A Rock Star Wrote a Song For The Monkees That Sounds ‘Just Like’ The Mamas & the Papas

Many of The Monkees‘ songs were written by other rock stars. For example, a British singer gave a song to The Monkees that he felt sounded like The Mamas & the Papas. The star revealed what it was like for a band he liked so much to record his music.

XTC member Andy Partridge gave 2 songs to The Monkees for their album ‘Good Times!’

Andy Partridge is a founding member of the band XTC. He contributed two songs to The Monkees’ 2016 album Good Times!: “You Bring the Summer” and “Love’s What I Want.” The former was a single while the latter was available only on deluxe editions of Good Times!

During a 2016 interview with Rock Cellar Magazine, Partridge discussed writing for the Prefab Four. “I could not believe it,” he said. “Like a weird dream, where I dreamed I wrote a song or two for one of my favorite all-time bands and then they recorded them, and made one a single!?

“Then I woke up, and found I had that I couldn’t make it up,” Partridge continued. “If I’d have said this to the thirteen-year-old me, he would have laughed … and then rang the lunatic asylum.”

Andy Partridge compared The Monkees’ ‘You Bring the Summer’ to songs by The Mamas & the Papas

Partridge noted all the then-surviving Monkees — Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, and Peter Tork — worked on “You Bring the Summer.” “That feels so nice,” he said. “I also know that Bobby Hart of [The Monkees’ songwriting team] Boyce & Hart plays keyboards on my other accepted song, ‘Love’s What I Want For Us All,’ as I have the photo of him doing so. I’m flattered to the nth degree.”

Partridge discussed multiple recordings of “You Bring the Summer.” “I’ve heard two versions, an early mix and vocals and a second far superior take and mix,” he said. “It sounded just like … The Mamas and Papas, ha! It’s a dream man, I haven’t woken up.”

How The Monkees’ ‘You Bring the Summer’ performed on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

While “You Bring the Summer” was a single, it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The song’s parent album Good Times!, became a much bigger hit. It peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for four weeks. It became the Prefab Four’s final charting album in the United States

The Official Charts Company reports “You Bring the Summer” did not chart in Partridge’s native United Kingdom. Meanwhile, Good Times! became a minor hit in the U.K. The album reached No. 29 on the chart for one week.

“You Bring the Summer” wasn’t a hit — but it was a huge milestone for Partridge.