit B-sides in 1967. The duo also wrote the theme song of the daytime soap Days of Our Lives. At one point in this period, Hart also co-wrote "Hurt So Bad" for Little Anthony & the Imperials with Teddy Randazzo and his regular songwriting partner, Bobby Weinstein.
The Monkees
In late 1965, they wrote, produced and performed the soundtrack of the pilot for The Monkees, including singing lead vocals (which were later replaced, once the show was cast). In 1966, despite some conflicts with Don Kirshner, who was the show's musical supervisor, they were retained in essentially the same role. It was Boyce and Hart who wrote, produced and recorded, accompanied by their backing band, the Candy Store Prophets, backing tracks for a large portion of the first season of The Monkees, and the band's accompanying debut album.
The Monkees themselves re-recorded their vocals over Boyce and Hart's when it came time to release the songs, including both " (Theme from) The Monkees" and "Last Train to Clarksville", the latter being a huge hit. Kirshner suddenly relieved Boyce and Hart as producers, by claiming they were using studio time booked for Monkees songs to record tracks for their own solo project. .... Every original Monkees album (except for the Head soundtrack) included Boyce and Hart songs.
Other successes
While working with The Monkees, Boyce and Hart embarked on a successful career as recording artists in their own right, releasing three albums on A&M Records: Test Patterns, I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight, and It's All Happening on the Inside (released in Canada as Which One's Boyce and Which One's Hart?). The duo also had five charting singles; the most well-known of these was "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight", which reached #8 in early 1968. .... Boyce and Hart also did promos for the U.S. Army Reserve and Coca Cola. This included the creation of two Coca-Cola commercial jingles, one being a powerful psychedelic song, "Wake Up Girl", while the other was their single "Smilin'" with totally different lyrics.
....
Later years
....
After a stint living in the UK, Boyce returned to live in Memphis, Tennessee, where he taught songwriting on Beale Street, and Nashville, Tennessee, and later suffered a brain aneurysm. On November 23, 1994, Boyce committed suicide by gunshot.
According to the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, Boyce and Hart wrote more than 300 songs, and sold more than 42 million records as a partnership.
Discography
....
Singles
....
Singles notes:
"L.U.V. (Let Us Vote)" was the official campaign song for the Let Us Vote movement to lower the voting age to 18.
Sidney Thomas "Tommy" Boyce (September 29, 1939 – November 23, 1994) and Bobby Hart (born Robert Luke Harshman; February 18, 1939) were a prolific songwriting duo, best known for the songs they wrote for The Monkees.
Early years
....
Boyce met Hart in 1959, and the following year played guitar on Hart's single "Girl in the Window", which flopped, but marked the first time he used the name Bobby Hart, since his manager shortened it to fit the label.
Their partnership made a breakthrough with a song recorded by Chubby Checker, "Lazy Elsie Molly", in 1964. They went on to write hits for Jay & the Americans ( "Come a Little Bit Closer" ), Paul Revere and the Raiders ( " (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" ) and The Leaves ( "Words" ). The latter two songs provided the Monkees with hit B-sides in 1967. The duo also wrote the theme song of the daytime soap Days of Our Lives. At one point in this period, Hart also co-wrote "Hurt So Bad" for Little Anthony & the Imperials with Teddy Randazzo and his regular songwriting partner, Bobby Weinstein.
The Monkees
In late 1965, they wrote, produced and performed the soundtrack of the pilot for The Monkees, including singing lead vocals (which were later replaced, once the show was cast). In 1966, despite some conflicts with Don Kirshner, who was the show's musical supervisor, they were retained in essentially the same role. It was Boyce and Hart who wrote, produced and recorded, accompanied by their backing band, the Candy Store Prophets, backing tracks for a large portion of the first season of The Monkees, and the band's accompanying debut album.
The Monkees themselves re-recorded their vocals over Boyce and Hart's when it came time to release the songs, including both " (Theme from) The Monkees" and "Last Train to Clarksville", the latter being a huge hit. Kirshner suddenly relieved Boyce and Hart as producers, by claiming they were using studio time booked for Monkees songs to record tracks for their own solo project. .... Every original Monkees album (except for the Head soundtrack) included Boyce and Hart songs.
Other successes
While working with The Monkees, Boyce and Hart embarked on a successful career as recording artists in their own right, releasing three albums on A&M Records: Test Patterns, I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight, and It's All Happening on the Inside (released in Canada as Which One's Boyce and Which One's Hart?). The duo also had five charting singles; the most well-known of these was "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight", which reached #8 in early 1968. .... Boyce and Hart also did promos for the U.S. Army Reserve and Coca Cola. This included the creation of two Coca-Cola commercial jingles, one being a powerful psychedelic song, "Wake Up Girl", while the other was their single "Smilin'" with totally different lyrics.
....
Later years
....
After a stint living in the UK, Boyce returned to live in Memphis, Tennessee, where he taught songwriting on Beale Street, and Nashville, Tennessee, and later suffered a brain aneurysm. On November 23, 1994, Boyce committed suicide by gunshot.
According to the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, Boyce and Hart wrote more than 300 songs, and sold more than 42 million records as a partnership.
Discography
....
Singles
....
Singles notes:
"L.U.V. (Let Us Vote)" was the official campaign song for the Let Us Vote movement to lower the voting age to 18.
Edited to remove those smiling or crying faces. I'm on a slow connection, so I can't link to my usual array of YouTube videos.
This is also Yoko Ono's, Styx keyboardist Dennis DeYoung's, presidential candidate Wendell Willkie's, Hans Asperger's, and Virginia senator John Warner's birthday.
Post 'em if you got 'em.
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