Skip to main content

TL;DR:

  • The Monkees’ “Shades of Grey” was written by a pair of songwriters Peter Tork called “masters.”
  • Mike Nesmith added his own twist to the song even though he did not write it.
  • “Shades of Grey” appeared on the first Prefab Four album that featured major input from the band.
The Monkees wearing blue
The Monkees | Michael Ochs Archives / Stringer

The Monkees‘ “Shade of Grey” wasn’t written by any of the Prefab Four. Despite this, Mike Nesmith added horn and cello sections to the song. The tune appeared on a famous album.

Peter Tork said 1 of the members of The Monkees was 1 of the best singers in the history of pop music

During a 2013 interview with Guitar World, Tork discussed had some very kind things to say about The Monkees. “Mike and Davy had splendid timing,” he opined.

“They should’ve been the rhythm section,” he added. “I’m a better guitar player than Mike; he should’ve been the drummer or the bass player and Davy the drummer.”

How Micky Dolenz created parts of The Monkees’ ‘Shades of Grey’

In the same interview, Tork was asked if he was upset that The Monkees were asked to sing songs written by others. “I wasn’t resentful because we had songs by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, Carole King, and Neil Diamond,” he said. “‘Shades of Gray’ was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil — masters. We would play these songs and say, ‘Yeah, that’s a good song. Let’s do it.’ And that’s all we cared about, really. Having great songs.”

Tork revealed Mike Nesmith added his own flair to “Shades of Grey.” “Michael wrote the horn and cello part to ‘Shades of Gray,'” he said. “He wrote it in his head, he sang it to me, and I notated it, and I notated it for the French horn. I’m the only one of the four of us who was in possession of that body of information. I took piano for six years and French horn for a couple, plus music theory in college.”

Related

Why The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz and The Carpenters Lost the Chance to Record Three Dog Night’s ‘An Old Fashioned Love Song’ 1st

How ‘Shades of Grey’ and its parent album performed on the charts

“Shades of Grey” appeared on the album Headquarters, which was the first Monkees album to feature major input from the group. Mike Nesmith said Headquarters was his favorite Monkees album. Tork said his favorite Monkees album was either Headquarters or Justus. Notably, the tunes from Justus were exclusively written by the members of the band. While they came out decades apart, Headquarters and Justus have similar backstories.

“Shades of Grey” was never a single, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The song’s parent album, Headquarters, topped the Billboard 200 for one week. Headquarters spent a total of 68 weeks on the chart.

“Shades of Grey” was not a single in the United Kingdom, so The Official Charts Company reports it did not chart there. On the other hand, Headquarters reached No. 2 in the U.K. and stayed on the chart for 19 weeks.

Nesmith did not write “Shades of Grey” but he made it his own.

Best in Entertainment