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TL;DR:

  • Neil Young played guitar on one of The Monkees’ songs, as did another famous guitarist.
  • Carole King co-wrote the track with another major songwriter.
  • The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Mike Nesmith were huge fans of the track.
Neil Young wearing side burns
Neil Young | Michael Ochs Archives / Stringer

The Monkees‘ songs are very different from Neil Young’s songs. Despite this, Young and another notable guitarist performed on one of the Prefab Four’s tracks. Notably, the tune appeared in The Monkees’ classic movie Head.

Micky Dolenz had a strong reaction The Monkees’ songs from the movie ‘Head’

During a 2020 interview with Rock Cellar Magazine, Dolenz discussed “As We Go Along” and other Prefab Four songs. “All of the songs in the movie Head I love,” he said. “‘Circle Sky‘ and ‘As We Go Along’ too, that’s just phenomenal and Carole King wrote that one as well as ‘Porpoise Song‘ with Gerry Goffin.” 

Dolenz didn’t remember singing “Porpoise Song.” “If you’re asking do I remember singing it at a session I don’t, but I do remember signing ‘As We Go Along’ and it was in 5/4 time and I never sang in 5/4 time but I knew what it was because of Dave Brubeck’s ‘Take Five,’ but I’d never sang in that tempo before,” he said.

Neil Young and Ry Cooder played guitar on the song ‘As We Go Along’

During a 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Dolenz said King taught him how to sing in 5/4 time to record “As We Go Along.” He said he was grateful for this instruction.

Dolenz also discussed musicians who played guitar on “As We Go Along.” “And, at the session, the guitars were played by Neil Young and Ry Cooder,” he said. “Yep. Listen to that song. Those guitar parts are Neil Young and Ry Cooder!” For context, Cooder is a famous slide guitarist.

In the interview, the then-remaining Monkees — Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Mike Nesmith — named some of the band’s “greatest hits.” One of them was “As We Go Along.” This is notable given how the song performed on the charts.

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How The Monkees’ ‘As We Go Along’ and the ‘Head’ soundtrack performed in the United States and the United Kingdom

“As We Go Along” was never a single, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The song’s parent album, Head, was considerably more popular. It reached No. 45 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for 15 weeks.

The Official Charts Company reports “As We Go Along” never charted in the United Kingdom either. Meanwhile, the Head soundtrack did not chart in the U.K. either.

“As We Go Along” was not a hit — however, it remains an interesting connection between The Monkees and Young.

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