"Boyce and Hart were a prolific and successful duo in the mid-1960s, especially for the Monkees, the made-for-television group promoted by Don Kirshner. They wrote the Monkees' theme song, with its opening shot, Here we come, walkin' down the street, and enduring chant, Hey, hey, we're the Monkees, and their first No. 1 hit, Last Train to Clarksville. The Monkees' eponymous, million-selling debut album included six songs from Boyce and Hart, who also served as producers and used their own backing musicians, the Candy Store Prophets, as session players."
"As Boyce and Hart grew in fame and the Monkees took more control of their work, they pursued their own careers, releasing the albums Test Patterns and I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite and appearing on such sitcoms as I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched. They also were politically active. They campaigned for Robert F. Kennedy when he ran for president in 1968 and wrote the brassy L.U.V. (Let Us Vote) in support of the 26th Amendment, which in 1971 lowered the voting age from 21 to 18."
"I always credit them not only with writing many of our biggest hits, but, as producers, being instrumental in creating the unique Monkee sound we all know and love, the Monkees' Micky Dolenz wrote in a foreword to Hart's memoir, Psychedelic Bubblegum, published in 2015."
Bobby Hart died at his Los Angeles home at age 86 after poor health following a hip fracture. He partnered with Tommy Boyce to write major Monkees songs including the theme, Last Train to Clarksville, and I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone. Boyce and Hart produced much of the Monkees' early sound, contributing six songs to the million-selling debut and employing the Candy Store Prophets as session musicians. They released their own albums, appeared on television sitcoms, campaigned for Robert F. Kennedy, and wrote L.U.V. to support lowering the voting age. Their songs were covered by artists from Dean Martin to the Sex Pistols.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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