Originally I did this site just to concentrate on the albums. However, if I have information on the singles that weren't on or suppose to be on an album then I will showcase them here as well.
In the fight for musical independence the album More of the Monkees was the first shot fired by Don Kirshner. At this point Kirshner didn't do anything wrong. He just felt that he was just doing his job. He was hired to create hit songs for the soundtrack of the TV show. But he was given orders after that album that the Monkees were to produce the music for the B side of the next single.
This got him hot under the collar. Don felt that when it came to the music that he was the boss. That he was at the very least on the same level of command as the TV producers. That isn't how it worked out in the chain of command. Columbia Pictures owned both Screen Gems and Aldon music. The TV show was the reason why the records were being made and not the other way around. This ment that Krishner was answerable to the TV producers.
But since he didn't agree with that he went around them. He tried to sneak out the next single in Canada. A Little Bit Me,A Little Bit You was released with Kirshner's production of She Hangs Out as the B side. He even issued it with a picture sleeve. That was something he normally wouldn't do with out authorization. Some promo copies were released as My Favorite Monkee - Davy Jones Sings. Kirshner liked Davy more as he was the easiest one to convince to record songs for him. Kirshner thought that if the single became the third hit with his producion on the songs it would solidify him as the musical boss. But before that could happen Rafelson and Schneider blew their stacks. They recalled the single and fired Kirshner for releasing an unauthorized Monkees single.
However, word was now out that A Little Bit Me,A Little Bit You was the new single. So they had to choose the B side song. The Monkees produced 2 songs. All of Your Toys was good but rejected as the song was not owned by their publishing company. So the Nesmith penned tune The Girl That I Knew Somewhere was pressed and released. This gave the Monkees their second double sided hit on the Billboard charts. The A side went to #2 and the B side went to #39. Eventually even the song She Hangs Out was released but that is the story for another post.
After the sixties the master tapes for A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You were lost. Anything that was released of the song for years came from dubs of earlier mixes. Eventually Rhino Records found the tapes when they got the rights to the Monkees.
Rumor has it that the background vocals were by the songs writer Neil Diamond.
This isn't a bad little song but it is far from the Monkees best. If any other group had recorded it I doubt it would have made it to #2. I even doubt it would have been released as a single. At best it would have been an album cut. Since the Monkees were able to feature there latest single each week on their TV show I believe that is what pushed it up the charts. The Girl That I Knew Somewhere would have been the better choice for the A side. Even All of Your Toys or She Hangs Out would have been good A sides but She Hangs Out, sung the way Davy did in the Kirshner production, was actually pretty suggestive for a bubblegum/pop group like the Monkees.
Another well-written article! What specifically about "A Little Bit Me..." did you not like?
ReplyDeleteIt lacks the energy that I'm A Believer and Last Train to Clarksville had.It sounds like a good album cut but not a top 40 hit.
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