Bobby Hart

 played himself in the sixth season episode, Serena Stops the Show (1970).

Biography
Bobby Hart was one-half of the prolific '1960s songwriting duo Boyce and Hart, best known for their heavy involvement with The Monkees' early records. He was born as Robert Luke Harshman on February 18, 1939, in Phoenix, Arizona. After a stint in the Army after high school, he went to Los Angeles to try and make it as a singer; when he failed to pique anyone's interest, he moved into songwriting.

In 1959, Hart met Tommy Boyce who was already on his way to being a successful songwriter. Hart had placed an original composition, "Dr. Heartache," with Tommy Sands.

Their partnership had its first success with "Lazy Elsie Molly," recorded by Chubby Checker in 1964; that same year, Jay & The Americans took "Come a Little Bit Closer" into the Top Five, giving the duo a breakout success.

Hart broke away from Boyce briefly to co-write Little Anthony & the Imperials' 1965 smash "Hurt So Bad" with Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Whiting, but the two then signed an exclusive deal with the Screen Gems publishing firm together, and returned to Los Angeles. Early efforts like "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" and "Words" were recorded by Paul Revere & The Raiders and the Leaves, respectively, but the duo initially found it difficult to duplicate its hitmaking success; they did, however, team up with Charles Albertine to write the theme song for the long-running television soap opera "Days of Our Lives".

In 1966, Hart and Boyce were tapped to write songs for the Monkees television series. The duo managed to place quite a few compositions with the group (they were even originally considered for membership).

Their "Last Train to Clarksville" became the Monkees' first hit, going all the way to number one later in 1966. In addition to the show's classic theme song, Boyce & Hart songs in the Monkees' repertoire included "I Wanna Be Free," "She," "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone," "Words" (these latter two both hits the second time around), and "Valleri."

While working with The Monkees, Boyce and Hart embarked on a successful career as recording artists in their own right, releasing three albums on A&M Records: "Test Patterns", "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight", and "It's All Happening on the Inside" (released in Canada as" Which One's Boyce and Which One's Hart"?). The duo also had five charting singles; the most well-known of these was "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight", which reached #8 in early 1968. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc."Out and About" (#39) and "Alice Long" (#27) were their other Top 40 hits.

In 1975, he and Boyce reunited with their supporters in the Monkees, Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones, for an international tour as Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart (billed as "The Guys Who Sang 'Em and the Guys Who Wrote 'Em").

Hart worked on the soundtrack of the 1983 film Tender Mercies, earning a Best Song Oscar nomination for "Over You" (co-written with Austin Roberts). He subsequently worked as a producer and/or writer with New Edition, La Toya Jackson, and Robbie Nevil, among others.

As of 2015, Bobby lives in Los Angeles with his wife MaryAnn.

 March 17, 2022 

External Link
Bobby Hart's Official Website