Bobby Hart, Co-Writer of Monkees Hits, Dies at 86
by Jeff Tamarkin
Boyce and Hart in a 1960s publicity photo
Bobby Hart, who co-authored several hits for The Monkees with his co-writer Tommy Boyce, died on September 10, 2025. His death, following a long illness, was confirmed by the Monkees on the group’s Instagram page on Sept. 13. They wrote:
“Very sad news to report: Bobby Hart, the songwriting dynamo who was half of the duo responsible for so many Monkees songs, has died. With partner Tommy Boyce, Bobby penned tracks like ‘I Wanna Be Free,’ ‘Last Train to Clarksville, the iconic ‘Monkees’ theme, and so many more, in addition to his solo songwriting career with hits like ‘Hurt So Bad’ for Little Anthony & the Imperials. He will be remembered for his incredible talent and his innate spirituality.”
No place of death was cited in the post. Hart was 86.
The Monkees’ lone surviving member, Micky Dolenz, penned a tribute. “Another great is gone. 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.
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.”
Related: Micky Dolenz on the Monkees’ early days
Boyce and Hart, under their own names, also placed nine singles on the Billboard chart, including the 1967-68 Top 10 “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonite.”
Bobby Hart (Photo from the Monkees’ Instagram page)
Hart was born Robert Luke Harshman in Phoenix, Ariz., on Feb. 18, 1939. Following a stint in the Army, he relocated to Los Angeles to become a singer. He and Boyce met in 1959 and the pair recorded together, scoring their first chart single in 1962 with “Along Came Linda.” They wrote songs for Chubby Checker and others but logged their first notable hit as a songwriting team with “Come a Little Bit Closer,” for Jay and the Americans, in 1964. Their “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” was cut first by Paul Revere and the Raiders but would also become a staple of the Monkees’ repertoire. In 1965, Hart, with Teddy Randazzo, co-composed the above-noted “Hurt So Bad,” which reached #10 on the singles chart.
Later in 1965, as the team putting together the pilot for The Monkees coalesced, Boyce and Hart wrote, produced and performed what would become “(Theme From) The Monkees” and “Last Train to Clarksville.” The group members recorded their own vocals over the Boyce-Hart demos and the latter went to #1 upon its release in 1966. Other Boyce-Hart songs cut by the Monkees included “She” (on More of the Monkees), “Words” (on Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.) and “Valleri” (from The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees).
Together, Boyce and Hart appeared on the TV programs I Dream of Jeannie and The Flying Nun and wrote songs for several Columbia Pictures films.
In the mid-’70s, the songwriting/performing pair teamed up with the Monkees’ Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones in a new group appropriately titled Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart. They toured, released an album and starred in a TV special but failed to rekindle the success of the Monkees.
Hart wrote an autobiography called Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Boyce & Hart, The Monkees, and Turning Mayhem into Miracles. [It’s available in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.]
Boyce died by suicide on Nov. 23, 1994.
Related: Musician and celebrity deaths of 2025
The Monkees’ recordings are available here.
Listen to the original “(Theme From) The Monkees” demo by Boyce and Hart
2 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationI Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight?
You’re Still My Favorite Girlfriend, Alice Long
I had the single by Boyce and Hart as a kid and wondered whatever happened to the song. I found an A & M comp album that had that song and more, so I brought to the oldies station I was working for and added it to the rotation. A lot of people also liked and missed that song