Songwriter Bobby Hart, one half of the legendary duo Boyce and Hart who helped define the sound of the Monkees, has died at the age of 86.
Hart passed away at his Los Angeles home, his longtime friend and co-author Glenn Ballantyne confirmed. His health had declined after breaking his hip last year.
In the mid-1960s, Hart and his partner Tommy Boyce were among the most prolific songwriting teams in pop music. They wrote the Monkees’ instantly recognizable theme song, their first No. 1 hit “Last Train to Clarksville,” and the rock staple “I’m Not Your Steppin’ Stone.” Their work dominated the Monkees’ debut album, which sold over a million copies.
Micky Dolenz of the Monkees once credited the pair with more than just chart success: “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.”
As their fame grew, Boyce and Hart struck out on their own, releasing albums like “Test Patterns” and “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonite.” They became familiar faces on sitcoms such as “I Dream of Jeannie” and “Bewitched” and even threw their support behind Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 presidential campaign. They penned “L.U.V. (Let Us Vote)” in support of lowering the voting age, which became law in 1971.
Their songs stretched far beyond the Monkees—Dean Martin recorded “Little Lovely One,” while the Sex Pistols famously covered “I’m Not Your Steppin’ Stone.” They also wrote the theme for “Days of Our Lives,” and the Monkees’ beloved ballad “I Wanna Be Free.”
Hart’s career didn’t end with the 1960s. He contributed hits to the Partridge Family, co-wrote the Oscar-nominated ballad “Over You” from the film Tender Mercies, and later toured with Dolenz and Davy Jones. Alongside Boyce, he was featured in the 2014 documentary The Guys Who Wrote ’Em.
Born Robert Luke Harshman in Phoenix, Arizona, Hart was the son of a minister and described himself as a shy kid who longed to stand out. Music became his way forward. By high school, he was playing multiple instruments and running his own amateur radio station. After serving in the Army reserves, he moved to Los Angeles and began building a career in music, shortening his name to Bobby Hart along the way.
His songwriting partnership with Tommy Boyce began in the early 1960s, when they co-wrote “Come a Little Bit Closer” for Jay and the Americans. Their chemistry quickly drew the attention of music executive Don Kirshner, who recruited them to write for the Monkees—a made-for-TV band modeled after the Beatles. Hart once recalled how inspiration struck for the Monkees’ theme song while simply walking outside with Boyce: “We had created the perfect recipe for inspiration and started singing about just what we were doing: ‘Walkin’ down the street.’”
Hart was married twice, most recently to singer Mary Ann Hart, and had two children from his first marriage. His longtime creative partner Tommy Boyce died in 1994, but together they left behind a catalog that shaped the sound of a generation.
From the bubblegum pop of the Monkees to heartfelt ballads and even punk covers, Bobby Hart’s music continues to echo across decades.
He now is writing music for our lord.