TL; DR:
- All members of The Monkees wrote a jazz song called “Goin’ Down” with the help of another songwriter.
- Micky Dolenz initially sang the song much slower than it appeared on the record.
- “Goin’ Down” was the B-side to the Monkees’ classic #1 single “Daydream Believer.”
Members of The Monkees generally did not write their own songs. Despite this, all the Monkees members got together to write a jazz song. Notably, the song in question was inspired by an earlier classic jazz track.
Micky Dolenz said members of The Monkees deserve recognition along with their songwriters
During a 2019 interview with Wonderlust, Dolenz explained how the Monkees made their music. “I was lucky to be part of it,” he said. “The Monkees weren’t just the four of us.
“They were songwriters [an all-star lineup of Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka, Neil Diamond],” he added. “It was producers. It was musicians. The managers. The writers. And everyone in between.
The members of The Monkees were going to cover a jazz song, then they wrote their own
Dolenz explained how he came up with the idea for the Monkees’ “Goin’ Down.” “I would have had the idea to come up with a version of a song by Mose Allison, a jazz singer and pianist,” he said. “I suggested we do a version of ‘Parchman Farm.’ It went pretty well.
“But it was my suggestion that rather than cover one of his tracks, why not have someone write lyrics for that particular track?” he added. “We had Diane Hildebrand and she came back with those lyrics. I remember when I first started doing the song routine, I was singing [He sings, slow and melodic] ‘Floating’ down the river with a saturated liver’ and she says ‘That’s twice as fast!’ »
Notably, all members of The Monkees have writing credits on “Goin’ Down”. The piece proves that they all had talent. “Goin’ Down” is a funny adrenaline rush. Dolenz’s incredibly fast vocal performance is a hoot. The track is one of the few 1960s novelty songs that actually works. It is one of the best pop-jazz songs of its time, alongside John Lennon’s “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night”.
‘Goin’ Down’ was the B-side to the international hit single ‘Daydream Believer’
“Goin’ Down” served as the B-side to The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer”. “Daydream Believer” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, remaining on the chart for a total of 16 weeks. “Daydream Believer” appeared on the album Birds, bees and monkeyswhich peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. It spent a total of 50 weeks on the chart.
According to The Official Charts Company, “Daydream Believer” peaked at No. 5 in the UK and remained on the chart for 17 weeks. On the other hand, Birds, bees and monkeys never charted in UK
“Daydream Believer” and “Goin’ Down” are classic songs and the latter wouldn’t exist without all the members of The Monkees.