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 more slowly than it appeared on the record.
- “Goin’ Down” was the B-side to The Monkees’ classic #1 single “Daydream Believer.”
The members of The Monkees did not usually write their own songs. Despite this, all the Monkees members got together to write a jazz song. Remarkably, the song in question was inspired by an earlier classic jazz track.
Micky Dolenz said the members of The Monkees deserve recognition along with their songwriters
During a 2019 interview with Wonderlust, Dolenz spoke about how The Monkees made their music. “I was blessed to be a 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 directors. The writers. And everyone in between.”
Members of The Monkees wanted to cover a jazz song and then wrote their own
Dolenz explained how he came up with the idea for The Monkees’ Goin’ Down. “I had the idea of making up 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 turned out pretty well.
“But it was my suggestion that instead of covering one of his songs, we should get someone to write some lyrics for that particular track?” he added. “We got Diane Hildebrand and she came back with these lyrics. I remember when I first started routinely singing the song [He sings, slow and melodic] ‘Floating down the river on a fed liver,’ and she’s like, ‘That’s twice as fast!’”
Notably, all members of The Monkees wrote Goin’ Down. The track proves that they all had talent. “Goin’ Down” is a fun shot of adrenaline. Dolenz’ incredibly fast vocal delivery is a hoot. The track is one of the few novelty songs from the 1960s that actually works. Along with John Lennon’s “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night,” it’s one of the best pop-jazz songs of its time.
“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 and stayed on the chart for a total of 16 weeks. “Daydream Believer” appeared on the album The birds, the bees and the monkeyswhich reached #3 on the Billboard 200. It spent a total of 50 weeks on the chart.
According to The Official Charts Company, “Daydream Believer” peaked at number 5 in the UK and stayed on the chart for 17 weeks. On the other hand, The birds, the bees and the monkeys never chartered in UK
“Daydream Believer” and “Goin’ Down” are both classic songs and the latter wouldn’t exist without all the members of The Monkees.
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