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TL;DR:

  • One of The Monkees’ songs caused the band’s music supervisor to fall silent.
  • He decided the track should be a single on the spot.
  • The tune was a big hit in the United States and a modest hit in the United Kingdom.

One of The Monkees‘ songs was partially improvised in front of the band’s music supervisor, Don Kirshner. He immediately predicted the track would become a hit. Subsequently, The Monkees never had another top 10 single in the United States.

Several of The Monkees’ songs were written by a famous duo

Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart wrote several famous Monkees songs such as “Last Train to Clarksville,” “I Wanna Be Free,” and “(Theme From) The Monkees” under the name Boyce & Hart. In his 2015 book Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Boyce & Hart, The Monkees, and Turning Mayhem Into Miracles, Hart said he and Boyce partly improvised The Monkees’ “Valleri” in front of Kirshner.

“As he strapped on his guitar, Tommy sized up the coffee table, judging that it could hold his weight,” Hart wrote. “‘Wait’ll you hear this, Donnie. I think we came up with a smash last night.’ He jumped up on the table and began to play, sing, and sell the song.”

The room went silent after Boyce & Hart stopped playing the song

Hart did his part to sell “Valleri.” “Standing to the side, I tried to look supportive as I joined in with the harmonies,” he recalled. “‘Va-ah-ah-ah-al-er-ee, I love her, Va-ah-ah-ah-al-er-ee,’ we sang. 

“Then he quickly explained, ‘There’s a little verse that goes in here, and then,'” he continued. “We continued the melody, ‘Her name is Va-ah-ah-ah-al-er-ee.’ We finished the song with a flourish of chords on the guitar and the room went silent. Donnie was beaming. ‘It’s a smash!’ he exploded, ‘It’s gotta be the next single.'” Notably, “Valleri” is more of a hard-rock song than The Monkees’ other big hits.

Related

Why The Monkees’ ‘Valleri’ Is About a Woman Named Valleri

How The Monkees’ ‘Valleri’ performed 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 a total of 10 weeks. “Valleri” marked the end of an era, as the Prefab Four never made it to the top 10 in the U.S. again. The tune appeared on the album The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees. That record reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 50 weeks. It was the first Prefab Four album not to top the Billboard 200.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Valleri” hit No. 12 in the United Kingdom, staying on the chart for a total of eight weeks. None of the Prefab Four’s subsequent songs charted as highly in the U.K. On the other hand, The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees never charted there. Later, “Valleri” appeared on the compilation Monkeemania (The Very Best of the Monkees). The compilation hit No. 70 and lasted two weeks on the chart.

“Valleri” a classic Monkees track and Kirshner immediately knew it was gold.

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