Tommy Boyce | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Sidney Thomas Boyce |
Born | Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S. | September 29, 1939
Died | November 23, 1994 55) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | (aged
Genres | Pop |
Occupation | Singer-Songwriter |
Formerly of | Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart The Tommy Band |
Sidney Thomas Boyce was an American singer songwriter and producer. He was a part of the songwriting team Boyce and Hart with Bobby Hart, who wrote hit songs for Jay and the Americans, Paul Revere & the Raiders and wrote a large chunk of material for the Monkees.
Some of Boyce's first songwriting credits (without Bobby Hart) include "Be My Guest", a 1959 hit Fats Domino, as well as two hits for Curtis Lee, "Pretty Little Angel Eyes" and "Under the Moon of Love". He worked as a producer in the United Kingdom in the 1970s before returning to Nashville. He took his own life in 1994.
Boyce was born in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1939. [1] His first name is Sidney but in his career went by his middle name, Thomas (Tommy). His father was a minister.
At his fathers request, he wrote a song called "Be My Guest" intended for Fats Domino. Boyce waited six hours outside the hotel room Domino was staying in, persuaded him to take a demo and promised to listen to it. [2] Domino recorded the song in 1959, eventually selling over a million copies and going to no. 8 in the US. [3]
Hart released three singles as a solo artist in 1962, that all charted within the 100s section of the Billboard 200.
In 1959, Boyce met Bobby Hart. A year later he played guitar on Hart's solo record "Girl in the Window". With him he wrote many hit songs, most notably for The Monkees. Other songs include "Come a Little Bit Closer" for Jay and the Americans, "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" for Paul Revere & the Raiders. [4] For the Monkees, they wrote "Last Train to Clarksville", "I Wanna Be Free", "Valleri" and the shows theme song "(Theme From) The Monkees". [5]
Boyce wrote both biggest hits for Curtis Lee, "Pretty Little Angel Eyes" and "Under the Moon of Love". [6] [7] [8] In 1965, he wrote "Action" for Freddy Cannon which became the theme song for Where the Action Is. [9] Also in 1965, he wrote "Peaches 'N' Cream" for The Ikettes. [10]
In 1973, Boyce released an worked under the pseudonym Christopher Cloud. [11] He also used the alias "Tomme" for the album, and a photo of his face covered by a cloud was used as the album cover for his first and only album released under Christopher Cloud. [12] In 1976, he and Hart worked with Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones of the Monkees to record songs they had written for the band nearly a decade before; as they weren't allowed to record the album as "The Monkees", the album was released as Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart.
He also produced songs for Darts including "Daddy Cool/The Girl Can't Help It" while living in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. In 1979, he formed The Tommy Band, an unsuccessful group. He moved to Tennessee where he remained until his death. He taught songwriting on Beale Street.
According to the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, Boyce and Hart wrote more than 300 songs together and song featuring works by the two had sold an estimated 42 million records. [13]
Kassner Music acquired the rights to his song catalogue. [14]
Boyce died in Nashville, Tennessee on November 23, 1994, after taking his own life with a firearm. [5] He had struggled with depression, and had a brain aneurysm before his death. He left behind his wife, Carolyn. [15]
Not included songs written with Bobby Hart