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Sidney Thomas "Tommy" Boyce (September 29, 1939 – November 23, 1994) and Bobby Hart (born Robert Luke Harshman; February 18, 1939) were an American duo of singer-songwriters. In addition to three top-40 hits as artists, the duo is well known for its songwriting for
The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...
.


Early years

Hart's father was a church minister and he himself served in the
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
after leaving high school. Upon discharge, he travelled to Los Angeles seeking a career as a singer. Boyce was separately pursuing a career as a songwriter. After being rejected numerous times, Boyce took his father's suggestion to write a song called " Be My Guest" for rock and roll star
Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...
. He waited six hours at Domino's hotel room to present him with the demo, and got Domino to promise to listen to the song. The song hit No. 8 in the US and No. 11 in the UK, becoming Domino's biggest hit there in several years, and sold over a million copies. Boyce also found success as the co-writer, with Curtis Lee, of Lee's 1961 hits " Pretty Little Angel Eyes" and " Under the Moon of Love". 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 his surname from Harshman to fit the label. Their partnership made a breakthrough with a song recorded by
Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including the Twist, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters' R&B song " The Twis ...
, "Lazy Elsie Molly", in 1964. They went on to write hits for Jay & the Americans (" Come a Little Bit Closer"), Paul Revere & the Raiders (" (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone"), and
The Leaves The Leaves were an American garage rock band formed in the San Fernando Valley, California, in 1964. They are best known for their version of the song "Hey Joe", which was a hit in 1966. Theirs is the earliest release of this song, which became ...
("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 ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...
''. At one point in this period, Hart also co-wrote " Hurt So Bad" for
Little Anthony & the Imperials Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...
with
Teddy Randazzo Alessandro Carmelo "Teddy" Randazzo (May 13, 1935 – November 21, 2003) was an American pop songwriter, singer, arranger and producer, who composed hit songs such as " Goin' Out of My Head", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle", " Pretty Blue Eyes", ...
and his regular songwriting partner, Bobby Weinstein. Boyce co-wrote the song " Hello Pretty Girl", which was a minor hit for singer
Ronnie Dove Ronald Eugene Dove (born September 7, 1935) is an American pop music, pop and country music singer who had a string of hit pop records in the mid to late 1960s and several country chart records in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Ronnie Dove, th ...
, with
Wes Farrell Wesley Donald Farrell (December 21, 1939 – February 29, 1996) was an American musician, songwriter and record producer, who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s. Career Farrell was born in New York, United States. Farrell's catalogue incl ...
. Boyce also co-wrote the hit " Peaches 'N' Cream" by
the Ikettes The Ikettes, originally The Artettes, were a trio (sometimes quartet) of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their origins, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right. In the 1960s they had chart-toppe ...
.


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 Donald Kirshner (April 17, 1934 – January 17, 2011) was an American music publisher, music consultant, rock music producer, talent manager, and songwriter. Dubbed "the Man with the Golden Ear" by ''Time'', he was best known for managin ...
, 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 "Last Train to Clarksville" is a song by American rock band the Monkees. It was released as the band's debut single on August 16, 1966, and was later included on the group's self-titled album, which was released on October 10, 1966.''The Monkees ...
", 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. After their departure from the Monkees, and the negative publicity that erupted when word got out that the band had not played the instruments on their early records, Boyce and Hart were unsure how the Monkees felt about them personally. Attending one of their concerts, though, the duo was spotted in the audience, and singer Davy Jones invited them onstage to introduce them: "These are the fellows who wrote our great hits — Tommy and Bobby!" Every original Monkees album (except for the ''
Head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...
'' soundtrack and 1996's ''
Justus Justus (died on 10 November between 627 and 631) was the fourth archbishop of Canterbury. Pope Gregory the Great sent Justus from Italy to England on a mission to Christianise the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism; he probably a ...
'') 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 A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...
: ''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 No. 8 in early 1968. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a
gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
. "Out & About" (#39) and "Alice Long" (#27) were their other
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
hits. The duo also performed "I'll Blow You a Kiss in the Wind"aka "I'm Gonna Blow You a Kiss in the Wind". on the television show ''
Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typi ...
'', in one of several TV series appearances that included guest spots on ''
The Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series about a community of nuns, which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for American Broadcasting Comp ...
'' and ''
I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series created by Sidney Sheldon and starring Barbara Eden as a beautiful but guileless 2,000-year-old Jinn, genie and Larry Hagman as an astronaut with whom s ...
'' ("Jeannie the Hip Hippie" performing "Girl, I'm Out To Get You"). All of these shows were produced by
Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...
, the television subsidiary of
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
. Each of the three sitcom guest appearances featured their music, including two unreleased covers they performed on ''The Flying Nun''. Boyce and Hart had filmed video promos for their songs "Out and About" and "Alice Long". Boyce and Hart were involved in producing music for Columbia Pictures' motion pictures during the mid-late 1960s, including two
Matt Helm Matt Helm is a fictional character created by American author Donald Hamilton (1916–2006). Helm is a U.S. government counter-agent, a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of ...
movies ('' The Ambushers'' and ''
Murderers' Row Murderers' Row were the baseball teams of the New York Yankees in the late 1920s, widely considered some of the best teams in history. The nickname is particularly used for the first six hitters in the 1927 team lineup: Earle Combs, Mark Koen ...
''), ''Winter A-Go-Go'' and ''Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows''. They also provided the music score for a TV movie called ''Three's a Crowd'' starring
Larry Hagman Larry Martin Hagman (September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012) was an American actor, best known for playing ruthless oil baron J. R. Ewing in the 1978–1991 primetime television soap opera ''Dallas'', and the handsome astronaut Major Anthon ...
and Jessica Walter. Boyce and Hart 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. In 1971 a sitcom named ''
Getting Together ''Getting Together'' is an American musical sitcom that aired on ABC during the 1971–72 U.S. television season. It starred Bobby Sherman and Wes Stern as Bobby Conway and Lionel Poindexter, a songwriting duo. The pilot for the series had air ...
'' appeared on ABC-TV, starring
Bobby Sherman Robert Cabot Sherman Jr. (born July 22, 1943) is an American singer and actor who was a teen idol in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He had a series of successful singles, notably the million-seller " Little Woman" (1969). Sherman left show bus ...
and Wes Stern as two struggling songwriters, who were friends of
The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom created by Bernard Slade, which was broadcast in the United States from September 1970 to March 1974 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. After the final first-run telecast on ABC in March ...
(and were introduced on their show in the last episode of the show's first season). The series was reportedly based loosely on Boyce and Hart's partnership. At this point, they decided to work on various solo projects. Hart co-wrote the 1974
Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a show business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on ra ...
hit " Keep On Singing" with Danny Janssen.


Dolenz, Jones, Boyce, and Hart

In the mid-1970s, Boyce and Hart reunited with Davy Jones and
Micky Dolenz George Michael Dolenz Jr. ( ; born March 8, 1945) is an American musician and actor. He was the drummer and one of two primary vocalists for the pop rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and reunions until 2021), and a co-star of the TV series ''T ...
, performing the songs Boyce and Hart had written for The Monkees a decade before. Legally prohibited from using the Monkees name, they called themselves Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart. The group toured amusement parks and other venues throughout
America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, Japan and other locations from July 4, 1975, to early 1977, also becoming the first American band to play in
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. Signed to
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
by Al Coury, the group released an album of new material in 1976. (A live album was also recorded in Japan, but was not released in the United States until the mid-1990s.) The tours coincided with the syndication of ''The Monkees'' TV series, and helped boost sales of Arista's '' The Monkees Greatest Hits''. Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart also starred in their own TV special called ''The Great Golden Hits of the Monkees Show'', which appeared in syndication. It featured a medley of other Boyce and Hart songs, as well as the songs they had produced for the Monkees. It did not include any songs from their new album.


Later years

Boyce released an album under the pseudonym Christopher Cloud in 1973. He produced several hit records for the UK rock n roll revival group
Darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...
including, " Daddy Cool/
The Girl Can't Help It ''The Girl Can't Help It'' is a 1956 American musical comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield in the lead role, Tom Ewell, Edmond O'Brien, Henry Jones, and Julie London. The picture was produced and directed by Frank Tashlin, with a screenpla ...
", " Come Back My Love" and "It's Raining". In 1979, he formed his own band, called The Tommy Band, and toured the UK as support for Andrew Matheson (ex- Hollywood Brats). The tour was largely ignored by the public, especially in
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
where reportedly just one person paid to watch the show. Boyce and Hart reunited during the 1980s resurgence of the Monkees, and performed live. During that same year, ''The First Bobby Hart Solo Album'' was released in Europe on
WEA The Wea were a Miami–Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as being either closely related to the Miami tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of th ...
. The group included: Bobby Hart on keyboard and vocals, Victor Vanacore on keyboards,
Larry Taylor Samuel Lawrence Taylor (June 26, 1942 – August 19, 2019) was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of the blues rock band Canned Heat. Before joining Canned Heat, he had been a session musician, session bassist for T ...
on bass, Vince Megna on guitar, John Hoke on drums, and "Blue Jay" Patton on saxophone. Five years later, in 1983, Hart was nominated for an
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
for his song "Over You", written for the film '' Tender Mercies''. After a stint living in the UK, Boyce returned to live in Memphis, where he taught songwriting on
Beale Street Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, ...
, and
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
. But he struggled with depression, and later had a brain
aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...
. On November 23, 1994, he died by suicide by
gunshot A gunshot is a single discharge of a gun, typically a man-portable firearm, producing a visible flash, a powerful and loud shockwave and often chemical gunshot residue. The term can also refer to a ballistic wound caused by such a discharge ...
. He was 55 years old. 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


Albums

* ''Test Patterns'' (A&M LP 126 (Mono)/SP 4126 (Stereo), 1967, US 200) * ''I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite?'' (A&M LP 143/SP 4143, 1968, US 109) * ''It's All Happening On The Inside''* (A&M SP 4162, 1968) * '' Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart'' (Capitol ST-11513, 1976) * ''Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart – Live in Japan'' (Capitol/Toshiba-EMI ECS-91018, 1981) * ''16 Rarities'' (SG Records, 1981 – This is a bootleg of B-sides and oddities) * ''The Anthology'' (A&M Records Australia/Polygram 525 193–2, 1995) Album Notes * ''It's All Happening on the Inside'' was released in Canada as ''Which One's Boyce & Which One's Hart?'' (A&M Records SP 4162)


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. * "P.O. Box 9847" and "I Wanna Be Free" were originally released by The Monkees. * "You and I" (DJB&H) was later re-recorded and released in 1996 by The Monkees. * "I'll Blow You A Kiss In The Wind" was featured on the ''Bewitched'' episode "Serena Stops the Show", aired on February 19, 1970, on which Boyce and Hart appeared as themselves. The episode also features
Elizabeth Montgomery Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1933 – May 18, 1995) was an American actress whose career spanned five decades in film, stage, and television. She portrayed the good witch List of Bewitched characters#Samantha Stephens, Samantha Step ...
's performance (as Serena) of the song. * "The Ambushers" and "Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows" are Columbia Pictures movie theme titles. Tommy Boyce Singles: * ''Along Came Linda'' (1962, US 118) * ''I'll Remember Carol'' (1962, US 80) * ''Have You Had A Change of Heart'' (1962, US MV 146) * ''Sunday, the Day Before Monday'' (1966, US 132) Bobby Hart Singles: * ''Lovers for the Night'' (1980, US 110)


Notes


References


External links


Forgotten Hits feature on Boyce and Hart
* AMG
Interview with Bobby Hart discussing his career and partnership with Tommy Boyce
{{Commons category American songwriting teams The Monkees A&M Records artists RCA Victor artists MGM Records artists Era Records artists American rock music duos Musicians from Charlottesville, Virginia Songwriters from Virginia American male musical duos