Why the Original Version of The Monkees’ ‘Valleri’ Was Never a Single
TL;DR:
- A music industry insider expected The Monkees’ “Valleri” to become a hit.
- He said the group had to rerecord the song before it was released as a single.
- “Valleri” became The Monkees’ final top 10 single in the United States.
The Monkees‘ “Valleri” was one of the group’s biggest hits. The Prefab Four’s music supervisor decided the original version of the song couldn’t be a single. Subsequently, the Prefab Four tried to recreate the original recording in the studio.
2 songwriters weren’t allowed to be the credited producers on The Monkees’ ‘Valleri’
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart co-wrote many of The Monkees’ songs. In his 2015 book Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Boyce & Hart, The Monkees, and Turning Mayhem Into Miracles, Hart discussed what music supervisor Lester Sill said about ‘Valleri.” “He said, ‘We all know that ‘Valleri’ is a smash, and I need a hit single bad.’
“‘But I can’t release it because the union contract lists your names as the producers,'” Hart wrote. “‘So, here’s the deal: you’ve gotta go back into the studio and remake the record, note for note. But this time, you don’t take producer’s credit.'”
The Monkees’ songwriter discussed how Davy Jones’ vocals on the rerecording compared to his original vocals
Hart revealed how he and Boyce responded to this news. “Tommy and I and the band did our best in the studio to duplicate the magic of the record we had made 16 months earlier,” Hart wrote. “We came close. [Guitarist Louie Shelton] always felt that his flamenco riffs didn’t quite measure up to his original performance.”
Hart discussed what happened to the original “Valleri.” “David Jones’ vocal was pretty much a ringer for the first one he had done,” he said. “Fans who have time on their hands can judge for themselves; the original may be heard on Rhino Record’s Missing Links [Volume Two] while the hit single version is available on most any Monkees greatest hits collection.”
How ‘Valleri’ performed on the pop charts in the United States and the United Kingdom
“Valleri” became a hit in the United States. It reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 10 weeks. None of the group’s subsequent singles reached the top 10. “Valleri” appeared on the album The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees. The album topped the Billboard 200 for five weeks, remaining on the chart for 64 weeks in total.
The Official Charts Company reports “Valleri” hit No. 12 in the United Kingdom, staying on the chart for eight weeks. Meanwhile, The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees never charted in the U.K.
“Valleri” was a hit — even if the original recording of the song didn’t receive much attention.
