About Me

 Growing up in a small town, I was surrounded by a vibrant mix of sounds—from gospel hymns at the local church to the country and rockabilly music that filled the airwaves. My early years were marked by a deep curiosity about the world and a passion for music that was nurtured by my family’s love for song and performance. From the eager age of seven, I was often found with a makeshift microphone in hand, mimicking the artists I idolized and dreaming of the day he would share my own music with the world. 

 I wrote my first two top ten songs in 1964 after my best-known writing partner, Tommy Boyce, and I relocated from L.A. to become part of New York’s Brill Building scene.   The evergreen, “Hurt So Bad”, by Little Anthony & the Imperials, was to make the top ten two more times in successive decades: by the Lettermen in 1970 and Linda Rondstadt in 1980.  Jay & the Americans’ biggest hit, “Come A Little Bit Closer”, also later became a top Country record in the seventies for Johnny Duncan.

 In 1965, Boyce & I signed exclusive songwriting agreements with Screen Gems/Columbia Music and, back on the West Coast, began turning out a barrage of pop songs and television and motion picture music that would make us one of the legendary songwriting teams of the sixties.  Among the memorable television theme songs we wrote that year are the “Theme from Days of Our Lives” which has played five days per week for over forty years, and “Here we come walking down the street…”, the theme from the Monkees.

Tapped by Screen Gems in 1966 to create the sound for a new made-for-television recording group, Boyce & Hart produced the Monkees first hit single,  “Last Train to Clarksville”  and album,  The Monkees,  beginning a period of unprecedented sales in which the group sold more records than the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined.  Boyce & Hart songs appeared on virtually every succeeding Monkees album and included “Words,”  “Valleri,” “I Want To Be Free” and the garage-band anthem, “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone.” 

In 1967, Boyce & Hart signed with A & M Records and began producing a string of hits for ourselves as recording artists, including the top ten records, “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight" and “Alice Long.”  In between concert tours and television appearances, including I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched and The Flying Nun, we found time to spearhead the Let Us Vote campaign, lobbying Congress to lower the voting age to eighteen. 

I wrote and produced songs for Lulu, Wayne Newton, the Partridge Family and Vicky Carr with my 1970s partner, Danny Janssen. Our hits include Helen Reddy’s number one record, “Keep On Singing” and “Something’s Wrong With Me,” a top-ten hit for Austin Roberts.  In 1976, Boyce & Hart re-teamed with Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz of the Monkees, recording two albums and touring the U.S., Japan and South East Asia as Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart.

In 1983, I was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Original Song in a Motion Picture for “Over You” from Tender Mercies, co-written with Austin Roberts.  Success continued for me and my 1980s writing partner, Dick Eastman, with hits by NewEdition,  material for the Monkees 1986 platinum reunion album and the top-ten Robbie Nevil hit, “Dominoes.”