The last surviving member of The Monkees shared a tribute to a beloved colleague who has died. Micky Dolenz shared, “Another great is gone,” after learning that songwriter Bobby Hart died at the age of 86.
A post on The Monkees Instagram page initially shared the news with fans of the iconic ’60s band. The caption read, “Very sad news to report: Bobby Hart, the songwriting dynamo who was half of the duo responsible for so many Monkees songs, has died.”
The caption continued, “With partner Tommy Boyce, Bobby penned tracks like ‘I Wanna Be Free,’ ‘Last Train to Clarksville,’ the iconic ‘Monkees’ theme, and so many more.” In addition, the caption noted, Hart wrote the Little Anthony & the Imperials hit “Hurts So Bad.”
“He will be remembered for his incredible talent and his innate spirituality,” the caption on The Monkees Instagram post read.
The caption also included a quote attributed to Hart where the songwriter noted it was “interesting and gratifying” to see the long-lasting success of The Monkees. “They’ll have a life of their own that’ll probably far outlast mine,” the quote read, in part.
Within about an hour of The Monkees post announcing Hart’s death, Dolenz took to his Instagram page to recognize his former colleague.
Dolenz noted that Hart and Boyce “penned and produced some of The Monkees’ greatest hits.”
He shared that not only did Hart make “a vital contribution to the popular success of The Monkees,” but “even more importantly to the essence, the very spirit of the entire venture.”
Dolenz continued, “His talent, charisma, good humor and calmness in the face of what at times was nothing less than a maniacal roller coaster ride often brought a sense of peace that heartened everyone around him. He was the stillness that is the eye of the hurricane.”
According to Best Classic Bands, Hart died on September 11. Hart and Boyce wrote for Chubby Checker and had their first significant hit with “Come a Little Bit Closer,” which was performed by Jay and the Americans. The songwriting team also appeared in episodes of The Flying Nun and I Dream of Jeannie.
Boyce and Hart and later toured with Dolenz and Davy Jones for some time. The quartet, which named themselves Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart, did a television special and an album, although they never garnered the level of attention that The Monkees did.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 14, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
