Episode #16! Exclusive Bobby Hart Interview! Monkees Songwriter! Rare Boyce & Hart Monkees Covers!

Over the years, I've heard different reports regarding the "dance remix" of "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere." I've been told it exists, but I've also heard it doesn't. Appearing first on the platinum-selling Then & Now...The Best of The Monkees in 1986, the song has never been performed live in concert. It was, however, resurrected for last year's The Monkees 50 compilation.

Take note of the session credits. Michael Lloyd worked previously with Micky Dolenz in the early 1970s under the Starship banner, and also produced The Monkees' 1986 Top 20 hit, "That Was Then, This Is Now." Laurence Juber was a member of Wings from 1978-1981, and Paul Leim played drums for Michael Nesmith on his 1979 LP Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma, and toured with Nez as recently as 2013. 

Here's a photo that was posted yesterday on Davy's official Facebook page, one that I had never seen before! And don't forget to check out the Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart entry here at the Live Almanac which was recently updated with new quotes, information, and tour dates, courtesy of Andrew Sandoval and The Monkees' 50th Anniversary Tour program!

A live recording of a Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart show, Concert in Japan (recorded on July 20, 1976 at Yubin Chokin Hall in Tokyo, Japan), was released as a vinyl LP set in Japan in 1981. At the time, the live album was never given a formal release in the United States or elsewhere. A big thanks to Ben Belmares for sharing his photos of the original Japanese LP: 

The Monkees' debut single, "Last Train to Clarksville," written and produced by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 5, 1966.

This ad for the single appeared in the September 3, 1966 issue of Billboard (courtesy of Monkee45s.net):

Here's video footage of all four Monkees performing "Last Train to Clarksville" live at Wembley in London, England in March 1997:

The single's B-side was the stellar Gerry Goffin & Carole King track "Take a Giant Step":

The Monkees' debut single, "Last Train to Clarksville," was first recorded on this day in 1966 at RCA Victor Studio B in Hollywood. Written and produced by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart and released by Colgems on August 16 (backed with Gerry Goffin and Carole King's "Take a Giant Step"), the song debuted on the Billboard charts on September 3 at #101. By November 5, The Monkees had scored their first #1 single, knocking off "96 Tears" by Question Mark & The Mysterians. The Recording Industry Association of America awarded "Last Train to Clarksville" (and The Monkees' debut album) a gold record on October 27.

​Thanks to JD McCutcheon of Monkee45s for sharing this with the Live Almanac!

Click the image below to listen!

The Good Times! listening party happening today at Amoeba Records Hollywood at 5pm PT will stream live from the official Monkees Facebook page at 8pm ET.

UPDATE 8:40pm EST: The live stream is now over, but you can watch the taped replay below:

Cookies from the Amoeba event!

Both Bobby Hart and Rhino's John Hughes (executive producer of Good Times!) were in attendance:

More cookies!

A big thanks to Tim Powers of Deep Dish Radio, a longtime supporter of The Monkees Live Almanac, who submitted an interview that he recently conducted with Bobby Hart. Here is Tim's description of the conversation:

Original Monkees tunesmith and producer Bobby Hart is contributing to the upcoming Monkees album, Good Times!, and the latest track to be recorded is another Andy Partridge contribution, "Love's What I Want," produced by Monkees archivist Andrew Sandoval, who also contributed guitar! And check out the guest musicians mentioned by Andrew!

MTV played a pivotal role in the rebirth of The Monkees in 1986, just in time for the group's 20th Anniversary. On February 23 of that year, MTV aired a weekend marathon of The Monkees television series. The reaction was overwhelming and it helped to create a second wave of Monkeemania just as the group was set to reunite. After the initial success of the "Pleasant Valley Sunday" marathon in February, MTV started to air the series twice a day, seven days a week. By April, the show was being screened three times a day.

Throughout this period, MTV also produced a series of weekday segments called "I Was a Teenage Monkee." The clips lasted about two minutes each and featured interviews with Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, Jim Frawley, Tommy Boyce, Bob Rafelson, Monte Landis, and more. After Micky and Peter acted as guest VJs on May 3 and 4, 1986, a one-hour special aired (hosted by original VJ Alan Hunter) that collected the previous segments.

1986 was an incredible year for Monkees fans with the record breaking 20th Anniversary Reunion Tour featuring Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, and Peter Tork, fueled by a major promotion by MTV and the single "That Was Then, This Is Now," and topped off by Michael Nesmith appearing with the group at the Greek Theatre and in that year's MTV Christmas video. For many fans that had discovered The Monkees through MTV or oldies radio, and the original fans that followed the group from the beginning, it was a momentous time. But for some fans like me, the 1986 reunion on a grander scale felt like déjà vu, going back to the years 1975 to 1977 when the "first" Monkees reunion took place.

Things didn't look so rosy after 1970 for Monkees fans, with both Peter Tork and later Michael Nesmith quitting the group, leaving Micky and Davy to carry on as The Monkees with a contractually obligated final album, Changes, which never charted during its original release. A very brief promotional tour that included a video for the single "Oh My My" (which barely made a chart dent), and a final single, "Do It In The Name Of Love/Lady Jane," wrapped up all things Monkees as Micky and Davy called it a day. Michael Nesmith and Davy Jones were the two most visible Monkees during the immediate post-Monkees period. Davy made the rounds on TV shows like The Brady Bunch and released an album and some singles through Bell Records. Nesmith found some solo success with the First National Band and the singles "Joanne" and "Silver Moon," along with some critically acclaimed albums. Micky Dolenz returned to acting, appearing in films like Night Of The Strangler and Keep Off My Grass and recording some singles for MGM, which never charted. Peter Tork largely fell off the radar, briefly working with his post-Monkees band Release. In the meantime, The Monkees TV series was given a new lease on life with Saturday morning reruns. By the time the Saturday reruns ended in 1972, The Monkees were pretty much considered a spent force.

Or so it appeared. While there was little news on The Monkees' activities being covered in the teen magazines that used to feature them prominently on their front covers, active Monkees fan clubs did their best to keep a small but still loyal fan base up to date. One bit of news that alerted fans was a report that Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones appeared together at a celebrity tennis match in Japan in which thousands of fans flocked to see them in person. Micky and Davy were so thrilled and overwhelmed by the reaction that they both concluded that there was still some life in The Monkees. 

On their return to the United States they held a meeting at Micky’s house with Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork about the possibility of a Monkees reunion. Nesmith, who was still very busy with his solo career, declined to participate, as did Tork. Micky and Davy proceeded with Plan B and contacted the songwriting team of Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart (who were responsible for a plethora of Monkees hits, including "Last Train to Clarksville," "Steppin' Stone," and "Valleri") about conducting a joint tour as The Guys Who Wrote 'Em and The Guys Who Sang 'Em.  Tommy and Bobby were the perfect choice since they produced the earliest Monkees recording sessions and were instrumental in developing the group's sound. For legal reasons they couldn't call themselves "The Monkees" so they decided to go the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young route and named their new group Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart. A band was formed with ex-Raider Keith Allison on lead guitar, who also acted as musical director. In 1975, their debut concert at Six Flags Old Glory Amphitheater drew an excited crowd of 20,000 fans. Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart toured, playing to enthusiastic crowds that consisted of not only original fans from the 1960s but also newer fans who had discovered them through the syndicated reruns of The Monkees television show. On top of that, Arista Records, which had inherited The Monkees' recordings from Colgems and later Bell Records, had reissued the 1972 Bell Re-Focus album as The Monkees Greatest Hits in 1976. As the original Monkees albums were long discontinued, this album helped to introduce many newer fans to The Monkees' music. (The Monkees Greatest Hits became a best-seller, certified gold in 1986 and platinum in 1991, and remained available through the 1990s with cassette and compact disc editions also appearing.)

Thanks to the success of their live concerts, Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart were able to negotiate a contract with Capitol Records and recorded a new single called "I Remember The Feeling" (written by Boyce & Hart), backed with the Dolenz & Jones composition "You and I" (their first collaboration together). Though it received little airplay the single did help to spark excitement in the group, who soon recorded a full album that was released to coincide with the 1976 leg of their tour. 

"The Riverboat Club had a General Admission policy and my sister Cookie was definitely determined that we get a good seat. On the day of the show we left extra early so we could get to the Riverboat Club before everyone else. When we arrived there were just a couple of fans on line so we quickly got into place behind them and waited. Soon, more fans arrived and lined up behind us. It wasn't too long before the line started to wrap around the block. In order to alleviate some of the street congestion the line was causing, the Riverboat management allowed some of us to move up into the club. We lined up at the top of the winding staircase that you had to walk down to get to the stage area which was below street level. My sister Cookie made sure that she was one of the first in line, and she turned to me and said 'You stay close, I’ll make sure we get good seats!' With Cookie's determination, I wasn’t going to argue!"

"It was getting closer to show time and there was quite a long line snaking out the Riverboat door into the street at the foot of the Empire State Building. The management allowed those towards the front of the line to go down to the bottom of the staircase where a velvet rope kept us in place. Finally, a gentleman came forward and started to remove the rope and told us not to rush for the seats that were waiting for us at the front of the stage. As soon as the rope was removed, my sister and I along with some of the fans who were waiting with us made a dash for the seats. It was in the rush that Cookie fell, twisting her ankle. I suddenly had a tough choice to make, continue to the front seats or help my sister. I struggled with that decision for just a few seconds, but then I opted for the latter, Cookie would clobber me otherwise! I reached down, took her hand and lifted her up off the floor and assisted her as she hobbled towards the stage. We didn’t get the front row like we wanted, but we did get seats in the second row, which were just as good. My sister sat in her seat, and kept shifting her foot to ease the pain a little, and although we were both a little disappointed we didn't get the front row, we were happy that we at least got as close to the stage as we could."

Seeing Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones in concert for the first time, performing alongside Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart with Keith Allison, was an incredible experience for me as a Monkees fan. After the Riverboat show Micky signed my "Oh My My" picture sleeve.

The highlight of the 1976 tour took place on July 4th at Disneyland in California when Peter Tork joined Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart onstage, playing bass guitar on "Last Train to Clarksville" and (Theme from) The Monkees." 

After Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart disbanded, Micky and Davy toured together in 1977 along with Micky’s sister, Coco, backed by the Laughing Dogs. Peter eventually joined Micky, Davy, and Coco in Hollywood for an acoustic set that included the Dolenz and Jones composition "You and I." Davy Jones even commented during this moment that "We need Mike Nesmith up here," to the full agreement of the cheering fans in attendance. After the duo's 1977 tour ended, Micky and Davy traveled to England to perform in the stage version of Harry Nilsson's The Point before once again going their separate ways. Micky stayed in England to begin a new career as a television director and Davy dabbled in theater. ​

The parallels between the 1975-77 DJB&H/Micky & Davy tours with the 1986 Monkees 20th Anniversary Tour are quite interesting. In both cases, the reruns of the TV series and advance fan anticipation were major factors. Fans were well-informed about the reunion tours through fan magazines like Monkee Business and The Purple Flower Gang. MTV's airing of The Monkees series in 1986 helped to steep the fan's interest and introduce a brand new generation to the group. To add to the growing excitement Micky and Peter recorded several new tracks to be included on a new compilation entitled Then & Now...The Best of The Monkees. The first single, "That Was Then, This Is Now," received extensive radio airplay and the video was placed in heavy rotation on MTV, allowing the song to hit the Top 20, the first time The Monkees made the upper echelons of the singles charts since the 1960s. Numerous dates on the tour instantly sold out to the surprise of many in the entertainment industry who had written off The Monkees as "old news."  The Monkees' reunion became the hottest tour of 1986.

The efforts of songwriters/producers Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart played a critical role in defining the sound of The Monkees. From the first beats of "(Theme From) The Monkees," their mark would forever be on the project. In addition to the theme song, the series pilot featured Davy Jones taking lead on the classic "I Wanna Be Free," while "Let's Dance On" featured Micky Dolenz, and both numbers were included on The Monkees' debut album. It was a California sound, appropriately reflecting on the characters of four young musicians living in a beach house. 

The story behind the early Monkees music, however, was much more complicated. Musical supervisor Don Kirshner had attempted to lure a big name producer to helm the project, and had successfully recruited Snuff Garrett into the studio, which by all accounts, was a disaster. Sessions with Carole King also flamed out, and with a full television season on the horizon, options were growing slim.

Fifty years after the fact, the complications are revealed to be enormous. Andrew Sandoval, archivist, historian, and manager of The Monkees, spoke with Michael Nesmith in an interview for Rhino’s Handmade Edition re-issue of the debut album, The Monkees. "They asked if I would do some things. I said, 'Well, I can do some things, but if I was going to put together a rock 'n' roll band, I don’t know that I would put together a band with David, Micky, and Peter. You know, these are good guys to work with, but we all have very different musical tastes and sensibilities. I'm not that prolific or prodigious.' [They said] ‘Well maybe Tommy and Bobby and you can do it.'"

Time was running short, and by the beginning of July 1966, Boyce & Hart were in charge. Along with Jack Keller, the duo cranked out an enormous amount of material in a short time. Meanwhile, Nesmith produced additional Monkees tracks at a studio nearby. Between them, the entire debut album was recorded in that month's time frame.

Boyce and Hart’s "Last Train to Clarksville" became the choice for the first single. Its power propelled it up the charts in advance of the show, but once the series hit the air on NBC in September of 1966, its success skyrocketed. "Last Train to Clarksville" would eventually hit number one in November, knocking "96 Tears" by Question Mark and the Mysterians off the top.

The album proved to be even more of a triumph. The Monkees reached number one on Billboard's Top LPs chart, staying entrenched for a remarkable thirteen weeks, at the time a record for any debut.

August 23, 1966 was exactly one week after the release of "Last Train to Clarksville" as a single. The Monkees themselves were on a television sound stage shooting the season one episode, "Monkees at the Movies." Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart entered RCA Studio B that evening, working from 7pm until the wee hours of the morning on two novelty songs, "Kicking Stones" and "Ladies Aid Society."  Following the well-liked "Gonna Buy Me a Dog" on The Monkees, one could see the appeal of more humor on the next disc. However, trying to reconcile that either of these songs would fit on the second album seems practically unimaginable. 

"'Kicking Stones' was originally just a poem by Boyce & Hart's buddy and sometimes hairdresser Lynne Castle," wrote Andrew Sandoval in his book The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story of the '60s TV Pop Sensation. "The team's regular studio guitarist Wayne Erwin then set her words to music - and out came a fairytale-like creation." Andrew Hickey, author of Monkee Music, an in-depth look at every song The Monkees released, offers a critical assessment of "Kicking Stones."  "To be fair to Boyce & Hart, they were producing a lot of material at this time," Hickey opines. "But there was clearly no way tracks like this could have ever been considered remotely releasable, and they must have known it." In his book Sandoval quotes a memo written by Bert Schneider, one half of Raybert Productions with Bob Rafelson that created The Monkees television series, who complains that both "Kicking Stones" and "Ladies Aid Society" were "of dubious value." 

Mistakenly listed as "Teeny Tiny Gnome," "Kicking Stones" was eventually released in 1987 on the first edition of Rhino's Missing Links series of Monkees rarities. It can also be found on Rhino's deluxe edition of More of The Monkees.

"Ladies Aid Society," complete with off-key falsetto lyrics, pretends to be a protest song of sorts, with the sound of a brass band and would-be elderly women. The Monkees did choose to include the track on 1969's The Monkees Present.

Ironically, in the days just before and after these disasters, three Boyce & Hart classics would be laid to tape: "She," "Words," and "Valleri." Each would be featured prominently during the first season of The Monkees' television series. "She" eventually opened More of the Monkees. Although viewers would become familiar with the others, their releases would be significantly delayed. "Words," re-recorded under producer Chip Douglas and featuring a Monkees backing track, was chosen as the B-side to "Pleasant Valley Sunday" nearly one year later, and would climb to #11 on the charts. "Valleri" was also revamped and issued as a single in 1968, the band's last Top Ten hit. 

Viewers of the TV show were also introduced to "I'll Be Back Up on My Feet." Composed by Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, it was nowhere to be found on More of the Monkees, but was ultimately re-recorded for the band's fifth album, The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees. The song was brought out of mothballs by Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork, showing up frequently on set lists during a series of concerts conducted by the duo in 2015.

Barry's productions included both "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)" and "Sometime in the Morning," while Sedaka and Bayer were at the helm for "When Love Comes Knockin' (At Your Door)." All were fast tracked to the new album. The novelty song "Your Auntie Grizelda," featuring Peter Tork on vocals, "Laugh," and the sappy spoken word "The Day We Fall in Love," were soon added to the mix, and ultimately, the LP. Boyce & Hart's take on "Hold On Girl" (heard below) would later be substituted for a version produced by Barry and Jack Keller. Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, who produced ten songs on the debut album, were left with two on the follow-up, the same number as Michael Nesmith. The Don Kirshner takeover was complete. 

More of the Monkees, as released on January 9, 1967, held the top spot on Billboard's album chart for an incredible eighteen weeks. The LP has been certified platinum five times over by the RIAA, a success that would never again be matched by the group. "I'm a Believer" would remain at #1 for seven weeks, the band's top selling single. For all its perceived weaknesses in its released form, it arguably furthered the Monkees project to dizzying levels of success.

But it still begs the question, what would a Boyce & Hart-produced second album have sounded like? We can take a pretty good guess.

The Monkees' second single, Neil Diamond's "I'm a Believer," would be a given, as would the flip side, Boyce & Hart's ​"(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone," which peaked at #20 on the Billboard singles chart in its own right.

Sandoval’s book revealed an interview with Tommy Boyce, who spoke highly of "Tear Drop City," "Through the Looking Glass," and "Don’t Listen to Linda." "I always liked that song ['Through the Looking Glass']," Boyce told Andrew Sandoval. "I knew it was a fabulous song and we always thought it should have been a single, but it never was, of course. I think it was an imaginary song we wrote about a couple of girls we knew. Sort of like an Alice in Wonderland type of thing: you walk through the mirror, 'Through the Looking Glass'...and go through this glass into a different world." One can presume, had Boyce & Hart still been in charge, that these already completed songs would have found a place on More of the Monkees. Instead, they were shelved for roughly two and a half years, before finally being released on Instant Replay, the band's seventh album.

Michael Nesmith, who received two slots on both The Monkees and More of the Monkees, had several tracks to choose from for the LP. "Mary, Mary" and "The Kind of Girl I Could Love" were the ultimate choices, but "You Just May Be The One" (first recorded version) was featured several times on the television show, and could have been chosen just as easily. "Of You," written by John and Bill Chadwick, had also been tracked by this point. "All The King's Horses" and "I Don't Think You Know Me" were other options.  

Considering both Boyce & Hart as well as Kirshner's team took a crack at "Hold On Girl," it stands to reason this song would also be given heavy consideration.

Here's my educated guess - the track listing for the unreleased Boyce & Hart-produced
​More of the Monkees album:

This event will also include a mini-concert on Saturday evening, April 23. The Live Almanac will post more information as it becomes available...