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TL;DR:

  • All members of The Monkees wrote a jazz song called “Goin’ Down” with help from another songwriter.
  • Micky Dolenz initially sang the song a lot slower than it appeared on record.
  • “Goin’ Down” was the B-side to The Monkees’ classic No. 1 single “Daydream Believer.”
All members of The Monkees near a poster
All members of The Monkees | James Jackson / Stringer

The members of The Monkees usually didn’t write their own songs. Despite this, all Monkees members came together to write a jazz song. Notably, the song in question was inspired by an earlier classic jazz track.

Micky Dolenz said members of The Monkees deserved credit along with their songwriters

During a 2019 interview with Wonderlust, Dolenz discussed how The Monkees made their music. “I was blessed to be part of it,” he said. “The Monkees was not just the four of us. 

“It was songwriters [an all-star lineup of Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka, Neil Diamond],” he added. “It was producers. It was musicians. The directors. The writers. And everybody in between.”

Members of The Monkees were going to cover a jazz song and then they wrote their own

Dolenz explained how he came up with the idea for The Monkees’ “Goin’ Down.” “I’d come up with an idea of coming up with a version of a song from Mose Allison, a jazz singer and piano player,” he said. “I suggested we do a version of ‘Parchman Farm.’ It came out pretty good. 

“But it was my suggestion that, rather than cover one of his tunes, why don’t we get somebody to write some lyrics for this particular track?” he added. “We got Diane Hildebrand and she came back with these lyrics. I remember when I first started routining the song, I was singing [He sings, slow and melodic] ‘Floatin’ down the river with a saturated liver’ and she’s like ‘It’s twice as fast!'” 

Notably, all members of The Monkees have writing credits on “Goin’ Down.” The track proves they all had talent. “Goin’ Down” is a funny shot of adrenaline. Dolenz’s incredibly fast vocal performance is a hoot. The track is one of the few novelty songs from the 1960s that actually works. It’s one of the best pop-jazz songs of its period, alongside John Lennon’s “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night.”

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‘Goin’ Down’ was the B-side to the international hit single ‘Daydream Believer’

“Goin’ Down” served as the B-side of The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer.” “Daydream Believer” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, staying on the chart for 16 weeks in total. “Daydream Believer” appeared on the album The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200. It spent a total of 50 weeks on the chart.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Daydream Believer” peaked at No. 5 in the United Kingdom and stayed on the chart for 17 weeks. On the other hand, The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees never charted in the U.K.

“Daydream Believer” and “Goin’ Down” are both classic songs and the latter wouldn’t exist without all members of The Monkees.

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