A Record Executive Felt No Songs From 1 Monkees Album Were Potential Hits
The Monkees‘ songs were often written by other artists. For their third album, Headquarters, the Prefab Four decided to take control of their own music. Subsequently, a record executive falsely believed none of the songs on the album would become hits.
Mike Nesmith fought for The Monkees to have more control over their own music
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart wrote several Monkees songs together under the name Boyce & Hart. In his 2015 book Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Boyce & Hart, The Monkees, and Turning Mayhem Into Miracles, Hart said Mike Nesmith wanted to have more control over The Monkees’ music.
“Then, of course, the bomb dropped,” Hart wrote. “[The Monkees’ supervisor Don] Kirshner was out, and the new edict stated that in the future, ‘Only self-produced records by The Monkees would be released.’ Nesmith and his cohorts had won!”
The Monkees logged in numerous hours of studio time to make the songs for their album ‘Headquarters’
Hart discussed how the Prefab Four’s new direction impacted Boyce & Hart. “Their self-produced third album, Headquarters, contained three Boyce & Hart songs that the boys had re-recorded, but [Boyce & Hart’s] ‘Valleri’ continued to sit on the shelf for over a year and a half,” Hart recalled. “During this period, sometimes together under the leadership of their appointed producer, Chip Douglas, and later, each one working separately, The Monkees logged hundreds of hours of studio time.”
The Monkees’ management released singles that were written by others. “Their fourth single, ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday‘ written by Carole King & Gerry Goffin, and the fifth, ‘Daydream Believer‘ written by John Stewart, charted into the top three,” Hart remembered. “But by the end of 1966, [record executive] Lester [Stills] told Tommy and me that he couldn’t find a record in the bunch that was good enough to be released as a single.”
How the album and its songs performed on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom
Headquarters became a hit in the United States. The album topped the Billboard 200 for one week, staying on the chart for 68 weeks in total. On the other hand, none of the songs from Headquarters charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Official Charts Company reports Headquarters became a more modest hit in the United Kingdom. There, the album reached No. 2 and stayed on the chart for 19 weeks. One of the songs from Headquarters, “Randy Scouse Git,” became a huge success there. “Randy Scouse Git” peaked at No. 2 under the name “Alternate Title” and remained on the chart for 12 weeks. Notably, The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz wrote “Randy Scouse Git.”
Stills didn’t have faith in the songs from Headquarters, but one of them did well in the U.K.
