Why The Monkees’ ‘Valleri’ Is About a Woman Named Valleri
One of The Monkees‘ most famous songs is “Valleri.” The Monkees’ songwriters started writing the track during a car ride to see the band’s supervisor. Subsequently, the songwriter went through several prospective titles before settling on “Valleri.”
The Monkees’ songwriters started writing 1 of the band’s hits during a brief car ride
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart were a songwriting duo. They were behind Monkees hits such as “Last Train to Clarksville” and “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone.” In his 2015 book Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Boyce & Hart, The Monkees, and Turning Mayhem Into Miracles, Hart said he and Boyce had to write a new song for The Monkees one morning.
“As I pulled on my clothes, I glanced at the clock,” he wrote. “It was after 10, and [Monkees’ supervisor Don] Kirshner’s house was at least a 20-minute drive across the hills. Still, I wanted the next Monkee single as badly as Boyce did.”
The Monkees’ ‘Valleri’ could have just as easily had 1 of many other prospective titles
Boyce revealed he and Hart started writing a new song quickly. “At 10:45 I climbed behind the wheel of my white 1954 Jaguar Mark VII sedan while Tommy and his guitar piled into the white tuck and roll leather upholstered back seat,” he recalled. “As we wound around the curves of Mulholland Drive, Tommy began to play with a catchy little chord progression. For Boyce & Hart, deadlines had always prompted creativity rather than panic.”
Boyce and Hart came up with the title of “Valleri” in an arbitrary fashion. “‘Throw out some girls names,’ [Boyce] yelled over the sound of the old car’s engine, confidence beginning to replace the desperation in his voice,” Hart remembered. “‘Sally … Virginia … Susan … Linda …’ By now, we were only blocks away from Donnie’s address. ‘Valleri,’ I said. “‘Valleri!’ Tommy shouted. ‘Let’s work with that.'”
How ‘Valleri’ and its parent album performed on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom
“Valleri” became a hit in the United States. It hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 10 weeks. “Valleri” appeared on the album The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees. The album reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 50 weeks.
“Valleri” was popular in the United Kingdom too. According to The Official Charts Company, “Valleri” reached No. 12 in the U.K. and remained on the chart for eight weeks. It was a bigger hit there than any of the band’s subsequent singles. Meanwhile, The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees did not chart in the U.K.
“Valleri” is a classic song even if it was almost called “Sally” or “Virginia.”
