Bobby Hart, the songwriter behind some of the Monkees’ most iconic hits, has passed away. He was 86 years old.
The official Monkeys account has confirmed the news on social media. “I miss you so much, Bobby.”
Alongside Tommy Boyce, Hart was half of the songwriting duovoice and Hart. The pair wrote tracks that would be synonymous with the Monkeys’ sounds like “The Last Train to Clarksville,” “I’m Not You). As a solo songwriter, Hart wrote hits like Little Anthony & Imperials’ “Hurts So Bad.”
Hart has been in poor health since breaking his hips last year and died at his home in Los Angeles, the Associated Press reported.
Monkeys fanbase lament Bobby Hart
Mickey Drentz, the last surviving member of the Monkeys, posted another tribute to his personal account: “One more great thing is gone,” he wrote.
“Bobby Hart, who wrote and produced some of the Monkees’ biggest hits alongside Tommy Boyce, made a significant contribution to Monkees’ general success, and more importantly, it’s even more important to the essence of the venture as a whole,” writes Dorenz. “His talent, charisma, good humor and calmness were sometimes nothing more than a maniacal roller coaster ride, often bringing a sense of peace that embraced everyone around him. He was the tranquility of a hurricane eye.”
Outside of Monkees, Boyce and Hart succeeded in recording the artist himself. Between 1967 and 1969, they released three albums, “Test Pattern,” and “What is She Doing?” And “It’s all happening inside.” In 1976, they reunited with Monkees bandmates Davy Jones and Dorenz, and were reunited for the album “Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart.”
Voice and Hart were the subject of “The Guys Who Whing ‘Em,” a 2014 documentary on Voice and Hart’s musical and political contributions — they wrote the 1969 song “Luv (Let Us Vote),” which became the official campaign song for the movement that allowed 18-year-olds to vote.
