Monkees Demos Performed by The Original Songwriters

Continuing the Monkees theme a bit, here are a couple of demos for the band recorded by the original songwriters.

Carole King performs "Pleasant Valley Sunday." It's great to hear her take on this classic Monkees song (which, of course, is really her song).

I have a great version of her singing "The Porpoise Song," which she also wrote, but the audio quality isn't the best. I'll try to get that uploaded in a future post.

Here, Harry Nilsson demos "Cuddly Toy;" the Monkees would record this song for their Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, & Jones Ltd. LP. Nilsson would become a close friend of Micky Dolenz.



This last song isn't a demo, but it is an interesting listen nonetheless. This is Neil Diamond's version of "I'm A Believer," which he wrote (as well as "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" and "Look Out, Here Comes Tomorrow"). I don't know whether he or the Monkees released it first, but they both, along with modern band Smash Mouth, have embedded the song in pop culture consciousness.



Thanks!