"(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" is a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

song written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. It was first recorded by the English band the

Liverpool Five The Liverpool Five were a beat group that was part of the British Invasion-era of the 1960s. The group played throughout Europe and Asia before achieving the peak of their success in the United States between 1965 and 1967. Career Formed in En ...

in early 1966 but remained unreleased before summer of that same year. In the meantime, the American band

Paul Revere & the Raiders Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolu ...

recorded the song which appeared on their album '' Midnight Ride'', released in May 1966. The song is simple musically, with a repeating verse

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...

of E major, G major, A major, and C major, and a repeating bridge in

cut time ''Alla breve'' also known as cut time or cut common timeis a musical meter notated by the time signature symbol (a C) with a vertical line through it, which is the equivalent of . The term is Italian for "on the breve", originally meaning tha ...

of E major, G major, A major, and G major.

Monkees version

"(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" is best known as a hit for

the Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

. Released in November 1966, the song became the first Monkees

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to chart, reaching #20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Musicians featured on the recording are

Micky Dolenz George Michael Dolenz Jr. ( ; born March 8, 1945) is an American musician and actor. He was the drummer and one of two primary vocalists for the pop rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and reunions until 2021), and a co-star of the TV series ''T ...

(lead vocal), Tommy Boyce (backing vocal), Wayne Erwin and Gerry McGee (rhythm guitar),

Louis Shelton William Louis Shelton (born April 6, 1941) is an American guitarist and music producer. Biography During the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s Shelton was a session musician working in recording studios around Hollywood. Among his more notable session wor ...

(lead guitar), Bobby Hart (

Vox Continental The Vox Continental is a transistorised combo organ that was manufactured between 1962 and 1971 by the British musical equipment manufacturer Vox. It was designed for touring musicians and as an alternative to the heavy Hammond organ. It supp ...

organ),

Larry Taylor Samuel Lawrence Taylor (June 26, 1942 – August 19, 2019) was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of the blues rock band Canned Heat. Before joining Canned Heat, he had been a session musician, session bassist for T ...

(bass), Billy Lewis (drums) and

Henry Lewy Henry Lewy (May 31, 1926 – April 8, 2006),Arizona Obituary Archive: Henry Lewy< ...

(percussion). The single,

stereo Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...

album, and

mono Mono may refer to: Biology * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monocyte, a type of leukocyte (white blood cell) * Monodactylidae, members of which are referred to as monos Technology and computing * Mono (audio), single-c ...

album versions contain several differences. In the stereo version, the track's title is sung just before the second verse, whereas on the single and mono album versions, this segment is left instrumental. The stereo version has an edit in the fadeout, but the mono album version does not have this edit and therefore has a longer coda. The single also does not have the edit, but it fades out earlier than does the mono album. All Monkees hits compilations through the mid-1980s used the stereo version, and afterward typically used the single version. The Monkees' version is featured in the " romp" segments of several episodes of the group's

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

. It has also been heard in episodes of shows such as ''The Queen's Gambit'' and ''Zoo''.

Other versions

The song has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

by many artists. Among the more notable is Modern Rocketry's version in 1983, which reached number 7 on the U.S. Hot Dance/Disco chart, and

PJ & Duncan Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo consisting of Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly from Newcastle upon Tyne. After meeting as child actors on CBBC's drama ''Byker Grove'', they performed together as pop musicians PJ & Duncan, ...

's version in 1996, which reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. A

baggy Baggy is a British alternative dance genre popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and generally associated with the Northern UK's Madchester scene. The style saw alternative rock bands draw influence from psychedelia as well as dance music ...

version by The Farm was popular in clubs in 1990 and eventually reached number 58 in the UK. The

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

bands

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

State of Alert State of Alert (often abbreviated to S.O.A.) was an American hardcore punk group formed in Washington, D.C., in October 1980, and active until July 1981. S.O.A. was fronted by Henry Rollins, then using his original surname Garfield. History S ...

the Queers The Queers are an American punk rock band, formed in 1981 by Portsmouth, New Hampshire native Joseph “Joe” P. King (a.k.a. Joe Queer) along with Scott Gildersleeve (a.k.a. Tulu), and John “Jack” Hayes (a.k.a. Wimpy Rutherford). With the ...

, and

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guita ...

also recorded versions of the song. It was also covered by Fereydoon Foroughi with Persian lyrics in a song titled "Hoqqe" (حقه), also known as "Mashti Mashalla" or "Mashdi Mashalla".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steppin Stone 1966 songs 1966 singles 1996 singles Songs written by Tommy Boyce The Monkees songs Paul Revere & the Raiders songs Ant & Dec songs Song recordings produced by Tommy Boyce Song recordings produced by Bobby Hart Song recordings produced by Terry Melcher Songs written by Bobby Hart Protopunk songs American garage rock songs