The Monkees Mike Nesmith ‘Loved’ Carole King But Claimed: ‘I Just Can’t Stand Her Records’
Mike Nesmith was a songwriter ahead of his success with The Monkees. Therefore, he felt a kinship with other like-minded people who also found creative release in this job. He was lucky enough to work alongside some of the greatest writers in the industry for The Monkees. Carole King was one of these songwriters. However, for as much as he “loved” King, Nesmith claimed, “I just can’t stand her records.”
How many songs did Carole King write for The Monkees?
Carole King was one of the dozen or more songwriters enlisted to write music for The Monkees’ television series. King was among the many songwriters associated with Don Kirshner of New York’s The Brill Building.
King and her husband Gerry Goffin wrote for The Monkees. So did Tommy Boyce, Neil Diamond, Bobby Hart, Diane Hildebrand, Andy Kim, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Harry Nilsson, Neil Sedaka, and Paul Williams.
As for her Monkees tune, King was credited with 27 songs recorded by the band. Per the website Cool Cherry Cream, some of her Monkees hits included “As We Go Along,” “A Man Without a Dream,” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday.” She also penned “Porpoise Song.” “Sometime in the Morning,” and “Take a Giant Step.”
“Sweet Young Thing,” one of Nesmith’s most beloved Monkees hits, was penned by King, Goffin, and Nesmith. During these writing sessions, Nesmith got to know the couple and made a bold statement regarding King and her work.
Mike Nesmith ‘loved’ Carole King but claimed, ‘I couldn’t stand her records’
#tbt Carole King's album Tapestry hits #1 in the US, where it stays for 15 weeks. After the album goes to #1, it spends the next six years on the charts.
— Carole King (@Carole_King) June 23, 2022
Photos: Jim McCrary
courtesy Ode Records pic.twitter.com/AswQfUdTMP
Mike Nesmith, Carole King, and Gerry Goffin wrote “Sweet Young Thing.” The song was included on The Monkees’ debut album.
The Monkees Live Almanac reprinted an interview Nesmith gave to the publication Zig Zag, where he discussed his collaboration with King and Goffin. He revealed his true feelings about the songwriter and her music in a passionate statement.
“Gerry, Carole, and I wrote four or five things together. They came out and stayed at my house,” Nesmith said. He followed that statement by saying, “I love her, always have loved her, but I just hate her records. God! I can’t stand her records.”
King wrote some of the most prolific songs in pop music history, including “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” and “The Loco-Motion,” to name a few. She also wrote and recorded Tapestry, one of the most influential albums of the 1970s, which held the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for 15 weeks in 1971.
However, Nesmith added that he “connected” with King personally. He shared, “I loved her. But I couldn’t connect with her on a musical level. She’s an artist, don’t ever kid yourself about that. She’s one of the ones; she’s chosen; she’s right there.”
Nesmith later revealed he was ‘intimidated’ to work with the songwriting legend
Years later, in an interview with The Asbury Park Press, Nesmith revealed he was “intimidated” to work with the songwriting legend. He shared he was “naive” at that time.
Nesmith explained, “Carole King asked if I would like to write with her, but I was so intimidated by the idea of a pop song and so naive as to the process, I turned down that opportunity. I was clueless.”
He continued, “Much of what they did was lost on me. I had no real understanding of pop songs or even pop culture, which is to say, pop art. That understanding developed much later for me.”
Carole King’s influence on The Monkees’ sound was present in how she and Goffin crafted punchy lyrics and music that lingered in listeners’ memories. She and Nesmith never wrote together again after their The Monkees experience.
