Bobby Hart was born Robert Luke Harshman on February 18, 2025, in Phoenix. After graduating from high school, Bobby Hart served in the United States Army. After his service, he went to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a singer. It was in 1959 that he met and became friends with Tommy Boyce. Robert Harshman would take the name "Bobby Hart" at the insistence of a manager when he attempted a career as a solo artist. His singles "Girl in the Window," "The Spider and the Fly," "Love Sick Blues," and "Too Many Teardrops" all failed to chart.
While Bobby Hart's solo career was not a success, he would find success with Tommy Boyce as the songwriting team Boyce and Hart. Their song "Lazy Elsie Molly" proved to be their breakthrough. It was recorded by Chubby Checker and went to no. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. With Teddy Randazzo and his regular songwriting partner Bobby Weinstein, Bobby Hart co-wrote the song "Hurt So Bad" for Little Anthony & The Imperials. With Wes Farrell, Boyce and Hart wrote the hit "Come a Little Bit Closer" for Jay & the Americans, which peaked at no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. With this success, Boyce and Hart were asked to join Screen Gems-Columbia Music. Among their first assignments was to write the theme for the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives.
Boyce and Hart went on to write "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone," which was recorded by Paul Revere & The Raiders, and "Words" for The Leaves. It was in 1966 that The Monkees, a sitcom about a struggling rock group, began production. Boyce and Hart were approached about writing songs for the series. It was ultimately Boyce and Hart who wrote many of The Monkees' early songs, including their first hit, "Last Train to Clarksville," which went to no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. They also wrote the theme to the TV series, as well as six of the twelve songs on The Monkees' self-titled, debut album.
It was while Boyce and Hart were writing for The Monkees that they launched their own career as recording artists. Their first album Test Patterns, was released in 1967. Their first single, "Out and About," was released the same year. They followed "Out and About" with seven more singles. Their single "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" went to no. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Alice Long (You're Still My Favorite Girlfriend)" went to no. 27. They also released two more albums. Boyce & Hart also guest-starred on the Screen Gems sitcoms I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, and The Flying Nun. They also appeared in the movie Where Angels Go Trouble Follows (1968).
With the start of the Seventies, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart decided to pursue their own solo projects. Bobby Hart released the singles "Easy Evil" and "Hard Core Man" in the early to mid-Seventies. He also co-wrote the song "Keep On Singing" with Danny Janssen for Helen Reddy. In the mid-Seventies, Boyce & Hart teamed up with Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones to form Dolenz, Jones, Boyce, & Hart. The group toured extensively and released two albums Their self-titled debut album, released in 1976, included several original songs. Their live album, Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart – Live in Japan, was released in 1981 and featured both Monkees songs and Boyce & Hart songs.
In 1979 Bobby Hart's only solo album, The First Bobby Hart Solo Album, was released. The single "I'm On Fire," released the same year, was from the album. Two non-album singles, "The Loneliest Night" and "Lovers For the Night" were released in the late Seventies. Bobby Hart continued to write songs in ht Eighties. He wrote the song "Over You" with Austin Roberts for the movie Tender Mercies. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Song. With Dick Eastman, he wrote songs for NewEdition and the song "Dominoes" for Robbie Nevil. "Dominoes" went to no. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. With the resurgence of The Monkees' popularity in the Eighties, Boyce & Hart reunited for some live performances.
In 2015 his autobiography, Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Boyce & Hart, the Monkees, and Turning Mayhem Into Miracles, was published. It was followed in 2024 by his book Yoga and Your Hidden Soul Power: A New Path to Love, Happiness, and Abundance Using Yoga’s Ancient Niyama Wisdom."
As long-time readers of this blog know, I have been a huge fan of The Monkees since childhood. Furthermore, many of my favourite songs by The Monkees were written by Boyce & Hart. "(Theme From) The Monkees," "Last Train to Clarksville," "She," and "Valleri" all rank in my top ten favourite Monkees tracks. Of course, I was also a huge fan of Boyce & Hart as performers on their own, and I always thought they should have seen more success. I love "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight," "Alice Long (You're Still My Favorite Girlfriend),/" and "I'm Gonna Blow You a Kiss in the Wind" as much as my favourite Monkees songs.
Of course, Bobby Hart wrote more than songs for The Monkees and Boyce & Hart. Boyce & Hart's theme for Days of Our Lives is still in use to this day. "Come a Little Bit Closer" by Jay and the Americans, "Hurt So Bad" by Little Anthony & the Imperials, and "The La La Song" by The Astronauts are all very listenable songs. Bobby Hart, particularly with Tommy Boyce, had a talent for writing hook-laden songs that one could listen to over and over.
