Bobby Hart, the songwriter behind some of the Monkees’ most iconic hits, has died. He was 86.
The Monkees’ official account confirmed the news on social media: “He will be remembered for his incredible talent and his innate spirituality,” the band wrote. “You will be so missed, Bobby.”
Alongside Tommy Boyce, Hart was one half of the songwriting duo Boyce and Hart. The pair penned tracks that would become synonymous with the Monkees’ sound, like “Last Train to Clarksville,” “(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone,” and the theme song for the made-for-television group with its trademark jingle “Hey, hey, we’re the Monkees.” As a solo songwriter, Hart wrote hits like “Hurts So Bad” by Little Anthony & The Imperials.
Hart had been in poor health since breaking his hip last year, and died at his home in Los Angeles, the Associated Press reported.
Monkees fanbase mourns Bobby Hart
Micky Dolenz, the last surviving member of the Monkees, posted another tribute on his personal account: “Another great is gone,” he wrote.
“Bobby Hart, who along with Tommy Boyce, penned and produced some of The Monkees’ greatest hits not only made a vital contribution to the popular success of The Monkees, but even more importantly to the essence, the very spirit of the entire venture,” Dolenz wrote. “His talent, charisma, good humor and calmness in the face of what at times was nothing less than a maniacal roller coaster ride often brought a sense of peace that heartened everyone around him. He was the stillness that is the eye of the hurricane.”
Outside of the Monkees, Boyce and Hart had a successful career as recording artists themselves. Between 1967 and 1969, they released three albums: “Test Patterns,” “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonite?” and “It’s All Happening On The Inside.” In 1976, they reunited with Monkees’ bandmates Davy Jones and Dolenz for the album “Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart.”
Boyce and Hart were the subject of “The Guys Who Wrote ‘Em,” a 2014 documentary about Boyce and Hart’s musical and political contributions − they wrote the 1969 song “L.U.V. (Let Us Vote)” and became the official campaign song of the movement to let 18-year-olds vote.